Fridays are normally Greatest Hits (i.e. rerun posts) here at GFE but today I wanted to do a quick Olympic news roundup today instead. Between many of you awesome readers and my trusty Google reader, I have a whole (metaphorical) pile of Olympic stories that I keep meaning to blog about and haven’t had time to get to. But the Olympics are almost over and there are so many things to talk about! So here it is, quick and dirty:
Strong Triumphs Over Skinny. AGAIN. Tanith Belbin, an American Ice Dancer, has seen a major upswing in her skating career the last few years. Her winning secret? She gained 10 pounds! Yeah, you read that right. After talking about her disordered eating and hitting a low point with her skating where she says, “I [wasn’t] eating anything and I [was] exhausted and cranky and stressed and all of those things that make you gain weight even more.” At first when her coach recommended she gain some weight, Tanith like any good American girl, freaked. But as she followed her coach’s advice, she began to see the wisdom in it. She “changed her eating and training habits. She grew stronger, allowing curves and muscles to be a part of her body. [skating partner] Agosto said that their lifts have improved, as she can hold herself up more easily.” (Thanks for the tip, Becky!)
Skating Makes a Funny. Speaking of Ice Dancing, the skaters in this year’s Olympics provided most of the comic relief. Have you see Buzzfeed’s “The 20 funniest Figure Skating Faces” yet? You must. MUST. And then there’s this roundup of The Best “Skate Face” that are just as hilarious. And here’s a look at some of the funniest costumes (yes the US snowboarding team gets a mention with their faux jeans and retro plaids). Plus someone did an analysis of the skaters’ hair. Seriously.
Curling is a Sexxxy Sport. The sport of Curling has the odd honor of having both the only (admittedly) pregnant female athlete competing – Canadian Kristie Moore due in May – and its very own line of condoms called “Hurry Hard.” I’m not sure what I could possibly add to that little tidbit of awesomeness.
There is a Condom Shortage Crisis. Speaking of sex, Curlers aren’t the only athletes getting their groove on in the downtime. Apparently the Olympic Village is facing an epic condom shortage (who knew that free condoms were even a perk at the Olympics??) after handing out 100,000 of the little foil-wrapped souvenirs, about 14 for each of the 7,000 people housed in the village.
A Uniform Question: Reader Laura asks, “Why do the female skiers wear skintight uniforms (Charlotte’s note: a star spangled Under Armor unitard thingy) while the female snowboarders wear baggy faux-jeans and a plaid coat? Is it just about the ‘tude?” Good question, Laura. It can’t just be about performance because presumably snowboarders need to go fast too.
What has caught your attention about this year’s winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada? Anyone have a good answer for Laura? I sure don’t – I’ve tried snowboarding exactly twice and cursed so much the snow melted in my path.
that first article you linked to about the skater who gained 10 lbs was such a great one and i had read about it earlier this week. such a great message she's sending out!
and i've tried to get into curling. i even watched a game (? match?) the other day at the gym trying to comprehend what the heck was going on! want to investigate that for me?! thanks 😉
and re: skier outfits vs snowboard i don't have an actual answer but i think part of it is that skiers depend on speed whereas snowboarding might be more movement based in twisting to do flips and stuff. i'd also imagine that part of it has to due with the cultures and atmosphere that surrounds the two
Oh my goodness those are some hilarious faces. I really don't get curling. It's like watching a janitor sweep to me. I can't even admit that it's a sport.
I had to lookup what curling was. That's a sport ?
The only thing I know about the Olympics is that (hopefully) they'll soon be over 🙂
I love the costumes – They are hilarious. I know there was a bit of a kerfuffle here in Australia about the Russian Ice Skaters painting themselves in the style of Australian Aboriginals. They changed the costumes slightly but it didn't make a huge difference.
Curling is awesome! It's not a 'sport' in my opinion, it's more of a 'recreational activity', but it's sooooo much fun- I highly recommend if the opportunity arises. It's a lot more fun to play than watch (just like the majority of activities). I say, don't knock it till you've tried it!
What has caught my attention most? The fact that it's like…8 hours away from me by car, and that half my law school class in in Vancouver partying right now….I'm stuck here for, well ,school.
Plus, I know one of the girls that won a silver, so that's also pretty cool- we did our undergraduate degree together.
I also realized that both universities that I've attended have been in cities that have hosted the Olympics…coincidence?
Where i live currently used to be the Olympic Village, so all the underground tunnels have Olympic Rings painted on the walls, which is quite cool, plus, I've gotten to go luging and bobsledding at the Olympic Park. I haven't tried speed skating yet, though I live about 20 meteres away from the Oval…regardless, it's on my list of things to do.
I would guess they wear the outfits for speed. The men in alpine skiing wear pretty tight outfits too.
Gotta love Lindsey Vonn! She is one of the few female skiers who is strong enough to use men's skies and she let her weight (a kick ass 160) be published in Sports Illustrated.
I remember seeing a cartoon once (in a bicycle shop, appropriately) that finally answered the question as to why cyclists wear such garish skin-tight clothing. Apparently it encourages them to peddle really really fast… to get away from the laughter.
Well, as a Canadian I'm pretty stoked about our women winning hocky gold last night! And both our curling teams are in the gold medal match (although last Olympics it was the men's Canadian team was from NEWFOUNDLAND, so nothing can beat them winning gold)!
But of course Joannie Rochette's story is what gets me all blubbery…amazing…plus, as tiny at that girl is, she's got some serious muscle to match that inner strength 🙂
Jennifer (in Newfoundland)
I've been enjoying the winter Olympics!
As for curling: There is a "rule" that goes, "If a beer makes you better, it is not a sport!" I do not believe, except for during the Olympics, that there is a sober curler in the world 🙂
@Dr J – does that 'rule' apply to smoking dope, too? 'Cause that would rule out snow-boarding as a sport, too! 🙂
Wait, if each athlete got 14 condoms each, that means one for almost every day. Good lord! Aren't they supposed to be RESTING between competitions?!?!?!
I like curling. It's the one Olympic sport I can actually see myself being successful at!
The great skating story, for me, is the skater from Turkey. She's the ONLY professional figure skater in the country! She competed in Turino, but her parents weren't able to travel to see her live, so they watched on TV. This year they were able to fly in last-minute, but couldn't get tickets. So an anonymous donor from the Olympic Committee got them tickets, and they sat in the stands, waving the Turkish flag. I thought that was pretty cool.
Wow those face pics were hilarious.
Hi There 😀
I downhill raced (skiing) in college and the skin tight suits are in fact for speed and performance. They can go up to…70-80mph at that elite level and every nanosecond counts – so making themselves as streamlined as possible is important. AND having a compression tights/suit on helps the muscles engage and work to their highest potential.
While snowboarders need to go fast – I honestly think for them its a fashion thing – and I bet they have on compression shirt/tights underneath.
🙂
Hope that helps!
Love the post! The Olympics, I like seeing some of them tight butts! The men for me but those women look great too!
thanks for the awesome round-up! loved the link to the skating faces. very cool about the skater who put on weight and kicked butt. that should be required readng for all girls!
Hello! here I am at long last. I'll totally check out those photos after I hit "post comment" as I loooovee a good guffaw at someone else's expense (or my own for that matter)
Oh yeah, when Derek and I took a tour of Barcelona & a former olympic village we were told in no uncertain terms that the Olymics are just one big orgy with some sport thrown in to break up the monotony. Tee hee!
10 lbs = muscles and curves. Amen! Love that. I've gained 10 pounds (some needed, some not) and I feel so much better. As a bonus, I can outlast skinny girls in case of famine.
I finally sat down to watch the Olympics last night, only to catch the closing ceremony! Doh.
I have to wonder if people were taking home condoms as a free souvenier from a pricy vacation. (Have you ever checked hotel prices near an Olympic venue? $369 for a night at the Travelodge in Vancouver last weekend.) Our family has a tradition of picking up a Christmas ornament every time we travel somewhere new, but I guess that wouldn't be too appropriate, would it?
The Curling Team's condom endorsement reminded me of a personal experience a few weeks before my oldest daughter was born. I managed the quality assurance department for a telemarketing company and found myself doing a sales presentation for our newest potential client – the makers of the Ortho birth control patch. There was definately an elephant in the room.