Opening ceremony this morning, but brits have been in action on snow and in the ice rink already.
I’ve enjoyed the ice hockey and look forward to more bumps and bashes. But the best sport for crashes must be snowboard and ski cross. It’s so exciting.
Looking forward to it here too @Camphuw
There’s some really great new things in the winter Olympics these days with ski/snowboard cross, slopestyle, half-pipe, mixed team events, as well as all the old classics like slalom and downhill etc.
It definitely reaches out to a far wider demographic than it ever used to.
I’ve never been snowboarding or skiing myself but love the scenery and the spectacle of the Winter Olympics.
Its going to be a great couple of weeks.
I agree the whole thing is more inclusive, but there is the odd anachronism: the biathlon. Except it’s the most gripping of events.
I hope the powers that be done emasculate it.
How did Norway manage to win the mixed Biathlon relay this morning? Amazing.
I’ve now a fan of the skating relay, because I laugh every time they give a push-start to the next skater at the handover.
Sorry to bring a downer on this thread, but I do wonder what all that chemically treated water is doing to the soil?
Irinically, some parts of China have a real water shortage issue and here in snowey Norway, just last week, Oslo and the surrounding areas were asked to rationalise water use.
I do like the Winter Olympics, but have not yet managed to watch anything.
Love the Winter Olympics.
However still question the award of The Games to China for many reasons clearly. And for a country supposedly banned from entering, there are a lot of Russians there!
Good point … I understand some ski resorts have installed specialist equipment to treat water run off; I don’t know if this is the case in China … a lot depends on whether the ground is frozen when the artificial / human made snow melts.
Great performances and great controvs. again over the last 24 hours.
IOC managing to show they still have the anti Midas touch.
Is it just me or does others feel underwhelmed by these games. Normally I love sport but just can’t be bothered this time round.
I have been really enjoying it @Pete_the_painter but I am struggling to work out what is happening when which doesnt help.
I guess because there is less interest in a lot of the events without a GB or Australian competitor it is slipping by under the radar a bit.
You guys in Oz should be enjoying it though with a couple of medals already 
Guess so, it’s even on here at much more accessible times, maybe that’s the problem we’re doing things when it’s on. Normally we’re up all hours watching in the dead of night.
I’m enjoying the sport, even without GB medals.
However the political background in placing the games here and the blatancy of the sportwashing still disturbs. The whole thing feels a lot more stage managed and contrived in a Disneyesque fashion than usual for the winter games.
It’s also apparent that many of the athletes aren’t happy about a number of things, from accommodation to meals, Covid security and ‘rule’ breaches, yet seem to be swiftly muzzled. I guess more will come out when they get home.
I suspect it will feel similar at The World Cup.
Think you rapped up exactly how I feel, however we are watching the snowboarding now. But it all seems odd, like you said staged.
Some wonderfully entertaining stuff so far, such as the flying skiers trying to imitate helicopters - and great that these days it is equal sports for women and men! However I don’t find curling interesting, nor much of the ice skating.
I don’t care what countries competitors are from, or who wins medals. Yes it is nice (for me as a Brit) to see a Brit win, but the entertainment factor is seeing people challenging each other and the high level of skill and achievement. (And, as with the skateboard events in the Olympics, it is nice to see cameraderie between competitors - though less shown on TV coverage of these games so far)
I agree the way the snow/skateboarders interact is refreshing. There’s an Aussie kid that won gold in the summer games that seemed he would have been just as happy if his mate from the US won.
3000m relay in speed skating. Poetry in motion!
Sorry but here a Dutch intervention is required. 
That’s Shorttrack skating. Speed skating is where Ireen Wust is the GOAT.
Apologies!
