LOL, no worries. It’s the only real Winter Olympics sport we truly are good at. Shorttrack is exciting but highly unpredictable in comparison, being closer to (ice)hockey as a contact sport than long track speed skating.
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Excuse me for intervening, but since the topic is winter sports: why don’t the Dutch have a decent ice hockey team? That’s a real mystery to me. You are unbeatable in skating, extraordinary in football (ok, used to be, and I am looking forward to a comeback). You just put these two together and voila… but strangely, it does not happen.
I remember about 30 years ago having lunch with several senior colleagues at work including my future wife… There was a discussion about why the Dutch were so good at Skating. The Financial Director said that in Holland all the Lakes and Canals are very flat.
My wife and I still laugh about it.
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That made my morning, cheers.
How’s Thursday looking Pete?
I’m just about to bed and wonder if it’s worth getting up for?
Well I don’t know where you are but here it’s a beautiful sunny summers morning, even better by the sound of some tradies cheap ghetto blaster while they’re working around our pool. Ha the serenity. 
Anything possible with the Danes beating the Czechs yesterday.
That was kind of expected, not a huge surprise to me. Cz have not been performing well for several seasons already. A generation change, probably.
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Now that is a valid question, and mystery. If a country can generate several top field hockey teams as well as fast skaters, how come there is no synergy in producing even a half decent ice hockey team… ? My theory is neither side sees the fun in it: If you like hockey, you don’t like skating and vice versa if you are Dutch, but I have no scientific evidence to back it up.
@Expat and @pbode I understand that during some matches there has been discussion about a sea change in strategy, a move away from bump and bash them to a faster free flowing match. USA is leading on this as are the Scandis.
Here’s an examination of the environmental aspects of the games.
I’ve really gotten hooked on Curling, though I don’t totally understand the game but its become quite a compelling watch.
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Guess it’s like lawn bowls on ice.
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If the AU Curling team does well (their Olympic first), a cult following awaits!
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Problem is the only real ice we have is in a rum and cokes. Apparently the curling and the bobsleigh teams use to practice in car parks.
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Curling is the curse of the modern winter Olympics 
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Compared to watching several skiers wipe out on a nearly vertical giant slalom, luge speeds exceeding 80 mph and the insane aerial maneuvers (double cork 1440!) on the halfpipe, curling seems to me the safest option. Some of the events just seem so dangerous.
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Yet GB are doing OK 
OK. So, Russia is banned from the Olympics after finally proving that the Russians have been systematically doping their athletes for years and years, which everyone kind of knew anyway.
Yet over 200 Russians show up to compete in the Winter Olympics, the 3rd largest group.
Yet again one of them fails a drugs test, a child no less, yet she can still compete because to not let her do so may harm her??!! Really?
We may as well all just put all our kids into a doping programme and send them off if we want to compete then I guess.
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I don’t think you may call this competing, because if she wins, they won’t give her a medal
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