Japan's Olympic organizers lied about its weather, and now athletes are paying the pr

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I assume they chose this time of year, largely bc no one in U.S. would watch it in the Fall? Football season.

Do people still care about the Olympics? It seemed like a huge deal when I was a kid, and now seems to have dropped off the radar.

I sure care about the Olympics. For me it’s all about the big 3: gymnastics, swimming, and track and field

And where else do you get to watch people play ping pong n TV?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by 10023

It has some relevance when the two cities are in the same position on their respective continents.

Japan is actually somewhat milder as an island, but the east coast of the US and east coast of China can be expected to have similar weather patterns, for instance. Miami and Hong Kong have quite similar weather. And there’s a reason that Seattle and Vancouver have mild, wet climates like northwestern Europe.

I think most people don't realize that Tokyo is the same latitude as Charlotte, NC. It has pretty similar average temps to Charlotte, but this is probably more to do with Tokyo being on an island in the ocean than it is to latitude.

Eastern mainland Asia cities winter temperatures seem to be, overall, colder than their eastern North American counterparts at the same latitude, particularly away from the tropical zone. Beijing is the same latitude as Washington, but the December and January average in Beijing is about 7F-10F degrees colder. Seoul is at the same latitude as Richmond, VA, but its winter temps look more like Chicago's.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I sure care about the Olympics. For me it’s all about the big 3: gymnastics, swimming, and track and field

And where else do you get to watch people play ping pong n TV?

Those big 3 are the marquee events for sure.

And yes, ping pong is kinda fun to watch on TV.

The other day I was watching the BMX Freestyle competitions, and I found it quite entertaining. Some of those stunts were impressive.

And it was interesting to watch rugby; I've never really watched a rugby match before. Field hockey is also kind of interesting to watch too.

I also like watching the marathon. For me, that was always the fun of watching the Olympics, seeing the various host cities/countries around the world, and the marathon showcases the various neighborhoods of a city.

I found the '92 Barcelona and '16 Rio de Janeiro Olympics to be the most telegenic. As amazing a city as Tokyo is, so far, all the TV images make the city look really gray.

[BigDipper 80]

It's hard to escape the fact that Tokyo is just an ugly city. It's still my favorite city in the world and of course has plenty of beauty and dynamism, but the vast majority of the city is postwar concrete boxes mixed in with some random postmodern and Metabolist stuff. Hard to make that look good on TV.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I also like watching the marathon. For me, that was always the fun of watching the Olympics, seeing the various host cities/countries around the world, and the marathon showcases the various neighborhoods of a city.

I found the '92 Barcelona and '16 Rio de Janeiro Olympics to be the most telegenic. As amazing a city as Tokyo is, so far, all the TV images make the city look really gray.

Ah yes, the Marathon. As a former distance runner, that has always for me been the marquee event

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by nito

I was under the impression that the IOC sets the timing, not the host city. Thankfully it looks like the weather conditions have become more amicable.

My understanding is that a host city candidate comes up with their bid proposal, which includes the dates they would like to host the Games. And ultimately it's up to the IOC to approve the bid, including the dates.

As an aside, some time ago for the Paris 2024 Games, the IOC approved the Paris organizers' request to host the surfing competitions in Tahiti. I'm like DANG! Of course Paris is a landlocked city, and their sailing events will be in Marseilles, but surfing in Tahiti? Wow. I think that holds the record of furthest Olympic venue from the host city. I know that for the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics, because of Australia's quarantine laws at the time, the equestrian events were held in Stockholm. And for some reason, for Beijing 2008, equestrian events were in Hong Kong.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I found the '92 Barcelona and '16 Rio de Janeiro Olympics to be the most telegenic.

I stopped watching TV in the mid-90s (haven't watched a second of any Olympics since) but Barcelona looked amazing on TV. I visited the city in 2005 and saw the hillside diving pool in person and had an immediate flashback to how impressive that particular cityscape backdrop looked on TV.

I recall that the U.S. TV coverage also repeatedly broke to B-roll of the Sagrada Familia, which at the time consisted of the original facade and little else. I had never seen a picture of it or even heard of it before that TV coverage, and couldn't help but be mesmerized by it. I remember getting chills whenever they showed it. When I visited in person I had to sort-of block it out of my mind because it's so overwhelmingly original and makes everything today's cocky architects produce look so childish.

That building is one of those things that illustrates what people, when acting their best, are capable of.

[Camelback]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I stopped watching TV in the mid-90s (haven't watched a second of any Olympics since).

You stopped watching TV 25 years ago?


tenor

[10023]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I think most people don't realize that Tokyo is the same latitude as Charlotte, NC. It has pretty similar average temps to Charlotte, but this is probably more to do with Tokyo being on an island in the ocean than it is to latitude.

Eastern mainland Asia cities winter temperatures seem to be, overall, colder than their eastern North American counterparts at the same latitude, particularly away from the tropical zone. Beijing is the same latitude as Washington, but the December and January average in Beijing is about 7F-10F degrees colder. Seoul is at the same latitude as Richmond, VA, but its winter temps look more like Chicago's.

Beijing is actually a degree north of Washington DC. It’s on the same latitude as Philly. It’s also not really quite coastal.

The idea makes sense though, in that these seasonal extremes in continental climates are caused by the large landmass you the west, and the Eurasian landmass is bigger than the North American one.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Camelback

You stopped watching TV 25 years ago?

I'm a rebel. Under 10 hours of TV per year. I've watched less TV in the last 25 years than some have in the last 25 days.

Awhile back I kept hearing about a show called Netflix. It took me awhile to realize that it was its own thing, not a show on cable.

[SFBruin]

Found this article that was relevant:

Olympic Athletes Should Stand Up to the IOC


Aug 9, 2021

By Michael Rosenburg

Read More: https://www.si.com/olympics/2021/08/...nditions-tokyo

[SFBruin]

I do wonder if weather is just part of the games, and people have to get used to it.

[sopas ej]

I only watched parts of the men's and women's marathons, but they were held over 500 miles away from Tokyo, in Sapporo, because the Olympic organizers thought it'd be less hot and sticky for the athletes.

I was kind of disappointed, because like I said in an earlier post, I like watching the Olympic marathons just so I can see the various neighborhoods of the host city---and this time it wasn't even in Tokyo.

[EmmaOlivia]

Japan has nothing to apologize when it comes to their weather. If you do research, the place is prone to typhoons and earthquakes. Remember the tsunami that happened before that killed thousands of lives? Thanks, it didn't happened again!

[SFBruin]

Btw, I went to Tokyo once.

If I recall, it was warm and humid, but not unbearable. I've never been to North Carolina, but it felt exactly like how I would imagine North Carolina to be.

[SFBruin]

Maybe we should put the Olympics in a month other than July?

[10023]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

Maybe we should put the Olympics in a month other than July?

Well and then you gave the Olympics in London, and it has to be July or it isn’t warm enough for the beach volleyball uniforms.

[SFBruin]

Ah, yes. The beach volleyball uniforms are the most important part. :p

I guess we just have to tough it out then in warm climates every so often. Ugh.

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by BigDipper 80

It's hard to escape the fact that Tokyo is just an ugly city. It's still my favorite city in the world and of course has plenty of beauty and dynamism, but the vast majority of the city is postwar concrete boxes mixed in with some random postmodern and Metabolist stuff. Hard to make that look good on TV.

This is unfortunately true.

There are a few vantage points in Tokyo that are nice, but most of the city is crowded and nondescript.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

If I recall, it was warm and humid, but not unbearable. I've never been to North Carolina, but it felt exactly like how I would imagine North Carolina to be.

I don't really understand why people are making this into so much of an issue. If the Olympics were being held in NYC this week, the athletes would be dealing with very similar conditions to what they experienced in Tokyo last week. The complaints about Tokyo's weather seem to amount to it being hotter than northern Europe.