128 Responses to TARNISHING THE GOLD…

  1. petebogtrott says:

    I posted first so do I get the Gold medal.Vile BBC putting GB down again.Subscription please MRS MAY.

       40 likes

    • vesnadog says:

      Hi, Pete. How about this disgraceful treatment by the BBC re Usain Bolt’s public show of his Christian faith after winning Gold:

      http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2016/august/bbc-ignores-olympians-commitment-to-christ

      Maybe that’s why we in the UK never hear about any UK Christian sharing their faith. They probably did but auntie deleted it with great joy!!

         27 likes

      • Dazed and Confused says:

        As a wannabe Islamic orginisation the BBC have no interest in Bolts dark side as a Kufr…

        Get with the programme!

           7 likes

        • vesnadog says:

          “a wannabe”

          A bit late there! The BBC reached that goal ages ago! The next “BBC wannabe” is for the owners of our licence fee, is to “go Islam, “go”

          If you still have doubts, count the number of Muslim/Asian TV/Radio reporters on aunties staff! It seems every time I turn the TV on there stirring me in the face is yet another Muslim reporter! When will all this PC madness stop?

             4 likes

  2. Beltane says:

    Only awaiting the closing ceremony to put pen to paper and create a suitable summary of BBCRio, bons mots gathering in corners to amuse, and now I find dear Auntie has spared me the trouble. Do click the link, it tells all you need to know – while I settle down to watch the Usain and Mo Show, again.

       21 likes

  3. Beltane says:

    Had to add another thought, re the article above. The BBC appear to have failed to reach what might be a very obvious conclusion, or evidently lacked the moral courage to observe that, with Russia as a painfully recent example, the Chinese may just have been a touch reticent about bringing their athletes to ‘peak performance’….

       38 likes

  4. Dazed and Confused says:

    The BBC….The worlds only state broadcaster that cynically resents the success of the very state that it broadcasts to.

    Quite remarkable.

       85 likes

  5. taffman says:

    I have two words to say to Al Beeb which it will find much more offensive than any obscenity………..

    Rule Britannia !

       61 likes

  6. Sir_Arthur_Strebe-Grebling says:

    But the bBBC are creaming themselves that a lesbian will be carrying the GB flag at the closing ceremony. If only they’d had their wish and the black bisexual had been our flagbearer at the opening ceremony.

       40 likes

    • Number 7 says:

      Sir A.

      Only if it has one leg.

         10 likes

      • Sir_Arthur_Strebe-Grebling says:

        The SpasOlympics is next month, but Brazil has drastically cut the event. People aren’t interested: only 12% of tickets have been sold. Watch the bBBC up in arms (or maybe up in arm) about it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37137000

           13 likes

        • deegee says:

          Offended by SpasOlympics in Sir_Arthur’s post. Unless Spas means something other than an insulting reference to someone with Cerebral Palsy in your slang it is offensive to the participants, their team, their family and any spectators who choose to watch. Everyone who wishes to has the right to play sports and participate in competition, including International competition.

          Brazil’s error was assuming against past experience that interest would equal that of the regular games. The BBC will give the Special Olympics the attention they give most minority sports for the four years. That is none.

             31 likes

          • johnnythefish says:

            x2, though a little bit wary of Everyone who wishes to has the right to play sports and participate in competition, including International competition.

               4 likes

          • Anti Auntie says:

            Commented deleted.

               7 likes

  7. Dazed and Confused says:

    I ready myself for the blanket cheer leading, indoctrination, manipulation, and downright underhanded tactics imaginable, as the BBC connive and slither in a full scale military attempt to have their first (British) Muslim sports personality of the year in the shape of Mo Farah….They’re already beginning to cannonise Farah now, with their sycophantic interviews hailing the “great man” as without doubt the greatest British Olympian ever…..Apparently it’s far harder to gain four Olympic golds in Athletics than Rowing, Cycling and every other sport else combined according to various Beeboids…

    However, If the British public wish to have Mo Farah as their sportsman of the year then that’s fine by me, he’s a wonderful athlete, and comes across as a decent man, but we all understand the real reason behind the BBCs gushing admiration – He’s a Muslim, and that to the BBC and their ilk supercedes every other box ticked known to leftist kind…

       95 likes

    • Lobster says:

      I bet they can’t wait for him to bake a cake.

         75 likes

    • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

      They’ve been there before…..the campaign to give the title to a moslem produced……..Wiggins ….lol..
      They still dont get it at beebistan do they…the public are increasingly aware of their attempts to manipulate.

         31 likes

      • nofanofpoliticians says:

        I feel the need to remind BBC viewers that there are a whole host of competitors who have won more Golds than Somali-Mo. Unfortunately though, I don’t have the outlet to be able to do so.

        Jason Kenney has (I think) surpassed Somali-Mo’s “double-double” with his “double-triple” and whilst I agree that Somali-Mo is a wonderful athlete I would argue that Kenney’s achievement requires the greater skill. You won’t hear this on the BBC though.

        Laura Trott has gone better too. She is only 24 and has won everything that she has ever been entered for in the Olympics. Never been out of the Gold medal position (not like Somali-Mo), that is quite something. Won’t hear it on the BBC though.

        Sounds also like the BBC will be dropping Sir Steve Redgrave from rowing commentary in the future. He didn’t get on with the clown Inverdale it seems. The same Inverdale that is who seems to have rubbed up Anthony Joshua the wrong way this time round.

        The BBC did big-up Sir Chris Hoy though, back in the day. Whilst he deserved the praise, Kenny Wiggins et al have all overtaken him to lesser BBC acclaim. Maybe because Hoy is Scottish.

           24 likes

        • nofanofpoliticians says:

          Yes I saw it! Kenney’s achievement was lauded, and done with in a matter of hours. Somali-Mo’s achievement is still being hailed and will be for days to come.

          I’ll lay good odds as to who will do the better in SPOTY!

             13 likes

          • tbaskett says:

            Commented deleted.

               12 likes

          • Doublethinker says:

            Nofan,
            You underestimate the BBC, we will hear about Farah’s double double for the next 4 years at least.Then if he gets more medals in Tokyo the screeching will reach undreamt of volume.Already my 10 year old grandson is asking me if ‘Might Mo’ is the greatest ever British sportsman .Within a few weeks his indoctrination will be complete and he will know damn well that Mo is the Greatest Brit that there has ever been , apart from Allah that is, because the BBC will have drummed it into his impressionable 10 year old head and there is very little that I can do to stop it. I hate the BBC .

               24 likes

            • nofanofpoliticians says:

              You make the case, tbaskett!

              Farah on page 1, British cyclists on page 2. Priority and emphasis is on Farah. Kenny lumped in with all the cyclists.

              Re SPOTY, you must see that BBC is not without influence. Constant emphasis on Farah’s achievement will over time dull the memory of what Kenney has achieved. It could be argued that Athletics has had more than its fair share of SPOTY winners over the years too, percentage wise more that any other sport.

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Sports_Personality_of_the_Year_Award

                 8 likes

              • tbaskett says:

                Commented deleted.

                   8 likes

                • Justin Casey says:

                  Can i just point out that the greatest ever british Olympian athlete was probably Daley thompson .. afterall he defended his olympic title and his gold medals meant taking on ten different events in both track and field… Here`s the first two paragraphs from the wikipedia page of Daley Thompson….
                  Francis Morgan Ayodélé “Daley” Thompson, CBE (born 30 July 1958),[2] is an English former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times.

                  With four world records, two Olympic gold medals, three Commonwealth titles, and wins in the World and European Championships, Thompson is considered by many to be one of the greatest decathletes of all time. Robert Chalmers described him as “the greatest all-round athlete this country [United Kingdom] has ever produced`

                  In my humble opinion an athlete who competes for gold over ten events some of which tbh are very very hard to actually do (Pole Vault, High Jump and Hammer)… Especially when you take into account the ten events are scheduled to take place over two days.. This means all athletes need to be able to compete at thier peak levels and at the same time be able to avoid injuries, inconsistency, and also disqualification in any of the events…
                  Okay, I accept that Daley might not be a possible winner of this years coming SPOTY … He is however a vastly superior athlete to Mo Farah…. All he has is an ability to run at a certain pace for a set length of time, and his abiility to do that is due solely to high altitude training which increases stamina, not speed, not skill… Just an ability to run at a set speed and do it until the end of the race… There`s no tactics, no real athletic prowess, just the ability to keep going at a set speed without slowing down or running out of oxygen .. Thats why they train at high altitude, just to increase thier lungs capacity, they don`t get any faster, they just extend thier stamina…
                  Also Thompson was forced to retire from athletics in 1992, due to a persistent hamstring injury.However,in the 1990s he then played professional football for Mansfield Town and Stevenage F.C. and Non-League football for Ilkeston F.C. He also worked as fitness coach for Wimbledon F.C. and Luton Town football clubs…
                  In my book that makes him a far superior athelete than f**king Mo Farah!!
                  As for the SPOTY award i think Laura Trott or Jason Kenney a far more deserving…. Both thier skillsets demanded they race at differing speeds in thier events… Unlike Mo Farah the `one trick phoney` They also live in the UK, and train in the UK and admit they owe thier achievemnts to the coaching and funding provided by the UK too…
                  Unlike Mo Farah who when interviewed aqfter the 10,000 metres final would only state that he did all himself and his victory wwas purely down to himself and himself alone!! he did however thank Allah and also the British people for all the funding before he went off top get changed and also check his balance in his offshore financial bank account which enables him to avoid paying any income tax… even his Quorn sausages adverts are filmed overseas…. all so he doesn`t have to come back and pay income tax or face any questions regarding the fact he has a UK passport which he got claiming asylum, as well as a valid Somalian one too!! How can he have dual status given his asylum claim and subsequent UK National status???
                  Lastly Mo Farah originally competed at middle distance but was too slow to make the grade, he wasn`t able to get anywhere near winning anything…. Eventually i hope to see him sh*tting his shorts at the side of the raoe in the London marathon and then flaking out just like Paula Radcliffe… Twat..

                  As of January 2014, Farah’s main place of residence is Portland, Oregon, USA where he and his wife and daughters have a home

                     0 likes

    • KatieH says:

      They will have their work cut out as he will be up against that cycling couple that took home 10 golds and who will be getting married shortly.

         10 likes

    • NCBBC says:

      Mohammed Farah is one redeeming Somali in over 300,000 Somalis in Britain. Unemployment among Somalis is 80%. All of them on Benefits of one sort or another, plus a security risk.

         23 likes

      • Peter Grimes says:

        And Somalis are disproportionately represented amongst those found guilty of ‘shanking’ and other knife crimes.

        Doubtless it is our fault for allowing sharp knives to be on sale!

           21 likes

      • Rob in Cheshire says:

        “Mohammed Farah is one redeeming Somali in over 300,000 Somalis in Britain”

        The only thing wrong with that comment is that Sir Mo does not actually live in Britain. He likes the passport, the country itself, not so much. Maybe he wants to put as much distance as he can from the Somali dross we have to put up with, including his criminal brothers.

           8 likes

        • Justin Casey says:

          As of January 2014, Farah’s main place of residence is Portland, Oregon, USA where he and his wife and daughters have a home

          His latest awards…
          2015 Evening Standard’s top 25 most influential Londoners
          2016 Sports Relief highest polled sporting London hero with 27% of the vote.

          Well that says it all doesn`t it?? He moved in 2014 and claimed overseas domicile status….

             1 likes

  8. peterthegreat says:

    May I humbly invite readers of these posts to click the thumbs-up ‘like’ button. It’s a small thing, but it’s one easy way of showing support, of moving from passive to active resistor to beeb tyranny. Anything that adds momentum and numbers to biasedbbc is to be encouraged. It’s also deeply satisfying and therapeutic.
    Yes! Yes! Yes!
    Don’t get mad, get even!
    We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore!!!

       134 likes

    • Peter Grimes says:

      That’s fine, Peter, but the trolls will do the same/almost certainly ARE doing the same. I know it might be difficult but I would love to see who upticked posts here, a la Disqus. The hosts would also generally be able to see the IP address of posters too. Multiple votes and multiple IP addresses is subpontine activity.

         2 likes

      • peterthegreat says:

        I don’t understand your point Peter. If trolls are ticking some posts then all the more reason for non-trolls to tick the good ones.

           2 likes

        • Peter Grimes says:

          I do, and it is clear many right-minded posters do too, and I don’t double-tick or try to uptick my own posts. I’m not sure about some of the newcomers.

             2 likes

  9. tbaskett says:

    Commented deleted.

       20 likes

    • Number 7 says:

      Possibly due to current activities of the WDA. Who was it who had a large number of their swimmers sent home before a recent Olympics? What has happened to that, previously, victorious Russian team?

      It must be highly embarrassing to find that your first, second, third and fourth string team are likely to be found to be sponsored by Boots the Chemists.

         11 likes

    • Demon says:

      I agree with tbaskett that the BBC have got behind the British competitors and have shown a patriotic enthusiasm which is made more noticable by its absence from most of their news stories. It’s a pity they couldn’t have been as patriotic during the Brexit vote and since.

      I don’t believe they should have shown as much support for the Brexit side as they actually did for the innards side but it would have been right if they had fulfilled the impartiality part of their charter. And it would be right and proper, now the British people have spoken for them to play up, not down, Britain’s future prospects as a free and independent country.

      As far as the Olympics go, the boys and girls did extremely well and we have much to be proud of including Mo Farrah whose achievements are amazing. Yes I know he was born in Somalia but he represents us in the way that Alan Lamb, Graham Hicks and Tony Greig represented us in cricket, the same as Zola Budd did, albeit briefly due to a racist anti-white MSM campaign, in athletics. The same way that John Barnes did in football and Greg Rusedski did in tennis. What Mo achieved has only ever been done once before. It would be great if he moved up to the marathon as that is an event we have never won gold in before. Well done all our competitors including the ones who tried their hardest but were unable to win medals.

         13 likes

      • Doublethinker says:

        I think you have understood the concern of many here by using the word ‘represented’. I just don’t accept that Farah is British. The cricketers you refer to had a British parent even if born elsewhere. Furthermore they shared just about all of our culture and history. Farah is a great athlete, perhaps one of the greatest of all time, but he isn’t a great British athlete.

           17 likes

        • Demon says:

          Doublethinker, I take your point and see the amount of Kenyans etc. running for various European countries as mercenaries. However Mo was brought here as a child, I believe, so has a better claim to be British. He would pass the Norman Tebbutt cricket test, or athletics in his case, as he fully supports Britain unlike some others who just regard this place as somewhere to live but at heart remain loyal to the country of their birth, their father’s birth or even their grandfather’s birth.

             1 likes

    • Justin Casey says:

      @tbaskett Can i just point out that the GB cyclists are so good at winning golds in the cycling events that the Olympic Committee changed the entry rules so that only one cyclist per event would be allowed to prevent them sweeping the first three places for each event in the last two Olympics (London + Rio) … That is the measure of just how good these guys are!!!! Our entire British Cyclist team are so good that the rules have been altered to allow other entrants a chance to win a medal !! Trott and Kenney would have won a lot more golds if they hadn`t changed the rules, thier abilties at this level are unquestionable, if this were not the case then please explain the reasons the ruling bodies changed the rules regarding the entrants…

         2 likes

  10. Number 7 says:

    I find it to be rather hypocritical for “our favourite broadcaster” to be raising a Somali refugee to sainthood.

    I thought they had a problem with tax dodgers (unless employed “within house”).

    Then I saw his photo, heard about his religion and place of birth.
    Nuff said. Forget about privatisation/subscription. Just donate the whole lot, including (especially) the workforce, to a sovereign state where they would feel more at home.

    I hear N. Korea is nice. Iraq also looks to be a nice place at the moment.

    🙂

       30 likes

  11. Edward says:

    Not only the BBC but that openly devout Christian, and holder of the moral high-ground, Peter Hitchens in today’s Mail on Sunday.

    Also, if you look again at the Mail on Sunday, you will find this year’s medal table compared to the 2012 medal table and see that both USA and China have taken less medals this time, which suggests they have both under-performed. Not because GB won so many but because other countries won more!

    What this actually tells us is open to interpretation, but the BBC have been wholly behind Team GB and any attempt to grasp the flimsiest whiff of bias is pathetic and contemptible.

       14 likes

    • GCooper says:

      Fewer, not less.

         14 likes

      • Edward says:

        There are at least 10 grammatical errors in my comment, so you get a score of 1 out of 10. Well done.

           8 likes

        • GCooper says:

          It is a particularly irksome one. Much like the writer.

             10 likes

        • taffman says:

          Edward , Rule Britannia!
          Don’t we live in a Great country .

             10 likes

          • Edward says:

            No only great, but the best country in the world.

               14 likes

            • taffman says:

              Glad you like it ! Shame about its broadcasting service Eh?

                 21 likes

              • Number 7 says:

                Shwmae taffman.

                Where E falls down on his logic is by saying that the US and China are underperforming due to their reduction in medals won.

                If GB and others are winning more medals than before, simple maths states that some countries win fewer – Thanks GCooper.

                The logic of the pie chart would seem to be beyond our annoying BBC employees.

                   2 likes

                • taffman says:

                  Shwmae Rhif Saith
                  Notice how the trolls are very selective on the subjects they attack . 😉

                     4 likes

                  • Number 7 says:

                    The problem they have is not looking at both sides of their argument, having all their qualifications in “arts” subjects.

                    Us “thick scientists” are well used to having our ideas being questioned. As a result our logic is questioned, by ourselves, before being presented. The standard being “Expect to be challenged” – the science is always open to question (not settled sic.). EG. Einstein & Relativity.

                    Perhaps that is why arty types like Roger Harrabin (MA cantab) has difficulty accepting an alternative hypothesis to his own “consensus” view.

                       1 likes

                    • taffman says:

                      Rhif Saith (Number 7)
                      That’s the problem with this country, we don’t have enough “thick scientists” . We haven’t had enough “thick scientists” for the last forty years . The education system has been pumping school leavers through into uni to study ‘mickey mouse’ degrees – ‘bums on seats’ . Not to mention the shortage of engineers and skilled tradesmen.

                         1 likes

    • Number 6 says:

      Some members of team GB are more special than others though arent they?

      If you’re of colour,gender bender,homosexual,lesbian,dont know what you are variety……all over the place

      Anyone else…..bah…..who are they anyway?

      And lets not forget…..the so called bbc had almost as many paid junketeers out there as there were team GB members

         24 likes

  12. Edward says:

    Peter Hitchens recycling his own words then. Hmmm, interesting.

       6 likes

  13. Omega says:

    Outstanding fisking, tbaskett.

       14 likes

    • Number 6 says:

      Think thats a typo

      Didnt you mean ‘outstanding fisting’,one of the beeboids fav pastimes going by previous idiot/pseudonym contributions here

         10 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Outstanding fisking, tbaskett.

      You could have leaned over his desk and told him that, surely.

         5 likes

  14. TruthSeeker says:

    Information please.
    As a newcomer here, my knowledge is limited.
    Edward the following is not directed at you.
    Do we have two, new, salaried AlBeeb, mass murdering Islam approving trolls here?
    Or have I not been paying attention?

       22 likes

    • Number 6 says:

      Its the revolving door/handle syndrome Truthseeker

      One flounces off in a huff supposedly

      Lo and behold…..back again with a new name to spew the same tedious support for their employer

      A Coterie of Crap…..

         23 likes

      • Dysgwr_Cymraeg says:

        Indeed…perfectly sums up the situation.
        Bbc employed trolls are best ignored.

           16 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Outstanding observation, Truthseeker.

      As one trapdoor drops, another steps up.

         15 likes

    • Peter Grimes says:

      Perhaps it was the reference to ‘David’ (Vance) who was the target of a previous troll. Little triggers that trolls find hard not to pull but which unveil them involuntarily. Time will tell.

         13 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Pointing this out make me a ‘mass murdering Islam approving troll’, apparently.

      I would guess that comment was aimed at fellow BBC apologist Jerrod, who labels any criticism of Islam on here as ‘bigoted’, ‘racist’ etc (before launching into personal insults), except when it is pointed out to him that none other than the former head of the commission for racial equality – who happens to be black – expressed similar concerns, at which point he does one of his regular disappearing acts. Oh, and he was unable to deny that he posted something somewhere about finding a particular jihadist of the beheading persuasion ‘hot’.

      Hope that helps.

         7 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Sorely missed. Now.

        Though he did also feel it was all mostly about him too, funnily enough.

        Speaking of contemptible basket cases, that is.

           7 likes

    • Kikuchiyo says:

      How does exposing Mr Vance’s hypocrisy in regard to the Olympics equate to support for ‘mass murdering Islam’ for a ‘truthseeker’ like yourself?

      And why not address the point? I think we know.

         7 likes

  15. boohanna says:

    “Much has been made of Team GB’s success so far in Rio. But it’s possible that China has done even more to propel the British up the table.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37130997

    Heaven forbid that it’s some innate quality……

       13 likes

    • deegee says:

      I don’t mean to belittle a great British achievement couldn’t the absence of most of the Russians have been a major factor in the 2nd placing?

      Also a significant number of professionals boycotted the games, giving those who did turn up a better chance of a medal.

         4 likes

      • boohanna says:

        Fair comments.

           2 likes

      • Maria Brewin says:

        Or the curtailment of the drug taking which pushed them up to artificially high levels in the past?

        Perhaps China and Russia are just falling back to where they belong.

           10 likes

        • Peter Grimes says:

          The Chinese were undoubtedly weaned off their ‘supplements’ early so as to reduce the likelihood of testing positive. Let’s wait and see what positives turn up now, and from whom.

             7 likes

    • Kikuchiyo says:

      An innate quality, in the way the Chinese and North Koreans appear to be suited to weightlifting perhaps?

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/weightlifting/34768507

         4 likes

  16. Dave S says:

    Is Hitchens correct or not? Is he lying or does he present an unpalatable reality?

       1 likes

  17. Fol-de-rol says:

    Don’t have a problem with Ms Balding as a presenter. She actually knows what she is talking about and has genuine enthusiasm. Had to laugh though when The Wiggins imitated some colleague’s voice as being gayer than gay. A wrong footed Ms Balding felt the need to comment about his impersonation skills.

    She just couldn’t let it pass. Still smarting from the Dyke on a Bike jibe from a few years back no doubt. I prefer to remember the day she was commentating on the racing and a stallion was standing behind her with a 3-foot erection.Who knows, had he slipped his bridle, it could have changed the course of broadcasting.

       15 likes

    • Beltane says:

      You’re right, she does her job better than others – not least John Inverdale who, understandably, raised her ire after his crass comments at the boxing. She was perfectly correct in reminding him that two GB gold medal winning couples trumped the pair he made a point of directing the camera at – but what made it worse was that the arrogant loose-lipped Algerian-French arsehole who won the gold on a split decision deserved no further exposure. The fact that his medal award was not covered spoke volumes. Total frog tosser.

         5 likes

      • Peter Grimes says:

        She is good, and Inverdale is an ass as he has proved on many occasions. I still can’t get out of my mind an image I have of Clare Balding from a couple of years ago. I was sitting in the cafe of the BT studios at Olympic City London waiting with many others to be ushered into the studio for the filming of a BT Rugby programme. Ms Balding tottered precariously past the window followed by a tall, Black male skivvy carrying her bag, which was only a largish briefcase but no bigger. She must be REALLY important.

           7 likes

  18. MartinW says:

    Anyway – it’s over!

       3 likes

  19. carterdaniel says:

    The story about the poor kid who suffered amputations because of a ”medical mistake”.

    That hardly made the headlines. Perhaps the lottery funds should be spent on creating a world class health service rather than give the funds for the privileged few.

       8 likes

  20. johnnythefish says:

    Meanwhile on Jeremy Vine today, ‘Post Brexit, are we taking a different view of Great Britain because of the Olympics?’

    So that’ll be loads of Common Purpose types texting in and Twattering to lecture us all on ‘jingosim’, ‘elitism’ and ‘turning our back on the world’.

    Relentless.

       17 likes

  21. Mike Hunt says:

    This is weird.

    Rio 2016: The greatest show on Earth in stats

    53 minutes ago From the section Olympics

    _90869568_collage.jpg

    Between them, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Simone Biles won 12 gold medals in Rio

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/37148372

    So… Why did the BBC pick these particular three athletes for the headline and the picture?

    OK, Phelps’s haul of five golds was the most by any single athlete so fair do’s there.

    But there were two athletes who got four golds each: Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles. Ledecky also got a silver so finished above Biles in the medal table. So why was Biles promoted over Ledecky?

    And Hussain Bolt got three golds, but so did our very own Jason Kenny – so why was Bolt preferred to Kenny?

    https://www.rio2016.com/en/medal-count-athletes

       15 likes

    • Mike Hunt says:

      Well, OK then re Bolt, as the BBC article says (quite some way down to be fair): In his final Games, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt confirmed his status as the greatest sprinter of all time, winning three more golds to achieve an unprecedented Olympic ‘triple triple’ in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.

      But you seem to have selective reading. The article also says:

      Ledecky, 19, followed up her solitary gold in London in 2012 with four more, along with a silver, as she dominated the women’s freestyle events.

      _90873815_rio-2016-athlete-medal-table.png

      In her Olympic debut, 19-year-old Biles added to her remarkable international medal haul with four golds and a bronze.

      So, if Ledecky “dominated the women’s freestyle events”, and won more medals than Biles, that just highlights my original question: why promote Biles?

      If it’s for the kind of subjective reasons you state, tbaskett, because she was “one of the sensations of the games”, then why not have our entire cycling team, or at least some of its members, who were also one of the sensations of the games?

      That was really was my question and I think you’ve answered it.

         6 likes

      • Mike Hunt says:

        PS. The headline of the article remember was “Rio 2016: The greatest show on Earth in stats”. In stats. Not subjective merit. Which is why it’s a bit puzzling that the picture, and the headline, turn out NOT to be based on stats!

        PPS. Nice try at implying I was being racist, btw – but why not just answer the question? It is because it doesn’t really have a decent answer, so you have to resort to ad-hominem? If so, you just lost the argument.

           7 likes

        • Mike Hunt says:

          You seem very quick to make assumptions about the BBC and how it works. Do you have any inside knowledge we should know about? Or are you merely guessing, trying to explain away what you can’t by any other, more logical, means?

          Which brings me back to my question. I take it from your reply that you you have no decent answer to the actual question, so you just resort to ad hominem once again and repeat your rather pathetic allegation of racisim. (The last resort of the logically-challenged?)

          Sorry, but you just lost the argument.

             5 likes

          • Mike Hunt says:

            With all due respect, I’m not sure how far it’s safe to extrapolate from your experience at a (local?) paper ten years ago to what happens at the BBC.

            The BBC has big budgets, big editorial guidelines, and big agendas. They also have an army of sub-editors and editors who filter and re-filter everything to make sure it fits the grade, even if initially things can be a bit wonky.

            So the idea that the picture is “random” (and yet still there, unchanged, many hours later) is erm, a bit shaky, to say the least. It is there (and it stays there) because it fits the agenda.

            I am not going to try and answer your entirely hypothetical question. As they say in the classics, if my grandmother had wheels on, she’d have been a bike.

            Look, it’s very simple: the fact that an article entitled “Rio 2016: The greatest show on Earth in stats” on the BBC isn’t based on facts certainly raises an eyebrow.

            Ledecky not only won more medals, but also is mentioned more frequently and more prominently in the text itself; apart from her superior tally of medals, she also broke two world records, which gets a separate mention.

            Yet for some reason, in an article about stats, the BBC in their wisdom chose to put a photo of Biles instead. Go figure.

            As you yourself admitted, you don’t know the reason, and can’t work one out either. It’s certainly odd, at the very least.

            (And yes, Deegee’s reasoning below may carry some weight but again, this is a piece about stats, not about who is the more flamboyant/popular/photogenic.)

            And far more strikingly, the fact that none of the UK stars is featured in the leading paragraph, nor in the headline picture is very strange indeed. Almost as strange as Team GB not getting a mention at all in the text (pictures/diagrams excepted) until near the bottom, where Mo Farah and Andy Murray both get a nod. Laura Trott doesn’t appear until a little further down, and poor old Jason Kenny not at all.

            Considering that Team GB came 2nd in the medal table this is a little odd, and considering this is our own national broadcaster we’re talking about it’s even odder.

               9 likes

        • johnnythefish says:

          And I was wondering whether you would have made the same point had both athletes been black. I suspect not.

          Well it wouldn’t have been an issue then, would it, so I ‘suspect’ you might be right.

          If I understand correctly, Mike is continuing a theme on here which is reporting the bias of the BBC towards certain people ‘of colour’ – and there have been many, many examples over the years, the majority or all of which you seem to have ignored. Mike’s choice may not be the best example, but it certainly fits a clearly identified pattern.

          For my own part, I think the BBC’s coverage – leaving aside the unprofessional flip-flopping and occasional bollocksing-up of key moments in some events (showing they are light years behind Sky, despite the £4bn p.a. guaranteed budget) – has been very good and refreshingly patriotic. Balding in particular earned her crust and Hoy was superb – informative with his knowledge and articulate and professional in his delivery.

             5 likes

          • Kikuchiyo says:

            ‘Well it wouldn’t have been an issue then, would it,’

            You’ve hoisted Mike with his own petard there. The issue is his.

               7 likes

            • johnnythefish says:

              You’ve hoisted Mike with his own petard there. The issue is his.

              You are missing a logic module.

              Had they been two black athletes there wouldn’t have been a choice, so Mike couldn’t have possibly raised an issue over BBC racial bias.

              As it was one black and one white Mike’s point, whether you agree with it or not, was it gave the BBC an opportunity to display their bias in favour of black people (and boy, do they have a record of that – see posts on ‘Black Lives Matter’ and the rest).

              His point still stands.

                 2 likes

      • deegee says:

        I expect the answer is sheer BBC laziness but I can guess other factors.

        * A quick Google check found about 10 million hits for Ledecky vs. 35 million for Biles indicating the relative interest.
        * Ledecky swam very fast but let’s face it swimming is fairly boring, the excitement is in the competition. Watching Biles was entertainment plus she redefined the sport. There is now a move named after her which she alone can do (for the time being).
        * Ledecky has average looks, largely hidden my goggles and cap and wears a black costume. Biles wears full make-up and wears a designer costume with spangles. She photographs better.
        * Biles has a tear-jerking backstory while Ledecky is simply a good girl from a middle-class family.

           3 likes

      • Sluff says:

        All this tells me is that swimming gets too many medals and not enough differentiation between disciplines

           1 likes

  22. chrisH says:

    Did Team Zika(absent friends who would rather not be sterile in the coming few years) get any recognition in the tables?
    OR-how did “Team Refugee” do?…wasn`t there a team in tents and old buses at the Olympics in nicked training shoes?
    And did they even stay in Brazil long enough to “medal”…let alone “podium”(if it`s not now firewood with a flamingo cooking on it?)
    Bet they`re all in Portugal now.

       5 likes

  23. Foscari says:

    I would love to see Peter Hitchens presenting Newsnight on the BBC.
    For sure it would be entertaining at the very least. One of these
    days I will tell you when I asked him to become president of our
    society. BUT I wont tell you what society that was. The E Mails
    between us were hilarious. Yes Peter Hitchens for Newsnight.

       6 likes

  24. Foscari says:

    First of all you wont be able to see this major feature
    on the BBC Website if you live outside of the UK. So
    I am afraid all of you from across the Atlantic wont be
    able to see that your track and field athletes were the
    by far the best at the Olympics.
    Michael Johnson gives us a list of his top five star
    athletes and with the exception of the 400 meters world
    record winner Wayde van Niekerk nobody from the Old World
    gets a look in.
    I suppose even Johnson has been coached by the positive
    discrimination boys at the BBC that to even mention MO
    FARAH as one of the five star athletes would not be
    politically correct . Even if the Brits are the only ones
    able to watch the frigging thing. I wonder will the BBC show
    us the British Athletes coming home. Or will the 450 be off to
    Jamaica to welcome home their god!

       5 likes

    • Foscari says:

      Baskett- I know how many medals the USA won. Its just my opinion
      that Mo Farah’s contributions were more five star in ranking
      with at least three of Mr Johnson’s suggestions. Actually in my
      opinion Mo Farah’s double 5000 and 10000 meters wins over the
      last two Olympics were at least on a par with Usain Bolt. I reiterate
      I don’t know how Johnson could of left him out! I see now that the BBC
      has changed its leader on their website, NOW giving prominence to the
      effort of GB.

         0 likes

  25. Mackers says:

    I noticed when Alistair Brownlee dismissed the commentators comment about the triathlon being mental rather than physical endurance after winning gold in the next segment she retorted that he’s boring. I don’t think alistair fits in with the beebs agenda. Not a mo or tom or usain.

       7 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Why the ball-breaking defence of the BBC on just this one topic, Mx Baskett? What is it about the Olympics coverage that gets you so energised?

      I’m intrigued.

         9 likes

      • tbaskett says:

        Commented deleted.

           5 likes

        • Mackers says:

          I can assure you tbaskett that after that interview they reported on something else then back to interviewing half the triathlon field that no one knows filling airtime but she the so called expert couldn’t let it go so head down quietly saying he’s boring like a naughty child. I know what I heard.

             4 likes

        • johnnythefish says:

          Well if you’re on holiday you’ll have plenty of time to contest the reams and reams of other BBC bias reported on here – no? You seem to be very choosy.

             6 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      “Complete fabrication” you say. Well 8 people tweeted at the time that they heard her say it.

         6 likes

  26. Kikuchiyo says:

    Beautifully done tbaskett. Mr Vance manages to embarrass himself with alarming regularity.

    It won’t affect his followers though. You will now be considered a ‘troll’.

       8 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      Beautifully done tbaskett. Mr Vance manages to embarrass himself with alarming regularity.

      More alarming still – the remaining 99.99% of reported bias on this site you and your colleague seem incapable of disputing.

         10 likes

    • Peter Grimes says:

      ‘Mr Vance’? Not the familiar ‘David’ of earlier, KooKooKooChoo? Are you no longer pals?

         2 likes

      • Kikuchiyo says:

        ‘the remaining 99.99% of reported bias on this site you and your colleague seem incapable of disputing.’

        The tired old refrain every time a post is dismantled.

        From experience, I’ve found that referring to the author as ‘David’ is enough to get one banned. ‘SpasOlympics’ is fine though.

           2 likes

  27. Mackers says:

    T basket.
    Keywords being next segments

       3 likes

  28. ray_f says:

    Even though Mo Farrah has not broke any records, his times are excellent. And he has won 4 gold medals.

    But to be fair, when checking the BBC website last night, there was 8 images of olympic athletes, and they were all Mo Farah. From video footage to web links of British olympic stars in general, every one was Mo Farah.

    So is the BBC obsessed with Mo Farah. From what I saw, yes.
    The only defences i could imagine are
    [1] BBC are into long distance runners in such a way that all other events are second rate.
    [2] I think Farah’s gold medal was the last won so fresh in the mind.

    But consider the bike team’s success. Or Nichola Adams or Jade Jones. So many gold winners, but only one featured constantly on the BBC webpage.

    Actually i tell a lie. The main top picture showed a chinese athlete crying and the jubilant british hockey player sam quek.Now Sam Quek is extremely photogenic to put it mildly. So i suppose the 20 odd other ladies hockey players and boringly old fashioned brits. All blonde or ginger.

    I think Homer can sum it up better!

       7 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      ThBaskett was being a bit cunning above pushing a few straw men.
      eg when he pointed out commentators did get exciting about cycling.
      Yes the actual commentors at the time were often OK, but what people were moaning about is the BBC obsessing over Mo Farah afterwards on News Progs and website etc.

         7 likes

  29. Alex says:

    Well, then. The BBC has been using the word ‘extremist’ a lot, today, but has not been putting the word ‘Islamic’ before it. Thus, despite the odd ‘Islamist’ chucked into reports, many would be forgiven to think that we have a problem with all religions and extremism. But we all know this not to be the case. Police, prison wardens, politicians, journalists, teachers, social workers…. ad infinitum: they;re all afraid of offending Islam. Our forefathers would be horrified at how cowardly we’ve become. Apart from our brave military personnel, we have become a nation of big sopping wet jessies.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37151089

       7 likes

  30. Mackers says:

    3injured on Belgium bus by a Asian mental issues stabbing woman not reported on bbc yet. Basketcase after that video after after after after after Comprende.

       2 likes

    • Peter Grimes says:

      She is a Philipina according to local newspapers, and the stabbing someone followed an altercation.

         1 likes

  31. StewGreen says:

    Daily Mirror/Mail on Tuesday “Usain Bolt’s night with drug lord’s lover”

       1 likes

  32. Mike Hunt says:

    British Empire Beats EU for Olympic Medals
    EU-3.png
    http://order-order.com/2016/08/22/empire-would-beat-eu/

    Compare and contrast to the “EU* beats USA” drivel… (*includes UK)

       6 likes

  33. KafirHarbi says:

    Apparently the BBC have chartered an airbus A380 to bring their staff home from Rio. It will be following the BA jumbo back to London and is being painted with a brown nose

       12 likes

  34. G.W.F. says:

    The returning British athletes sing a racist song on the plane Thankfully BBC Trots were not there to suffer the embarrassment

       10 likes