Adam Peaty - incredible - undefeated in 7 years and holder of the top 16 fastest times in history
Great day of medal winning by team GB
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Paralymics lift off (should rename this thread)
Watching GBR v Canada murder ball, looks brutal
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Good to see that even though they aren’t there the Russians are up to third in the medal table already
There are a few categories for triathlon but they are generally across this weekend.
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Ok so here’s the question for my own understanding and a challenge.
The Paralympic track cyclists are all on different bikes and most definitely not on the Hope bikes. So as I understand they all still come under British Cycling funded by UK Sport - have I misunderstood this?
IF they are under the same funding umbrella surely it is discrimination to not provide them with the same bike? (Obviously if the funding is different then this point can be ignored)
I can understand that the tandem cyclists may not get all the bells and whistles but even Sarah Storey and Crystal Lane-Wright were on different bikes today.
I wonder if because they all need specialist modifications, that they just take their own bikes but that’s just a guess.
I agree that if they could, they should get the same top level equipment that the Oly folk got.
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Sarah Storey was riding one of the UKSI bikes that used to be given to the top riders in the GB squad. Crystal Lane-Wright and the other solo GB riders that I’ve seen look like they’re riding the Cervelo frames that the top GB riders were using at Rio.
I haven’t followed track racing much in recent years, but it always used to be the case that the top medal contenders would be riding the “special” kit and the riders further down the pecking order rode more generic stuff (used to be Pinarello). You could see when a rider had stepped up to be a medal contender because they started riding the UKSI frames.
From a budget point of view, those Hope bikes are £30k a pop and most of the other teams seem to ride special bikes of some sort. Maybe there’s not such an equipment arms race in the paralympics? Sarah Storey won comfortably and broke the world record on old kit, so maybe they decided that she didn’t need the special kit to win the medal?
I understand all those points and they are valid.
You could also argue though that the “arms race” has to start somewhere. So if the GB team went fast and won everything then it would force other countries to up their game - which is what’s happened in the olympics. You have to be the ones to take the first step.
What I can’t get out of my head though, is all the points you’ve made are almost the same as what people were saying about women’s sport through the last couple of decades. For example
“Well women don’t need to go fast so they don’t need the best equipment”
“Women are just different so they have different setups”
It’s those little things that are niggling on me a bit. Since 2012 we’ve proved that paralympics is as valuable as the olympics. I know it’s taken time to get the investment in women’s sport so I expect the same lag but I just hope the lag isn’t quite as long.
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on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th - not sure of UK broadcast times though but think it’s around 10:30pm
Sorry but I think we’re a long long way from that unfortunately, although 2012 was certainly a huge leap of progress for paralympic recognition in the UK. But I’d say women’s sport still lags along way behind men’s, nevermind paralympic sport.
That said watching Claire Cashmore race in London surrounded my team mates was my highlight of 2012, so looking forward to watching her as she’s switched over from swim to tri after Rio to go to her 5th paralympics!
Sorry, but it’s not as Chris pointed out
Rio needed some funding to keep afloat and then slashed prices in order to get people through the door.
This is a flat 2km segment I set up to do my own, very basic, version of aero testing. It’s on a local TT course so I was never getting anywhere near the KOM but until today I thought it was a made up name at the top of the list.
Ps. I have no idea how you guys hold these speeds for hours, that’s balls out for 3mins for me.
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Horse Dancing on at the moment. Commentators desperately trying to make us ignoramii believe there’s a lot of skill involved. 
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Is the ‘trouble horse’ still mooching about in Tokyo?
The same one from the modern pentathlon? 
Would be hilarious if it was.
If it recovered from the German haymaker to the face.
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I’m probably going to hell but, are the horses blind or maybe have one shorter leg or its just the rider that is classified as a para athlete?
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Some of the horses are a bit pummelled. 
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I didn’t see and assumed it was a joke but did somebody really punch the horse?