BEIJING 2008

[Yervant1]

let me guess Gold medal winner of garbage diving 2008 ???

You mean Gravity diving?

[Yervant1]

Not too many things other than buffets can make me run .. but seeing that bear in the wild might just be one of them.

Not to worry that bear can hardly walk.

[Arpa]

Yippee! Yahoo!! Rah, rah, rah!

Armenia 5 mdeals!!!

====

As of 8/15, 9:02 PM ET

ATHLETE SPORT GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL

R. AMOYAN Wrestling 0 0 1 1

G. DAVTYAN Weightlifting 0 0 1 1

T. MARTIROSYAN Weightlifting 0 0 1 1

T. MARTIROSYAN Weightlifting 0 0 1 1

Y. PATRIKEEV Wrestling 0 0 1 1

 

 

 

[Sip]

Not to worry that bear can hardly walk.

 

Let's just say I won't be winning any medals for running anytime soon either.

[MosJan]

duq demq eq

[MosJan]

Yippee! Yahoo!! Rah, rah, rah!

Armenia 5 mdeals!!!

====

As of 8/15, 9:02 PM ET

ATHLETE SPORT GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL

R. AMOYAN Wrestling 0 0 1 1

G. DAVTYAN Weightlifting 0 0 1 1

T. MARTIROSYAN Weightlifting 0 0 1 1

T. MARTIROSYAN Weightlifting 0 0 1 1

Y. PATRIKEEV Wrestling 0 0 1 1

 

 

5 lava

[Nané]

Medals Per Capita geo quiz: Slovenia or Slovakia?

 

Most Americans just don’t think all that much about Slovenia and/or Slovakia, mostly because thinking about Slovenia and/or Slovakia would require knowing that Slovenia and/or Slovakia exist.

 

Of course, this reflects far more upon our national geography dimness than upon Slovenia and Slovakia, especially when you realize that while the populous United States dwells as a straggler deep down the Medals Per Capita standings, Slovenia and Slovakia are unadulterated, out-and-out Medals Per Capita mastodons.

 

Slovenia -- mighty, mountainous and pleasingly light of population -- has bolted from No. 7 to No. 2 in the standings after Friday’s mass perspiration in Beijing, while Slovakia -- mighty, mountainous and pleasingly light of population -- has soared from No. 11 to No. 4.

 

That may surprise some, but the Medals Per Capita think tank long has stood attuned to the MPC wonders of both Slovenia and Slovakia, having watched them frequent the top 10 at Athens 2004 until they rested at No. 5 (Slovenia, four medals) and No. 17 (Slovakia, six medals).

 

That forced Medals Per Capita to drill it into Medals Per Capita’s head that Slovenia used to belong to Yugoslavia and Slovakia used to belong to Czechoslovakia, the latter easier to guess upfront. They’re both in Europe which, for any Americans reading here, is a continent on the other side of the Atlantic from the United States.

 

The Atlantic is an ocean.

 

More after the jump....

 

Slovenia, sitting down south alongside Italy on the Adriatic (which is a sea), got a judo gold medal from Lucija Polavder to double its medal count to two, awesome from a population of but 2,007,711. As for Slovakia, up in Central Europe just below Poland, well, let’s just say you don’t want to go kayak- or canoe-racing with any Slovakians, lest you crave having your fanny whipped.

 

Three of Slovakia’s four medals come from that sport, from a country of just 5,244,749 oarspeople, a population cleverly low and yet enhanced further when Slovakia doubled down MPC -- strategically breaking from the Czech Republic on Jan. 1, 1993 in the “Velvet Divorce,” after which the two remain close friends, as the world should be.

 

And then, while MPC keeps keen affection and healthy fear of Slovenia and Slovakia, it’s getting downright agog over Armenia, a veritable Secretariat refusing to luxuriate in its lead.

 

For four days running, Armenia has led the supreme, vital, indispensable MPC standings, yet it has gone about improving its MPC rating: from one medal per every 1,484,293 Armenians on Tuesday, to 989,529 on Wednesday, to 742,147 on Thursday, and to a scalding 593,717 on Friday.

 

Ignoring stifling MPC pressure, Armenia has plucked a bronze per day lately, the latest from Tigran Varban Martirosyan in the men’s 77-85kg weightlifting, giving Armenia five golden bronzes, three in weightlifting and two in wrestling. How a man could lift both his country’s lead in the MPC standings and that barbell with all that stuff on the ends simply defies belief.

 

It has both a population of 2,968,586 and the whole world in a headlock.

 

It’s just plain Herculean.

 

In MPC minutiae, meanwhile:

 

-- Yes, an MPC rating can retreat, of course, in the event of a positive doping test. It’s luridly exciting. When Kim Jong Su lost both his silver and bronze medals in shooting after testing positive for a beta blocker, it sent North Korea careening from 16th place to 26th, its medals dropping from seven to five and its MPC bloating from 3,354,156 to 4,695,818. Medals Per Capita gets all giddy when a positive test rocks the standing, not least because it means somebody like American shooter Jason Turner slept a few nights in fourth place, then woke up one day in third, absolutely the most fashionable way to medal in this drug-addled 21st century.

 

-- Two more medals to make eight, and here comes Cuba.

 

--Traditional MPC darling Norway has proved a Winter Olympics MPC titan by dominating cross-country skiing, which showed Norwegian studliness because everybody knows that in most countries, if you want to go cross-country, you wimpily drive a car or take an airplane. Yet as Norway streamed from No. 25 to No. 11 in the Summer Games, well, who knew Norwegians could swim? Is this some testament to global warming?

 

The top 10 (with medals, and number of citizens per medal):

 

1. Armenia (5) - 593,717

2. Slovenia (2) - 1,003,856

3. Australia (20) - 1,030,043

4. Slovakia (4) - 1,311,187

5. Cuba (8) - 1,427,994

 

6. Mongolia (2) - 1,498,041

 

41. Poland (2) - 19,250,348

49. Ethiopia (1) - 78,254,090

 

Selected others:

11. Norway (2) - 2,377,902

20. Kazakhstan (5) - 3,068,107

29. Togo (1) - 5,858,673

 

7. Georgia (3) - 1,543,614

8. Switzerland (4) - 1,895,380

9. Hungary (5) - 1,986,183

10. Azerbaijan (4) - 2,044,429

 

New entries

 

31. Ukraine (7) - 6,563,470

32. United States (46) - 6,604,883

37. Japan (13) - 9,791,417

44. China (41) - 32,440,112

 

--Chuck Culpepper

 

Culpepper is a contributor to The Times.

Edited August 16, 2008 by Nané

[shiner]

I wander how Tigran Martirosyan won 2 medals in weightlifting. Did he change his weight really quickly to compete in two different weight classes?

[Azat]

2 different events in weightlifting

 

[DominO123]

2 different events in weightlifting

 

They are two different person with the same name.

[Arpa]

They are two different person with the same name.

Tigran G M. Weightlifting , 69 Kg, born June 9, 1988

Tigran V M. ---- 85 kg. born March 3, 1983

Choose country Armenia and see.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/index.html

 

Just for fun, look up Iran and see how many Ian and Yans you see.

Mohammadian??

Even though at least one of them Oshin Sahakian is definitely Armenian, another could be Idean Shahakian?

Edited August 16, 2008 by Arpa

[Zartonk]

The real winner at the Olympics is ... Armenia

Thu 14 Aug 2008, 12:48 GMT

 

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - With a population of 1.3 billion some might argue that China should be leading the medal tally at the Olympics but the real winner is ... Armenia.

 

The Los Angeles Times has compiled a tongue-in-cheek list of winning nations based on medals per capita and six days into the August 8-24 Games the former Soviet republic of Armenia, with a population of nearly 3 million, leads with three bronze medals.

 

Georgia, with 4.6 million people, is in second place with two gold medals -- in men's judo and Greco-Roman wrestling -- and one bronze, while at home the nation is at loggerheads with Russia over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia.

 

Australia, with a population of 20.5 million, is standing firmly in third place with 16 medals, including five gold medals, three of them won by rising star of the pool Stephanie Rice.

 

Switzerland, with 7.6 million people, won a cluster of cycling medals to ride into fourth place, with Roger Federer still in the hunt for the men's tennis title.

 

The alternative medal table by the Los Angeles Times had the Bahamas, with a population of 300,000, winning the medal count at both the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the Athens Games in 2004.

 

Reuters

 

[Arpa]

The real winner at the Olympics is ... Armenia

Thu 14 Aug 2008, 12:48 GMT

 

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - With a population of 1.3 billion some might argue that China should be leading the medal tally at the Olympics but the real winner is ... Armenia.

 

The Los Angeles Times has compiled a tongue-in-cheek list of winning nations based on medals per capita and six days into the August 8-24 Games the former Soviet republic of Armenia, with a population of nearly 3 million, leads with three bronze medals.

 

Games in 2004.

 

Reuters

Yes, even though since then the count is 5 Bronze.

[Zartonk]

 

Its official!

 

We have the highest medals-per-athlete capita percentage with an excellent 25% (5 medalists out of 25 Olympians), not to forget the relatively tiny total population of Armenia.

 

And this, off course, is without counting the Armenian medalists representing a host of other nations!

 

Curiously enough, our 'upstairs' neighbor is in second place with their 2 golds. Successful athletic programs, or just Caucasian genes?

[Zartonk]

Yeah...we seem to be stuck in bronze mode.

[Zartonk]

He and the Swedish delegation could have lodged a formal protest in a civilized manner, instead of throwing a public tantrum and spoiling the awards ceremony for everyone else involved. This is unsportsmanlike behavior and is a shame for both the athlete and the country he represents.

 

Why should we show him support anyway? He certainly isn't representing Armenia, and any medals he wins won't benefit Armenia/Armenians whatsoever. Even if he was representing Armenia we still shouldn't support bad behavior. I'm glad they aren't calling him an Armenian and that all of the athletes who do represent Armenia have conducted themselves in a professional and respectful manner, even when they lost.

 

We should support him because he, based purely on his performance, was the winner, as enough bull**** has bastardized the once noble world of sports. Now, the coincidental fact that he happens to be an Armenian adds a lot to it, for me anyway.

 

Its hard to respect a professional organization when its agents visibly rob an individual of their deserving glory two Olympic games IN A ROW. Sportsmanship is a virtue, but so is incorruptibility.

[Zartonk]

Artur Ayvazian, gold medal, shooting, Ukraine.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news?slug...s&type=lgns

 

Lest we forget.

[shield-maiden]

Curiously enough, our 'upstairs' neighbor is in second place with their 2 golds. Successful athletic programs, or just Caucasian genes?

 

According to this article some of it is Brazilian genes:

 

 

With only four million people, Georgia tops The Daily Telegraph's alternative medal rankings, which divides a country's population by the number of gold medals.

 

Some of the Russian-Georgian animosity played out on the beach volleyball court Wednesday when the Georgian women trounced the Russians.

 

But Russia's Alexandra Shiryaeva pointed out that the Georgians aren't really Georgians.

 

"If they are Georgian, they certainly would be influenced (by the conflict), but in fact they are not," said her teammate Natalia Uryadova.

 

Until two years ago, the Georgians were Brazilians.

 

They've been to Georgia only twice -- once to obtain citizenship at the invitation of President Mikheil Saakshvili's wife, Sandra. Neither speaks the language, although one claims to know the national anthem.

 

They've adopted Georgian names -- Cristine Santanna is also Cristine Saka, Andrezza Chagas is Andrezza Rtvelo. Saka's the one who says she knows the national anthem.

 

After the match, Levan Akhvlediani, of the Georgian volleyball federation, commented: "It's very good for the Russians to go home."

[Arpa]

Yeah...we seem to be stuck in bronze mode.

Bronze is better than tin, or as the American saying goes- "Don't take any wooden nickels".

(Wooden nickels were given away by some banks as a promotion.)

An American adage, "Don't take any wooden nickels" is considered a lighthearted reminder to be cautious in one's dealings. This adage, too, precedes the use of wooden nickels as a replacement currency, suggesting that its origins lie not in the genuine monetary value of nickels but rather in their purely commemorative nature. However, such an interpretation should not be altogether ignored: gold-backed currency was in use in the United States until 1933, and 90% silver coins were still minted until 1965, 40% silver Kennedy half dollars were issued up to 1970.

===

Not to forget our "friends" to the left who with a popln. of over 70 million have only 3 miserlies.

Edited August 17, 2008 by Arpa

[Arpa]

Bronze is better than tin, or as the American saying goes- "Don't take any wooden nickels".

====

===

Where was my brain when I wrote the above?

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, while brass is an alloy of copper of zinc. The Ziljians are the experts in the art of the latter.

While the latter is known as “arouyr/արոյր” in the Armenian, bronze is known as “anagapghindz/անագապղինձ”. (note the sounds of “pghindz” and “bronze“).

When I alluded to “tin” above I was thinking in terms of “teeth/թիթեղ” which in some other cultures (tenekeh) is synonymous to “embarassment/humiliation”, while in the Armenian “titegh/թիթեղ(ն)” in fact means “thin sheet of metal”, even goldleaf.

In Armenian a sheet metal worker is known as “titeghagorts/թիթեղագործ”, “tenekeji_ian” in another language.

Why has “tenekeh”** come to mean such an insulting expression? Think of the sound that an empty kerosene container makes when struck. Does it remind you of “parak takar/պարապ տակար”??

** Note that “tenekeh” is none other than “tank/container”, like the gas tank in your car.

Also not to forget what has been said about cymbals;

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-id...mp;byte=5111026

1Cor.13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

---

Եթէ խօսեմ մարդկանց լեզուները եւ հրեշտակներինը, բայց սէր չունենամ, կը նմանուեմ մի պղնձի, որ հնչում է, կամ՝ ծնծղաների, որ ղօղանջում են

Edited August 17, 2008 by Arpa

[PKinLA]

Hi Everyone. I just joined this forum and I have been so impressed with the intelligent, scholarly posts I've read.

 

Does anyone know the political background to the Swedish Armenian wrestler Ara Abrahamian throwing down his medal? I heard it had something to do with one of the judges being Italian but nothing immediately popped up on google.

Edited August 18, 2008 by PKinLA

[koko]

how did it go for Biurakn Hakhverdian ??

[Anoushik]

Hi Everyone. I just joined this forum and I have been so impressed with the intelligent, scholarly posts I've read.

Welcome to Hyeforum!

[nairi]

how did it go for Biurakn Hakhverdian ??

 

Holland made it to the semi-finals. They'll be facing Hungary (to whom they lost in the first round..).

[Zartonk]

Hi Everyone. I just joined this forum and I have been so impressed with the intelligent, scholarly posts I've read.

 

Does anyone know the political background to the Swedish Armenian wrestler Ara Abrahamian throwing down his medal? I heard it had something to do with one of the judges being Italian but nothing immediately popped up on google.

 

Hi there, welcome to HyeForum!

 

The controversy behind the incident is that a Swiss-Italian referee granted the medal to an Italian athlete in the sport whose international federation is currently presided over by an Italian.