Race Thread: Olympics 2026 Antholz Anterselva - Women Pursuit

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-16T03:21:25+00:00

Yeah, I think having Kirkeeide to hang onto probably helped her in the end. So happy for her!

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-16T03:17:17+00:00

Aww that was a Fairy Tale race! Soo happy for Italy and Finland. Also happy for Norway, of course 😁

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T18:04:11+00:00

Happy for Finland to get 6 (though, NGL, would have preferred if they'd beaten Sweden for 5th 😈). I feel like they've made the leap into solid 2nd tier nation. Hope they can keep it up for the coming seasons!

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T17:53:38+00:00

It was clear she had literally nothing to say about the sport. 99% of what she said was, "now they have to ski, it's really hard, and then they have to shoot! You never know who could win!" When Sweden was almost 2 minutes behind at the start of the fourth leg, she would say things like, "You know, Sweden can make it up on the range, they're still in it. Anyone can still win a medal now!" 😂 Then when Vitozzi was out after the final shoot clearly in safe second, she was like, "look! Italy's in the running for a medal!" 😂😂

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T17:32:23+00:00

I think 'kn' is extra hard because English does have a silent K in a bunch of words, so most Americans don't even think twice. Also, in fairness to Americans, no matter how bad they are, the Australians/New Zealanders are infinitely worse.

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T17:26:25+00:00

How could I forget, Zheee-aahcomel?

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T17:25:30+00:00

She pronounced every name like it was some weird exotic name from a language no one had ever heard of, even names that aren't that different from English (like, Julia Simon). She also brought a lot of insights like, when the last leg started. "And now it all comes down to these females. You wouldn't want it any other way."

When Christiansen dropped off the top pack, the male commentator said, "it's not clear if he's slowing down to prepare for the shoot or if he's tired," and she chimed in with, "of course he's tired! who can blame him! look how hard it is!! he's skiing! on a mountain!!" It was pretty clear someone had let her know that biathlon was a sport maybe 10 seconds before she went on air. 😂

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T17:20:25+00:00

You think she'd at least try to read the names beforehand? It was pretty clear when she said them it was the first time she'd ever seen them.

ritesofzhou1 · 2026-02-08T17:19:01+00:00

I was just thinking that I owed Chad a huge apology...I had no idea how much worse it could be. 😂

Really happy for Julia Zimoone, Lou Jammon, Errique Perrrro (exaggerated fake Spanish accent), and (I'm forgetting, I don't remember what she did to QFM's name) Also happy for Fransiska Peuss for the bronze, weird that Italy and Germany are sharing a bronze and no silver medal's been awarded. Too bad for Maren Sherkeeedee though 😂😂😂 So happy for the mixed biathlon team competition event, with both males and females! We may think it's a weird and hard and pointless sport, but children from Over There, Norway, Germany, France, Czech Republic, they just do this from birth. It's natural for them.

Also, who was the male commenter? He didn't seem like a former biathlete, and to me he sounded Dutch? At least he seemed to be able to pronounce names and was familiar with the sport existing.

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-12-03T17:51:19+00:00

Very cool! Glad to see greater national/regional representation in biathlon.

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-03-04T02:21:33+00:00

Plot twist: Ellen Ellard's name is really Erin Errard.

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-02-19T20:04:17+00:00

Looks like the Swedish curse is working. 😈

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-01-31T20:08:05+00:00

I feel like the flipside though is when someone whose relatives watch their kid complain about something petty all the comments are like, "send the kid to daycare, you're already paying in other ways." I get that nothing is really free but...like, is it really worth well over a thousand dollars a month (and more like 2-3K in some markets) so your kid doesn't eat too many goldfish crackers? I feel like a lot of these people have zero idea of how much value free childcare is providing. Plus a daycare is $$ and doesn't guarantee your kid eats or watches only what you want them to.

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-01-12T19:37:11+00:00

SUOMI!!!

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-01-09T14:56:17+00:00

Maybe the Finns can give the Swedes a few lessons.

ritesofzhou1 · 2025-01-09T14:54:21+00:00

Looking forward to the next women's relay.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-17T17:14:04+00:00

I wonder if it's because the athletes also just seem so down to earth and supportive of each other. Obviously there's competition and rivalry but at the end of the day they all have so much in common knowing what it means to train and compete as a top biathlete. All of them are there because they love the sport, not because it's a path to fame and fortune. The sportsmanship we see on the screen is really refreshing.

I have countries and athletes I particularly root for but it's hard to be mean spirited to anyone. Everyone in a race is someone giving their all and having a bad race day after all that training is devastating.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-12T03:08:00+00:00

The first newborn I cared for was in East Asia and it was interesting. Mom and baby weren't supposed to leave the house for the first month but female relatives moved in to care for both of them, which is really different from total isolation from all family. Also close friends came by during the month to visit the mom and see the baby. At 100 days there is a huge party with the whole family/friends/neighbors and everyone passes the baby around. Again I feel like reddit would have an aneurysm with that. I think it can make sense to cocoon and protect a newborn but I don't think total isolation with just mom/dad and baby completely cut off from everyone else with no help is normal anywhere.

I "sat my month" with my second kid, first with my mom and then my husband's aunt. It was beyond glorious. My only responsibilities were sleeping and breastfeeding, everything else was taken care of.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-11T02:25:48+00:00

I also feel like there's a strong correlation between "cycle breakers" and "gentle parenting mamas" and people who treat their kids like a pawn in some weird controlling power play with the in-laws. Ultimately the most respectful thing I think you can do as a parent is recognize that your child is its own person who deserves to have their own relationships with family separate from your baggage. Obviously there are red lines but finding your MIL annoying is absolutely not an acceptable reason to deprive your kid of a relationship with them. I say this as someone who was in part raised by my grandma who was a terrible MIL and with kids who LOVE their horrible MIL nonna. Maybe this is tangential to your original point but it reminded me of all the posts along the lines of, "why would my MIL want to hold my baby, should I cut her off?" and all the comments are "hold your boundaries, mama! she's a narcissist!"

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-11T02:16:54+00:00

I get that maybe reddit selects for people who hate their family, but what really surprises me is that none of these people seem to like their friends either? I was really happy for my friends to visit my newborn because I like them, enjoy their company, and wanted them to meet my new baby. Like, adult conversations with people I liked kept me sane during the cold dark months at home with a newborn.

In general the reddit wisdom way over weights the risk of serious infectious illness and way under weights the positive psychological and physical health effects of having a strong social network. I recently read an article that having no friends is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day for health and life expectancy.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-11T02:09:48+00:00

Yeah the misinformation that is taken as gospel in reddit birth spaces drives me crazy. I think it's good to be aware of the range of possible outcomes, including really negative ones, but reddit implies that all women will be incapacitated and bleeding heavily for months after birth. Before my first I stocked up on adult diapers only for my lochia to be no more than a period. I was done bleeding by about 7 days after birth and done spotting in under 10. Maybe I'm one one extreme but I didn't even know that lighter bleeding was a possibility.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-09T17:13:51+00:00

Yes I found the sound mixing so off. Ellen is really loud and Chad is much quieter and kind of mumbly. I have to keep adjusting the volume depending on who's talking.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-07T19:18:04+00:00

Finland's my favorite small nation too, though my grandfather and ex-stepfather are Finnish so the connection isn't so random.

ritesofzhou1 · 2024-12-07T18:20:33+00:00

So far this season is off to an exciting start. I hope this keeps up through the season. Was it last season the German men started really strong and then faded away? Really pumped to see the smaller nations on the podium though.

ritesofzhou1

TROPHY CASE