Have We Talked About Elizabeth Swaney Yet?

yah, it was all blocked through legit means but one of my buds did it through a proxy so I finally saw it. The run wasn't what made the clip, it was the commentators not really knowing how to pitch it. Elizibeth is going up the right wall for a nice... trying to get over top of the wall... going for a safety.... opting for another... just cruising up to the top of the wall, showing the judges she can make it through this halfpipe clean...

I really have to give it to the commentators for holding it together and almost sounding like they weren't actually thinking "WTF?!"

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Originally Posted by StuntCok

yah, it was all blocked through legit means but one of my buds did it through a proxy so I finally saw it. The run wasn't what made the clip, it was the commentators not really knowing how to pitch it. Elizibeth is going up the right wall for a nice... trying to get over top of the wall... going for a safety.... opting for another... just cruising up to the top of the wall, showing the judges she can make it through this halfpipe clean...

I really have to give it to the commentators for holding it together and almost sounding like they weren't actually thinking "WTF?!"

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The commentators I thought did a great job with her.

She's interesting, in that she's better than probably 90% of the ski instructors at many areas. She clearly worked a little. She seems slightly "off" and probably had a very odd upbringing, and didn't do herself any favors by agreeing to be interviewed. Why she didn't get just that little bit better to look a bit more credible probably is part of the odd upbringing.

But she's a pull-up machine

Regarding what people are saying about inclusion, if she had actually grown up in Hungary I would respect her more in the spirit of small country representation, but I am having a very hard time seeing this as anything other than loophole jumping (figuratively, not literally; she can't ski that well). Is she really interested in halfpipe skiing or did she just do that event as a means to an end? I know she can do what she wants if it's technically possible, but I grew up in a small Asian country without any competitive trick skiers and if I was offered the same opportunity as her with my current ability level I would decline it in a heartbeat. I might change my mind, however, if I also had the opportunity to do intensive training camps every season until 2022 and could at least do inverts by then.

I was thinking about this while watching parallel gs snowboarding this weekend. As far as I can tell, the US parallel gs snowboard scene consists of about 4-8 people. I honestly think if I had 200 grand to pay the bills I could say fuck it for 4 years and be on the world cup circuit.

Or skeleton, luge or bobsled where there are realistically only a handful of places to train in the entire world and require a large cash outlay for little return.

How is what this chick did any different than some of these obscure sports? Is it because she country shopped and got into a more mainstream event? I think if most of us are honest 99% of olympic athletes are loaded to begin with, some are just better at hiding it behind some puff piece.

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Originally Posted by StuntCok

yah, it was all blocked through legit means but one of my buds did it through a proxy so I finally saw it. The run wasn't what made the clip, it was the commentators not really knowing how to pitch it. Elizibeth is going up the right wall for a nice... trying to get over top of the wall... going for a safety.... opting for another... just cruising up to the top of the wall, showing the judges she can make it through this halfpipe clean...

I really have to give it to the commentators for holding it together and almost sounding like they weren't actually thinking "WTF?!"

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yeah the commentators were so deadpan i didnt know if i was watching the broadcast being serious or someone mocking her playing it straight

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Originally Posted by GhostofSeasonsPast

The commentators I thought did a great job with her.

She's interesting, in that she's better than probably 90% of the ski instructors at many areas. She clearly worked a little. She seems slightly "off" and probably had a very odd upbringing, and didn't do herself any favors by agreeing to be interviewed. Why she didn't get just that little bit better to look a bit more credible probably is part of the odd upbringing.

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beyond generous

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Originally Posted by mbillie1

always wondered where people doing eg nordic biathlon spend their hours training

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World class level XC skiers and biathletes train 12 months a year. My bud's daughter, a 2-time Olympic team member, trained with other US Ski Team members and national class biathletes on a training course on a glacier in Alaska throughout the summer. Sweden, Norway, Finland and other countries have year round XC training facilities, some on glaciers, some indoors. Where there's no snow, serious XC skiers train on roller skis.

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Originally Posted by AdironRider

I was thinking about this while watching parallel gs snowboarding this weekend. As far as I can tell, the US parallel gs snowboard scene consists of about 4-8 people. I honestly think if I had 200 grand to pay the bills I could say fuck it for 4 years and be on the world cup circuit.

Or skeleton, luge or bobsled where there are realistically only a handful of places to train in the entire world and require a large cash outlay for little return.

How is what this chick did any different than some of these obscure sports? Is it because she country shopped and got into a more mainstream event? I think if most of us are honest 99% of olympic athletes are loaded to begin with, some are just better at hiding it behind some puff piece.

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I can certainly vouch that in many countries it isn’t the best athlete that makes it to the Olympics. It is the combination of skill and funding. Parents, state, but in Canada, you definitely need parental support on board. A lot of kids on the National Alpine development team have to fundraiser $ 40,000 per year via sponsorship, some of which goes to Alpine Canada, plus fund flights, in some cases equipment and race entry on the NorAm and Europa Cup circuits. Can get up to 75-100k or more per year. The costs for kids before they can get sponsored, at the FIS level, with equipment, race fees, hotel, transportation, etc, I have heard 40-50k for a 15 year old kid. Per year.

One of the perks to living in a former Olympic city like Calgary, Salt Lake, or even Lake Placid is they frequently keep the venues. Here in Calgary the Oval for long track speed skating still has some of the fastest ice in the world. At Canada Olympic Park kids get involved in Nordic skiing, Nordic combined, biathon (pellet guns at first), ski jumping, freestyle skiing, ski racing, luge, bobsleigh, mountain biking. All kinds of things. My kids all ski raced, two did freestyle skiing, they all did multi sport camps for fun where they tried ski jumping, luge, biathlon, mountain biking and a bunch of other stuff over a two week camp.

As for the subject of the OP, I am not sure how I feel about it. She finagled a loophole to get to the Olympics, somewhat similar it Eddie the Eagle and the Jamaican Bobsleigh team. Neither of which were really qualified to participate in their spirts, tho Eddie did have to get certain position in competition. Not sure how the Jamaicans qualified.

There’s a biathlon course near Mazama, and shooting and x-country skiing are easy to train for.


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Originally Posted by mbillie1

^ yeah I always wondered where people doing eg nordic biathlon spend their hours training.

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As with everything it is location, location, location.

My HS had a nordic ski team of about 20 kids- all of whom did biathlon (although some focused on biathlon and some on xc). We didn't have a football team.

Naturally, my little town (think 3,000 people) has produced some high level nordic skiers/biathletes and almost 0 decent football players. (I say almost as one of my buddies ended up as a place kicker on a small US college's team- long story).

But when you added those folks from places like that all across Canada the US etc - it adds up to a fair number. I mean it is nowhere like Norway, Germany or France where there is biathlon on the TV each weekend and 80,000 folks can show up to watch a race. People crowd the stadium, and camp out along the course.

The thing is - it's an awesome sport to watch and an amazing sport to try. If you ever get an opportunity give it a shot. (HAA - see what I did there?)

I have seen six year olds in a half pipe do better than she did after four years of training. Yea she qualified because women are not competing on a WC circuit. At least Eddie had to meet a minimum standard for ski jumping. If they had a minimum score that had to be met she would have never been allowed to compete. For example if you can't generate a score within 30% of the top finisher in a WC event you can't compete.

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Originally Posted by bigdude2468

. If they had a minimum score that had to be met she would have never been allowed to compete. For example if you can't generate a score within 30% of the top finisher in a WC event you can't compete.

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See that is why I didn't think that poorly of the guys from Tonga etc. competing in Nordic. I think, and stand to be corrected, that you have to get a certain number of FIS points to qualify, and FIS points are awarded based on your time compared to the top three times in a FIS race.

Sure the standard could be higher, but there is a standard.

Yup, there was a standard and she worked a plan to meet it. She met the standard only because less than a quorum (top 24?) showed up or some crashed out, thus allowing her to get points, albeit very low scores, by merely finishing while standing up. She showed up at a bunch of events and amassed enough points to meet the standard. Some blame should go to the sanctioning body for creating a system under which she could amass enough points to qualify for the Olympics. If the fields are only 25 or 28 deep, and some of those are almost certain to crash out, why the fuck are points awarded through 24 places?

In sports with objective scoring, it's easier to set minimum standards. In track and field events, there are A and B standards. B standard gets you in if you're the only representative in the event from your nation. Meeting the A standard is necessary to compete in the Olympics as your nation's #2 or #3 athlete in an event. I believe that exceptions are occasionally made where a nation has no athletes meeting the A or B standard in any event, such that a nation does not go completely unrepresented -- kinda like how the XC skier from Tonga got in.

FTR, I'm not suggesting that Swaney's route to the Olympics is equivalent to that of the XC skiers from Mexico and Tonga. My point was that their performances are middle of the pack weekend citizen racer level and their inclusion in a world class field is as out of place as Swaney's inclusion in a world class field. The difference, of course, is that she is an American who gamed the system to get into the Olympics as a Hungarian athlete vs. the Tongan and Mexican XC skiers who are actually residents of Tonga and Mexico.

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Originally Posted by My Pet Powder Goat

But she's a pull-up machine

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Must have been her boot alignment holding her back then.

Also I think it’s inspiring to hear about stories of people from poor countries located in the world where they would never see a snow get stoked about snow sports and try it. Stories often include trouble they go through to obtain equipment, travel to where the snow is, and go home to spread the sports to locals.

She’s a rich girl from America spending her parents money to buy Olympian label. She probably sat down for a week looking though all the sports and what it took to get to Olympic and picked half pipe skiing. Nothing inspiring about her or her story.


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So Sara Schleper marries a Mexican, gets dual citizenship and competes in the women's GS and Super G. She DNF's the GS and finishes 41 out of 43 in the Super G. As a point of reference the last finisher in the GS finished 30 seconds behind the winner. In a sport that losing by five seconds is a lifetime 30 seconds would represent light years. I just don't get the point of "representing" a country when you are not competitive and game the system to obtain eligibility, at least Eddie was a Brit.

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Originally Posted by bigdude2468

So Sara Schleper marries a Mexican, gets dual citizenship and competes in the women's GS and Super G. She DNF's the GS and finishes 41 out of 43 in the Super G. As a point of reference the last finisher in the GS finished 30 seconds behind the winner. In a sport that losing by five seconds is a lifetime 30 seconds would represent light years. I just don't get the point of "representing" a country when you are not competitive and game the system to obtain eligibility, at least Eddie was a Brit.

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She splits time between Vail and Mexico, so has both legit athletic credentials and a strong connection to Mexico. If her weak showing hurts her rich sunglasses deal, so be it. I think she is ok in that regard, because I will go out on a limb that she doesn't have a rich deal. Why she would break retirement in that way is a good personal question, but maybe her friends and family thought it was fun. There have been lots of much weaker alpine skiers at the Games. Some of whom probably couldn't get any air in the pipe.

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Originally Posted by GhostofSeasonsPast

She splits time between Vail and Mexico, so has both legit athletic credentials and a strong connection to Mexico. If her weak showing hurts her rich sunglasses deal, so be it. I think she is ok in that regard, because I will go out on a limb that she doesn't have a rich deal. Why she would break retirement in that way is a good personal question, but maybe her friends and family thought it was fun. There have been lots of much weaker alpine skiers at the Games. Some of whom probably couldn't get any air in the pipe.

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My point is other sports have qualifying standards, why not Alpine Skiing?

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Originally Posted by bigdude2468

My point is other sports have qualifying standards, why not Alpine Skiing?

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Alpine skiing has qualifying standards.

For people who are not entirely competitive, they try to keep them from getting killed, but allow them to be merely survivors. For a party, which the Olympics sort of are, this to me makes sense.

As far as allowing viewers the chance to say that some party goers should never have been invited, NBC seems to have been more than willing to provide that social safety valve, as well. I am not particularly religious, much less Catholic, but God help the NBC staff trying to skewer not just those who struggled in the pipe, but anyone whose grandpa or sister maybe passed away within recent memory. Father...

Important Swaney update:

She's training for American Ninja Warrior.

Come for the profile and stay for the pullup jokes:

https://dh1rvgpokacch.cloudfront.net...52501728-3.jpg

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Originally Posted by jorion

Important Swaney update:

She's training for American Ninja Warrior.

Come for the profile and stay for the pullup jokes:

https://dh1rvgpokacch.cloudfront.net...52501728-3.jpg

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I couldn’t make it through that entire piece of garbage, but who ever that “journalist” is should be stabbed in the liver. The Swaney of journalists if you will.


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There are people who work harder on doing nothing than they would actually doing something. She could win that!

I'm here to post in this very important thread.. Really people, why even waste data on this topic? Spend the effort trying to change the rules and entry criteria if you give a fuck about stuff like this happening.

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Originally Posted by jorion

Important Swaney update:

She's training for American Ninja Warrior.

Come for the profile and stay for the pullup jokes:

https://dh1rvgpokacch.cloudfront.net...52501728-3.jpg

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What's better, the fact that it looks like she is doing a calf raise to help her up, that it looks like someone lifted her to that position or that even if it was a legit chin up, she would have started with the bar at her eye level?

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Originally Posted by GoldenBC

What's better, the fact that it looks like she is doing a calf raise to help her up, that it looks like someone lifted her to that position or that even if it was a legit chin up, she would have started with the bar at her eye level?

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I would have not noticed that. I was thinking of using her name in some way for a trivia team name if we had really gone out this year, Liz S fan club or something like that ... that or something that Greg would have a problem saying like " I want Brian C to spoon with me"

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Originally Posted by SumJongGuy

I'm here to post in this very important thread.. Really people, why even waste data on this topic? Spend the effort trying to change the rules and entry criteria if you give a fuck about stuff like this happening.

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Oh, I’m entirely in favor of people unintentionally making fools of themselves.

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Originally Posted by GoldenBC

What's better, the fact that it looks like she is doing a calf raise to help her up, that it looks like someone lifted her to that position or that even if it was a legit chin up, she would have started with the bar at her eye level?

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Also the strange half smile and blank stare on her face reminds me of how people who have been lobotomized are depicted.

The only reservation I have about making fun of her is that there might be something wrong with her and I’m laughing at a handicapped person. But then I figure that most likely she’s just another super entitled Bay Area person.

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Originally Posted by flowing alpy

she won’t get past the first obstacle

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Totally. She'll be one of those 'competitors' they spend about ten minutes on giving her life story and then she lasts about two seconds on the course.