Triathlon was one of my favorite events to watch on the now-defunct Olympic Channel. They had all kinds of variations on the event. I love the idiosyncrasies like when they had to change their shoes, or how they had to put their helmet in a box or else risk a penalty. They now do a mixed relay which adds to what was already a fun sport.

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Okay, I confess. I hardly watch synchro, or what is now called “artistic swimming.” I’ve seen some of it from time to time, but it doesn’t capture my attention the way gymnastics does. Even so, I’m impressed with the athletes and their skills. They deserve more attention, and yes, that includes from me.

Projections:

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As fun as skateboarding is, I was surprised that it didn’t get very much screen time in Tokyo. Maybe it had something to do with the pandemic, but I hardly saw any skateboarding three years ago, so I plan to make it a point to watch it this time around. I have no idea how the scoring works in this sport, so I’m just going off world rankings in making my projections. I also had no idea how good Japan is at this sport. They are amazing! This might be the chance for Japan to clean up in the gold department.

Projections:

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I’m not going to sit here and tell you I know all about sailing. But I will tell you that sailing is definitely an underrated sport. Having watched it during the Olympics several times, there’s so much going on out there that it’s a lot more complex than simply having your sail at the right angle. I don’t know how the sailors do it. They deserve props for mastering a complex sport. My medal projections are based off the finishes in the world championships. I honestly couldn’t tell you much more than that.