November 20, 2005

• Seems that pretty much anyone could be seventh in world bobsled championships,no? The guy who placed eighth said the exact same thing. It's definitely the cash - not that I'd know from experience, mind you.
• He doesn't have a job, and has lots of money. If that were you, you could be on top of Mt Everest, do the Iditarod, whathaveyou. None of this takes exceptional athletic ability, even black belts are rather common; it takes dedication and discipline but it aint rare. Monaco is very small, I'm sure if you knew how to bobsleigh with any proficiency, you'd be able to get on their Olympic team!
• So, how is a bobsledding medal a prerequisite for ruling a place the size of NYC's central park? So long as he, or trusted advisors, have some business sense, he'll probably do ok. If he doesn't at least have a proper heir, the principality wil revert to France. But he and his sisters strike me as a sad generation of Grimaldis. This old, gossip ridden, site talking about the family struck me as both funny and poignant.
• Seriously, I beat Contra twice in a row when I was fourteen... bobsledding and fucking judo? Nature vs. nurture should be more like N&N since it's an interaction.
• i think what's remarkable is that he has bothered to achieve anything, no matter how underwhelming. people are just surprised he hasn't spent his life wenching and shooting peasant on his country estate. > Seems that pretty much anyone could be seventh in world bobsled championships,no? well, i think your pilot has to be placed within the top 30 or so internationally to get invited, and after that your team has to beat 20 or so other teams, but yeah.
• A well-aimed kick will defeat any practitioner of judo, no matter how many black belts he or she has. Don't believe me, try it at home (but not on Chuck Norris, who knows other martial arts, too, and will kick your arse seven ways each Sunday).
• Did someone say Bobsled?? ...sorry I was napping.
• Those sports in which winning or losing is determined by an increment of a second are not ones I can take seriously, they seem more like "how lucky/unlucky today am I?" contests and little more. Where the condition/grade of one's equipment becomes a main consideration in winning or losing seems altogether to detract from the attainment of any athletic skills whatsoever by the competitor. Believe bobsledding is also one of those so-called sports. Maybe I'm a cynic, but pushing while running, jumping into a seat, and leaning to either side seem hardly demanding enough skills to justify a participant's being called an athlete or an activity's being called a sport.
• roryk has nailed one aspect of it; born into wealth and privelege, any meaningful accomplishment is an effort. People who are underwhelmed by this ouht to remember that Paris Hilton could be considered a high achiever compared to many of her friends, who lead even more worthless lives. As far as, say, pulling down a dan grading in Judo goes, you can look at the New Zealand grading here, which is pretty much in line with the rest of the world. Short story: minimum of several years continual practising Judo, competition points, and a bunch of theory. It's not that hard, in the sense that any person prepared to get into decent physical shape and spend a good amount of time practising and competing could do it. It does require a serious level of commitment, which takes us back to roryk's point. If you want a different perspective on bobsledding to a bunch of pooh-poohing geeks, you could do a bit of research, or just watch the episode of Top Gear where a bobsled outruns a professionally driven Mitsi Evo down a rally track/bobsled run combo. Speeds can reach 150 km/h. I doubt most people here would have the balls to run down an ice track at that pace, which is a germaine point: the difficulty of the sorts of achievements noted here don't suddenly change because you're rich. You can afford coaches and time to focus on them, but at the end of the day, you're perched on a sled at 150 km/h. If you fall off, it hurts. To be the 7th in the world, you still have to beat out thousands of other teams. To be honest, squid, your post tells us more about how clueless a bunch of underaccomplished geeks are about how difficult getting to 7th best in the world at more or less anything is. Skrik: I have a better idea. Why don't you try it with a black belt, and video the results. I'm sure it would be amusing. For the rest of us.
• let's put skirk in the ring with Chuck!!! /prepares to eat some blood-splattered popcorn!
• To be seventh in the world in any contest where the judging is not subjective (i.e. open to bribes) seems to me to be a pretty good accomplishment. So his bobsled record impresses me more than the judo. I guess I'm also going by the Olympic seal of approval...if anyone can excel at it, it's unlikely to be an Olympic sport to begin with.
• Basically, bobsledding's about speed, measured in increments of a second, about winds and crosswinds, about methods of reducing friction and wind resistance, and of course about how much money a team has to invest in the all-important equipment. So I see it as more concerned with engineering issues than athletic skills.
• The luge impresses me. That's some scary balls to the wall action. To be one of the winners on a bobsled team only requires that you excell at being ballast, which is what royalty is now a days, ballast.
• I think a really interesting event would be to put all people that proclaim themselves sledding "athletes" onto a really fast sledding track which ends with a ramp that directs the launch toward a grid-pattern of razorwire. Whomever can avoid being cubed midflight really is an "athlete". The other remains are fed to cattle for the upcoming summer event: outrun the man-eating stampede in concrete-caked gumboots.
• StoryBored: Judo's an Olympic sport too. While your Kata is subjective, your ability to chuck someone on the ground, pounce on 'em, and choke 'em unconcious isn't.
• stolen from wikipedia "In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco clarifies that if there are no heirs to carry on the dynasty, the Principality will remain an independent nation rather than revert to the French. Monaco's military defence, however, is still the responsibility of France."
• The rich are different.
• Fes is right. My rich, posh friends (I do have some) can drink and drug the rest of us plebs under the table (apart from me, cos I'm hard). We put it down to years of good breeding, rather than generations of dodgy meals and working down t'pit. I'm probably wrong though. Sorry, M'lud. Shall I clean your horse's peanut now?
• Fes was quoting Scott Fitzgerald.
• Well in that case, Fes is an empty vessel and FSF was right! Look at the size of that diamond!
• Judo's an Olympic sport too... Yes, but our princeling didn't finish 7th in the world in that sport. Now if he had, that would be less controversial than bobsledding I'd wager.
• All that royal inbreeding can cause problems. Pop Albert in the nose and well see if he's got hemophilia.
• Careful though, he might try to hit you with his black belt.
• "just watch the episode of Top Gear where a bobsled outruns a professionally driven Mitsi Evo down a rally track/bobsled run combo." Yeah, and wasn't one of the seats in the sled taken by a bobsledding virgin? You don't really help your arguement that bobsledding is hard, do you?
• Well, if it's so easy, Keith, show us how it's done at the Olympics.
• Bobsledding is significantly more "atletic" than many other so-called sports that have been given the Olympic blessing. The initial push is key to success, and steering and braking must be near flawless for a team to win at the world-class level. Does anyone know if Albert steers or brakes his team's sled? Or is he in the middle seats, which contribute to the starting push, but are just ballast for the rest of the ride? In any event, 7th in the world is impressive.
• well, albert formed the monaco national bobsleigh team, so it would've been churlish of them to exclude him. from what i understand, he competes on four-man sleighs, and he's neither the pilot nor the brakeman. to place 7th in the world, he didn't have to beat off thousands of competitors; he and his team had to beat 20 or so other teams.
• "Well, if it's so easy, Keith, show us how it's done at the Olympics." If I had the good genetic fortune of being born euro royalty, I would. Mind you, I'd fancy myself more a an Americas Cup Syndicate head if I had the means. Being a olympic calibre bobsledder is merely a way to score tail in Zurmat all winter.
• ..he didn't have to beat off thousands of competitors... Yeah, he paid someone else to do it.
• That's so...insolent, InsolentChimp.
• Again, I have to ask what difference a bobsled medal makes in his ability to rule his principality. He may have no ability for ruling, or he may turn out to be a winnah, but does any of you have to have won the NYC marathon or to have participated in World Cup soccer finals to be successful in your career?
• Happy finish?
• This story merely cements my deeply-held belief that I could have accomplished a LOT if I hadn't been, you know, working for a living for the last 15 years. That's why I need some kind of grant, see. It would benefit you all in the long run. If you think about it, it's really in your best interest to send me money. Come on, people, cough it up! The 6th place spot in the world bobsledding race championship... medal... thingie, whatever... awaits! GO, TEAM MONKEYFILTER!
• the bobsleigh race is, usually, won and lost with that first ~50m approach run. (remember the 1988 jamaican team was composed of world-class 100m sprinters, not pasty internet dorks.) the rest of the race seems to rely on a little technique, muscle memory, and good luck. sounds a lot like the steeple chase or pole vault to me. so, i give him props for that. sure, these types of sports also have some (cost prohibitive) barriers to entry... good access to training facilities, equipment, coaching, etc... nonetheless, i think the field is still pretty competitive at that level. i guess i would be more impressed if he got 7th place for judo, which is pretty hardcore imho... but, hey, not every world leader can be as cunning or powerful as turkmenbashi. Is it just me, or would most anyone be able to achieve Albert's psuedo-accomplishments. i think it is just you. or rather, your extrapolation might not be totally accurate; i.e., you're a big guy and seem more or less fit. and you probably play(ed) a few sports. so maybe you'd do alright if you have a go at it. but i think you are underestimating the number of other people that could even finish a 50m race w/o having to stop for a cig or big mac, let alone the number of people who could do so competitively. dunno about the paris-dakar rally, though. how did he fare, there?