Post: #1

Every four years it's the same story. Mexican oficials have to explain why Mexico performed very poorly in the Olympic Games, what policies failed and how a country of up to 110+ million people (the 30+ living in the USA are not counted here) is far behind an athletic super power like tiny Cuba. Well, it seems that this time we have found a reason for so many failures. It happens that female athletes are more interested in entertaining American male counterparts than doing their best in competitions. Check out Mexican swimmer María Fernanda González (flashing orange bath suit) entertaining both Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps in London. I wonder if American male athletes can't have their fun inside their own delegation.

Post: #2

Just comparing Mexico to Cuba, I'll put my two cents in. Cuba tends to dominate Mexico every year in at least one sport, boxing. That's because Cuba doesn't let their fighters turn professional even when they're no longer in the age range that amateur boxers traditionally represent, which means that they are essentially pitting men who should be elite professionals against basically kids who don't have nearly as much experience. Plus most top Mexican boxers turn pro when they're 15 or 16 which limits the field. So that explains why Cuba dominates them in boxing.

As for other sports, I think that Mexico just has much less of an emphasis on amateur sports programs than other countries. I don't have facts to support this, it just feels that way. Maybe you can answer this in more detail with concrete facts?

Post: #3

Looks to me like she's trying to distract the competition. Swimming with a hard-on creates drag. It could also act like a rudder, and steer them into another lane, disqualifying. I call foul!

Post: #4

(07-25-2012 11:16 AM)rlongo924 Wrote:  Just comparing Mexico to Cuba, I'll put my two cents in. Cuba tends to dominate Mexico every year in at least one sport, boxing. That's because Cuba doesn't let their fighters turn professional even when they're no longer in the age range that amateur boxers traditionally represent, which means that they are essentially pitting men who should be elite professionals against basically kids who don't have nearly as much experience. Plus most top Mexican boxers turn pro when they're 15 or 16 which limits the field. So that explains why Cuba dominates them in boxing.

As for other sports, I think that Mexico just has much less of an emphasis on amateur sports programs than other countries. I don't have facts to support this, it just feels that way. Maybe you can answer this in more detail with concrete facts?

This is pretty much on point. Cuba has always had great pride in its sports academies. They identify promising athletes from a very young age, and start instruction early - they probably modeled themselves after the Soviets of an earlier era in that regard, as well as other European nations and also China. They were particularly proud of their boxing program, which at one point was completely dominant (not so much anymore). One of the greatest boxers of the 70s and 80s, Teofilo Stevenson, passed away recently. Their baseball program still produces great players, some of whom defect more and more regularly to play in the majors here.

Post: #5

Ok, I'm just going to go ahead and say it.... Cubans are half black! That's partially why they dominate Mexico in sports.