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February 19, 2010

Dinolympics

A reconstruction of Albertosaurus. From Wikipedia.

A reconstruction of Albertosaurus. From Wikipedia.

Last week kicked off the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, and as we all know Canada has some really fantastic dinosaur deposits. In fact, one of my favorite dinosaurs, the tyrannosaur Albertosaurus, hails from the province right next door to the one in which this year’s Olympics are being held. Maybe it is a bit of a stretch, but I can’t help but wonder which Olympic event Albertosaurus might excel at if it could compete.

I don’t imagine that curling or luge would allow Albertosaurus to make the best of its talents, and the biathalon might be dangerous since the other competitors would be packing heat, but if the dinosaur could pull it off I think Albertosaurus could deliver one of the most fantastic figure skating routines ever seen. The stride of Albertosaurus might give it an edge in the cross-country skiing event, too, although judges would have to make sure none of the other competitors mysteriously disappear.

Which Winter Olympic event would you like to see Albertosaurus compete in?

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8 Comments »

  1. Which Winter Olympic event would you like to see Albertosaurus compete in?

    Judge-eating.

  2. funny you should ask this question… it would almost seem you’ve been reading my blog.

    as both myself and my girlfriend (well okay, not quite girlfriend) Lillian the ALBERTOSAUR are currently at the Olympics, and our talent agent is trying to figure out some events for us to participate in… funny enough mostly the same events you’re listing! (convergent ideas are fun things eh)

    we’d love to organize some sort of a formal cooperation with Dinoasur Tracking on this poll, as next week we’ll be having the official 2010 Dinosaur Olympics over at the Tyrannosaur Chronicles. Expect some interesting competitors from around the world for it too!

    and as for the olympics themselves… GO WORLD, as long as everyone has fun!!!

  3. Roogs says:

    Figure skating, dur. It would win, and as a prize, get that goat from Jurassic Park.

  4. Albertonykus says:

    Why stop at Albertosaurus? There must be other dinosaurs that are potentially good at sports. (At the very least, they’re warm blooded, so there should few problems with the weather.)

    Traumador – Your blog is under “blogs we read” on the right, so there might be a connection with that! If not, let’s call it memetic convergence! (Not to mention I had a similar idea nearly a year ago: http://albertonykus.deviantart.com/art/Dinosaur-Games-122570640 )

  5. Amy says:

    Sorry, no matter how much prime time coverage it gets, curling just seems silly to me. The introduction of an Albertosaur would definitely spice things up.

  6. amphiox says:

    I think their forearm anatomy would make it somewhat difficult for Albertosaurs to curl competitively.

  7. jp says:

    Skeleton.

    Hehe.

  8. CrashBash says:

    If it tried curling, it’d probably fall flat on its face. If any dinosaur were to try curling, it’d probably have to be a hadrosaur, like Edmontosaurus, for example. Or maybe Austrolavenator, with its massive thumb claws…

    I can imagine it in a cross country event.

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