Now I only watch gymnastics during the Olympics, that's it, stopped watching religiously once the Soviet Union dismantled and the best gymnastics powerhouse was no more, though there were still gymnasts from that era that lasted until about the year 2000.
It's changed way too much for me, lost everything that made it great, gymnasts going for the hardest elements with the best technique & perfection, no matter the cost. Ah, memories....
Me too! I used to be a pretty hard core gymnastics fan but around 2002 I finally gave up. The break-up of the Soviet Union was a big change, and then in 1996 they got rid of compulsories and upped the difficulty requirements significantly. Since then it's been all about the difficulty and the things that made gymnastics beautiful and enjoyable to watch have been lost. Sad
I watched about 10 minutes of this special and found the gymnastics routines in there to be kind of, um, :disapp:. It was towards the end though so maybe it was better earlier on. And there was Joannie Rochette again - is she in every show there is?
Here's a better example of an exhibition gymnastics performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk7iZJwRfZs
And the gymnastics boards are saying too much skating and not enough gymnastics
Your post brought back so many memories, but we differ when it comes to difficulty, I stopped watching for that very reason, whereas you say it has become more difficult.
Sorry cannot quote easily with this ipad, but loved your post about former Olys in gymnastics, Nadine. I really thought Miller deserved a 10 esp. for her interesting and dazzling bars routine in96. Was never an overall fan of Zmeskal but I did like her Devil Went Down to GA floor and it was sad to see her fall apart at a few big events after being so solid at other events. But I enjoyed Shannon in both 92 and 96 though perhaps her peak was between the two Olys? And loved Podkepayeva and was happy for her all around title. And I did like the 96 US team, dawes and the rest, though I thought Strug was silly if she risked permanent injury on the unneeded vault, and Moceanu was a bit cutesy for me. Still, those were the days! ( s)