Men's and Ladies' Gymnastics

[snowflake]

Girls like crying, what can I say? I give them a pass. They're 14-18, still in high school. They're emotionally stunted because elite gymnastics is all they know. If they lose, it's completely devastating. The men are 20+ and have gone to college and have a bit of perspective.

I don't know how old they are, but both Powell and Tyson Gay cried after the 100 m final

Actually there has been a lot of crying at this olympics, both of sadness and of joy.

Felix Sanchez and Jenn Suhr cry tears of gold

Brigitte Foster-Hylton tripped on a hurdle and screamed-cried for a long time hammering on the ground like an angry child, rejecting her rivals comfort hugs.

Lots of material to make an emotional London OG video

Anyway what's wrong with crying? I find it a natural reaction after you have been under pressure mentally and physically for a log time.

Now women's beam

[janetfan]

I don't know how old they are, but both Powell and Tyson Gay cried after the 100 m final

Actually there has been a lot of crying at this olympics, both of sadness and of joy.

Felix Sanchez and Jenn Suhr cry tears of gold

Brigitte Foster-Hylton tripped on a hurdle and screamed-cried for a long time hammering on the ground like an angry child, rejecting her rivals comfort hugs.

Lots of material to make an emotional London OG video

Anyway what's wrong with crying? I find it a natural reaction after you have been under pressure mentally and physically for a log time.

Now women's beam

I think you are 100% right about this.

[SGrand]

To clarify what let's talk already wrote in his/her original post:

The translation of "летнее фигурное катание" is "summer figure skating."

And ... changing the subject - for those who had doubts about the sportsmanship of McKayla Maroney ‏@McKaylaMaroney, please read her tweets:

For anyone who thought I didn't want to hug Maria and Sandra that's not the case(: They are my friends, and I'm proud of them both!
6:15 PM - 6 Aug 12

I wasn't thinking straight and I totally forgot what to do, but don't worry.. I gave them both hugs after!! <3
6:21 PM - 6 Aug 12

Sportsmanship is so important to me and I hope you know i would never do that intentionally!! Please forgive me!!
6:24 PM - 6 Aug 12

This makes my eyes well up, to think this poor girl, who is a professional athlete and was expected to win gold by EVERYONE, is/was getting hammered by everyone for not hugging a fellow medallist, it's just sad. I know what I saw and what it looked like, and can totally see why there would be a reaction, but come on, we have no clue what is going through her mind at the time and everyone deals with circumstances differently all of the time (and if she is a poor sportsman, so be it, I can live with that, and it looks like she came around anyway). I have learned not to judge someone I have never met or know by only seeing them on TV. These athlete's compete under such immense pressure and the girls are girls, let them cry if they want, it's their time and they've worked their whole lives toward this, something I don't think a lot of us can really say. So let the men sulk too, whatever gets them through it, I'm sure I'd be devastated too and while I'd like to think I'd be like Sam was after his great vaults (was completely refreshing to see someone so supportive and enthusiastic!), I really have no idea how I'd act unless I was in those exact circumstances. Let's give them a break and just cheer for them all!

[snowflake]

Another change of medalists. Both with the same score. Congrats to Raisman sorry Ponor I think they should give divided bronze in the future. They do in wrestling.

Anyone from Netherlands here? Epke Zonderland horizontal bar gold Has it ever happened before? Great final.

[mskater93]

Raisman deserves one after the mess last week and the crappy way it was explained to her (by the media, NOT by FIG or American coaches who didn't know the answer), but sorry for Ponor

[demarinis5]

I don't follow Gymnastics but wanted to stop by to Congratulate Team USA on their Gold Medal also Congrats to Gabby Douglas for winning the AA.

Special shout out to Aly Raisman for an excellent floor exercise. My nephew attends Needham HS so all I have heard from him for the last
month has been Aly this and Aly that.

Congrats to all of the Medalists.

[Olympia]

This makes my eyes well up, to think this poor girl, who is a professional athlete and was expected to win gold by EVERYONE, is/was getting hammered by everyone for not hugging a fellow medallist, it's just sad. I know what I saw and what it looked like, and can totally see why there would be a reaction, but come on, we have no clue what is going through her mind at the time and everyone deals with circumstances differently all of the time (and if she is a poor sportsman, so be it, I can live with that, and it looks like she came around anyway). I have learned not to judge someone I have never met or know by only seeing them on TV. These athlete's compete under such immense pressure and the girls are girls, let them cry if they want, it's their time and they've worked their whole lives toward this, something I don't think a lot of us can really say. So let the men sulk too, whatever gets them through it, I'm sure I'd be devastated too and while I'd like to think I'd be like Sam was after his great vaults (was completely refreshing to see someone so supportive and enthusiastic!), I really have no idea how I'd act unless I was in those exact circumstances. Let's give them a break and just cheer for them all!

I didn't mean to imply that the girls shouldn't cry; not at all. It was more wondering how as a general rule, the guys seemed often to be rather easygoing this week by comparison--the gymnasts specifically, I mean. And I agree that age is a large part of it.

You're right that we can't judge these athletes' behavior, especially considering how hard they work for this one moment, and the crush of expectations (both their own and those of their coaches/families/ country). If there's fault anywhere, it's in the media coverage, with those cameras in such tight close-up. I confess I often turn away from the screen at such moments. I feel so guilty even to be looking at them from my seat at home.

Great to hear about the Dutch gymnast winning horizontal bar gold! I was so thrilled last night when Brazil won, and Korea.

[Serious Business]

I'm sure NBC will sure Epke Zonderman's amazing bar routine sometime around midnight. Well, the potential good news is that since Danell Leyva, an American gymnast went first, NBC may actually show every routine. Zonderman becomes the first Dutch gymnast to win an Olympic medal of any kind, and it's a gold! And he does it with the most thrilling and crowd-pleasing routine of any gymnast at these games.

Fans of Fabian Hambuchen would be happy to know he did a fabulous bar routine, the cleanest one, to win silver. It's been a tough Olympics for him. He really tanked it in the individual all-around. His comeback on bar is nice to see.

Bronze medal went to reigning World Bar Champ Zou Kai, who had a really intricate routine. But he's sloppy, really sloppy.

In the other finals, it was disappointing to see Gabby Douglas lose her concentration on the beam after her error on bars. During a relatively simple split jump with a turn, Douglas lost her footing and fell off beam. I thought those little lapses of concentration were gone for good at these Olympics, and they were until the apparatus finals. She did the rest of the routine well enough, however, to avoid winding up in last place. That's because last place wound up being reserved by Viktoria Komova, who fell off the beam, and basically gave up. She meandered through the rest of the routine and had a sloppy dismount. This time, Komova didn't cry at all. She seemed to have mentally written off these Olympics. I was sad to see that Catalina Ponor, whose beam routine was beyond fabulous during team finals, lose her nerve on beam here. She made a bunch of little adjustments and mistakes that kept her in bronze position. A position that, of course, Aly Raisman took after an inquiry gave her a connection she wasn't awarded before. The .1 boost tied their scores, and in the tiebreaker, Raisman won because she had a higher execution score. People can complain about Raisman's lines all they want, but not wobbling counts, too!

Raisman just plain owned the floor exercise. Did her routine in total command, even threw in that front layout at the end of her first tumbling pass (the one that cost her the all-around bronze when she left it out). Everything was perfect from what I remember. The only gymnast who could've challenged her, Romania's Sandra Raluca Izbasa, did 99% of an absolutely fantastic routine, one that was my favorite of the event, until her dismount, where she fell right on her knees (and went out of bounds to boot). Kseniia Afanaseva, whose floor routine was my favorite during the team finals (at least until she face planted on her last move, I'm noticing a pattern here...), looked strained and tired this time. She made lots of nervy little errors, nothing major mind you. But her style and zing were totally gone. A lifeless routine. Jordyn Wieber, who came into these games as the star of Team USA, failed to redeem herself on floor. Once again, Wieber didn't make any big mistakes, but lots of little ones, including going out of bounds on a hop, to completely destroy her chances of winning an individual medal. I was pleased to see the graceful Mustafina take advantage of Izabasa's fall to win bronze with a lovely routine.

[SGrand]

I didn't mean to imply that the girls shouldn't cry; not at all. It was more wondering how as a general rule, the guys seemed often to be rather easygoing this week by comparison--the gymnasts specifically, I mean. And I agree that age is a large part of it.

You're right that we can't judge these athletes' behavior, especially considering how hard they work for this one moment, and the crush of expectations (both their own and those of their coaches/families/ country). If there's fault anywhere, it's in the media coverage, with those cameras in such tight close-up. I confess I often turn away from the screen at such moments. I feel so guilty even to be looking at them from my seat at home.

Great to hear about the Dutch gymnast winning horizontal bar gold! I was so thrilled last night when Brazil won, and Korea.

Oh sorry Olympia, I didn't mean to single you out at all! It's actually more on some other boards where people are being kind of harsh about the girls, I think forgetting how young they still are and what hard workers they are no matter what. I'm all for joking around and having favourites etc. but when people start to really 'hate' on them (I'll be honest, I've definitely had these thoughts lol), that's when I try to think how I would have acted in that situation at that age and I can pretty much guarantee you I'd have been a nightmare/media dream due to my behaviour LOL. The media really know how to do their job, that's for sure; I get sucked in by the fluff pieces and end up in tears, but I try to be a little more objective when it comes to 'creative editing' and camera-work. I give props to all of these athletes that compete so young (and that includes figure skaters as well!).

So happy for all of the medallists, they were amazing! Epke......WOW, that was craziness! And congrats to Fabian, happy to see that!

[skateluvr]

Ah, well I knew the results but great review SB. I was hoping for Komova to have the floor of her life, but also wanted Raisman to have a medal. It amazes me she can pull bronze on beam. There have got to be better beam workers. I am sad for Catalina. I guess she is past her prime. She does have 3 golds I think from past years. She is by far the most beautiful WOMAN in gymnastics and maybe in the games. She is stunning, and still able to make a national team from a powerhouse country. She should have a lifetime gold. I think they should have some special longevity award in every sport where it is really difficult to endure She is awesome.

My little KOMOVA JUST DOES NOT HAVE THE OLYMPIC GENE. SHE IS LIKE KURT BROWNING. Aly has more than done what was possible for her I concede she is like an eventing horse on floor. Hava nagila is good for her. It is surprising that lines are just gone with that level of tumbling judges want to see. Mustafina had a good games. Check. Komova was second in all around. Check. The one ind medal I had hoped for for Weiber was the beam. Rats! She is really better than Raisman but I do not know the degree of diff. for both on FX. Aly is just, well, ugh on beam. We did not see the best, and the whole event had people from many countries finishing 1 or 2 in their country. I feel really cheated for all the number 3 and 4 athletes from US, Russia, Romania, China and more who we should have seen in the all arounds. There is just no way to explain the rules to these people who worked their whole lives.And NBC coverage is just like in skating. Awful. And we wonder why? I saw so much darn beach volleyball. Ugh to that to. Way too much swimming and diving. They should have just announced at the beginning this will be all about Michael Phelps for the 4th time in a row. He is the greatest Olympic swimmer of all time. How would he do with the English channel? Now that is a good test. Now his model gal pal can start tweeting about the duo. he said nothing about marriage and kids. I would not count on him, missy, LOL. But they used to say that about Duchess Kate. My the Royals had best seats to all. Kate wins for thinnest royal bride ever. I cannot see her losing that title.

Jordan Weiber is WC and I hope she can repeat this next year. I am really disappointed as everyone of my wish list did well or had a medal in the end. Komova needs a sports psychologist and I would be happy if she were the next WC. Gabby is all set and the magic dust is worn off. I feel God was with her for the event that mattered and her mother is going to have a nice life. Gabby earlier in her career bought her mom a coach bag. Everyone should have a mother like Mrs Hawkins. Gabby should not tell the world her dad is a deadbeat. This girl needs to get a PR person fast. She is a bit cocky, saying she knew she'd win, was not surprised, and even if her dad is a dead beat, he is fighting in Afghanistan. She needs to thank her white family. This girl has already told people on twitter to shut up about her hair. She has Diana Ross like confidence and lots love the Supremes but hate Diana when they read about her "rise" at Motown. Cool it down Abby...you'll get more endorsements with humble pie. Think Yuna, Think Michelle!

[Olympia]

I'm so glad no one on this board is that nasty to the girls. For one thing, we couldn't withstand the rigors of their training regime for one hour, let alone a single day. I would be crawling under the padding. I try to keep that in mind as I watch them rotating toes-over-ears at top speed.

I just watched the two Chinese girls and Ponor of Romania do their balance beam routines. A pretty spectacular night!

[SGrand]

I'm so glad no one on this board is that nasty to the girls. For one thing, we couldn't withstand the rigors of their training regime for one hour, let alone a single day. I would be crawling under the padding. I try to keep that in mind as I watch them rotating toes-over-ears at top speed.

I just watched the two Chinese girls and Ponor of Romania do their balance beam routines. A pretty spectacular night!

[deedee1]

Has anyone watched Men's Horizontal bar?
and and to Epke Zonderland of Netherlands and Fabian Hambuchen of Germany!!!

[Serious Business]

I reviewed them in my previous post on this thread, deedee1.

The women's beam finals I watched live, but it's interesting to see the NBC broadcast of it, because NBC has its own feed and cameras. It's interesting to see that it's the honchos of the US gymnastics program, Marta Karolyi and the rest, sitting all the way in the stands, who screamed and waved and gestured at Aly Raisman's judge to file an inquiry. He likely wouldn't have done it on his own, in which case Raisman would lose out on a medal she earned. It's also nice to hear from Aly's coach exactly what they filed the inquiry on (the BBC feed I saw, which uses cameras from a Japanese TV station, I believe, did not show any of this): He wanted Raisman to get two connection scores she didn't get, which would raise her D score by .2. Having seen it several times, I can say she definitely did not deserve the first .1, but the second connection should've been given from the start. I remember watching this live and quickly crunching the numbers, and realizing that an added connection would tie her score with Ponor and give her the bronze in the tiebreak. It was pretty exciting to see this play out in real time!

On the other hand, by focusing on all the inquiry drama, NBC did not show the silver medalist, China's Sui Lu, bawling uncontrollably after she found out her teammate Deng Linlin got a higher score than her on beam. Sui reacted pretty frostily to Deng on the podium, too. I don't really understand Sui's sadness and hostility. From what I can see, Sui did as well as she could've (could've had a tidier landing, but that's often up to chance). I thought she had the best beam routine personally, but the difficulty level was just .1 off from Deng's. Deng also did as well as she could've, as she should've. The judges scored fairly. When everybody does their best and the scoring is fair, there's no reason to be sad or mad. The only thing I can even think of is that maybe Sui and Deng agreed to take off one risky element in their beam routine (maybe that Korbut on the end of Deng's first tumbling run, but she has been doing that in all the beam routines of hers in the Olympics as far as I remember). Sui took whatever it was off, but Deng saw that and added it back in, and it gave her the .1 needed to win. Thus Sui is mad at Deng. But that's total speculation. Maybe the simple answer is that Sui Lu is pretty immature, despite being 20 (coughmadeupagecough).

[skateluvr]

I'm so glad no one on this board is that nasty to the girls. For one thing, we couldn't withstand the rigors of their training regime for one hour, let alone a single day. I would be crawling under the padding. I try to keep that in mind as I watch them rotating toes-over-ears at top speed.

I just watched the two Chinese girls and Ponor of Romania do their balance beam routines. A pretty spectacular night!

Well, who knows Olympia, if you started at 3 and were with Bela Karolyi and Marta. You might be an AA in gymnastics. And we might be saying "Mary Lou Who?" or had you been born to Romanian parents and you were practicing 7 hours a day. Your name might be Nadia. Life is luck in many many cases. There is an illusion we are in charge here, but we are not. Only ^^^^^^^ above will ever tell you how much you were predestined for, what you came to earth to do. And what you truly controlled. With all my heart I hope we get the answers when we pass over. Some of us have some huge questions! But don't see yourself short. Lots of people could be good athletes but were never introduced to anything. The streeets are FULL of guys who could be NBA players. I love that movie the Blind Side because it is true. So true, it changed Sandra Bulllock's life. She found room for a black baby who is going to have every I hope opty to excel. Or do drugs. LOL... Destiny or self control? No one can answer it.

I would want to be Catalina. She is on the hottest gymnasts list!