Khorkina..."Wuz Robbed" ???

[Vash01]

It was rather painful to look at Svetlana's emaciated body. It no longer had the grace of the last Olympics. I cheered for her simply for being the old lady at age 25 in a field of teenagers. I cheered for Mohini for the same reason. I don't believe her scores were inflated. What made her stay close to the top was that she did not have a major mistake like the Chinese girls and a few others. Her marks were quite low on balance beam (9.4) and floor (9.5) in the all around. However, so many gymnasts had problems in both the womens and mens field that we saw less than stellar performances medal. In Olympics of the past one had to be close to perfect just to medal. I don't think Svetlana has anything to complain about. She was not as good as she has been in the past. She should be proud that she won the silver when the age was against her.

[Glacierskater]

MOSCOW - Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina, who was second to American Carly Patterson in the women’s all-round gymnastics competition, has accused the judges of robbing her of the gold medal and said “everything was decided in advance.”

The only thing that was decided in advance was Khorkina's bad attitude. It is one thing to be a so called "diva"....it is a completely different issue to come to something like the Olympics and act like she did. I was actually wanting her to complete her medal collection,but after seeing her act like she did and reading her comments afterward, I think that she should just go away.

[RealtorGal]

MOSCOW - Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina, who was second to American Carly Patterson in the women’s all-round gymnastics competition, has accused the judges of robbing her of the gold medal and said “everything was decided in advance.”

The only thing that was decided in advance was Khorkina's bad attitude. ... I think that she should just go away.

AMEN! I think you mean she should SLINK away, back to the hole from which she slithered.

Seriously, I feel sorry for her. She has got to be one of the most unhappy, miserable people I've ever seen at Olympic competition. Instead of being remembered as one of the greats, she'll now be remembered as one of the great CRYBABIES. She need to a) EAT SOMETHING; and b) get some counselling to help her deal with her obviously deep-rooted problems. :\ :sheesh:

[Mathman]

About "everything being decided in advance," Alexei Nemov concurs:

"When the meet was over, after Hamm and Cassina pushed him down to fifth, Nemov said he deserved at least a bronze.

"'It was a little unfair," he said. "Everything is already decided before. Maybe just a small mistake and that gives them the opening to put me down. That's not right.'"

These Olympics have been a disaster for the sport of gymnastics. I wonder if the IOC will punish them in some way -- like kicking the sport out of the 2010 games, or putting them on probation or something.

Mathman

[RealtorGal]

It's funny how so many eastern bloc skaters benefitted from bloc judging over the years, yet when things don't go the Russians' way, they're the first in line to scream "FOUL!"

Just an observation.

[euterpe]

The IOC will never do away with gymnastics or figure skating, because these are the marquee events of the summer and winter Olympics.

The Russian federation has been using that "decided in advance" line for a while now. Valentin Piseev said before the '02 Winter Olympics that the Russian ladies wouldn't win in FS because the event was in the US. Slutskaya herself spoke bitterly afterwards of being robbed of "her" gold medal.

For years, Olympic ice dancing and pairs had been won only by Russians and from the cheating scandals it seemed the Eastern bloc judges were committed to keeping that status quo.

With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the exodus of Russian coaches to other countries, Russian hegemony in sports began to be eroded. But athletes trained under the Soviet system still feel a sense of entitlement, so the result is whining.

[JillLaQ]

Khorkina is a has been, but Pavlova really shined! And Elena Zam.... is such a pretty girl! I know she's been around for awhile, but I hope they both stick around!

In the meantime, HEY, KHORKINA, 2 words, GROW UP!!!

[Ptichka]

Hmmm... I wouldn't call a 2nd place AA Olympian a "has been". Any more than the Dortmund bronze makes Michelle a "has been".

[JillLaQ]

Yes, she has her various medals. Yes, she will return home, take off her clothes and pose, and probably make a few thousand Euros for her efforts. Then what?
Perhaps write a book where she can tell everyone how great she is and how she was robbed, and how wonderful she is, and how Carly is no match for her, and how beautiful she is, blah blah blah.

Michelle has class, and that's something Khorkina obviously knows nothing about. That's why she's a has been, and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as Michelle Kwan. But hey, on the positive side, better to be a has-been than a never was!

[eliza88]

I am a Khorkina fan--of her gymnastics, not her mouth. What happened to her in Sydney was terrible. They should've told her about the vault problems BEFORE she competed on bars. Back to the present--I have enjoyed watching Khorkina all these years and the night of the AA I was rooting for her. She did not perform as well as she could have and Carly (apart from her sub-par vault) was too good that night. A well deserved gold medal for Patterson and a well deserved silver for Khorkina.

I am saddened by all that Khorkina has been quoted saying this week--this tarnishes her phenomenal career. I'd like to remember the good things about her: she has brought both beauty and elegance to the sport as well as longevity. She has been an innovator of many unique moves. She has also given hope to those slightly taller than 5ft that gymnastics can work for them with a bit 'o ingenuity!

eliza88

[Rgirl]

Well said, Eliza, and ITA. I can understand Khorkina's frustration; she's always been different. But she certainly picked the wrong time to be different with her mouth. Sveta could have gone out of these games a queen, with people remembering her grace and innovative moves done with a body meant more for Rhythmic Gymnastics than Artistic Gymnastics. I've been such a fan of hers. I wish she would have let her gymnastics do the talking. What a shame.
Rgirl

[Johar]

I respect her longetivity in the sport, but she has some maturing to do. Sticking her tongue out was a little brash.

[millyskate]

I think Pavlova deserved silver and Khorkina no better than bronze...
She's won so many titles despite falling on vault, sloppy and slow routines on beam and cheated tumbling on floor that she's not used to not being overmarked. I admire her longevity but her attitude and self-indulgent comments throughout the years make her one of my least favorite gymnasts. Honestly, if she had been 20cm shorter, with those routines, i don't believe she would have had more than 4 or 5 international medals (all on bars) to this day...Her success is not her fault, but her arrogant attitude is. You shouldn't get points for being tall and thin miss Khorkina, and if you start marking comps on "grace, elegance and beauty" rather than on tumbling, why not just take part in those fitness world champs that they broadcast on eurosport.
Anyway, some have grace, beauty and elegance AND tumbling:how Khorkina can claim that Ponor has "no sparkle" is beyond me.

[Doggygirl]

SK behaved badly, especially considering she is a "senior citizen" in this sport for the young - most of her competition probably spent years looking up to her before only one of these youngsters, Carly, kicked her a$$ this year.

If you can't deal emotionally with a subjectively judged sport - for better or for worse - then put on a pair of sneakers and run the marathon. No question there about who crosses the finish line first.

A side note from my husband - after seeing SK in her leotard, who in the world would pay $ for a nude photo? He says "we've got plenty of fence posts in our own back yard I can see for free."

DG

[Piel]

Originally posted by Doggygirl

A side note from my husband - after seeing SK in her leotard, who in the world would pay $ for a nude photo? He says "we've got plenty of fence posts in our own back yard I can see for free."