The Olympic Games Thread...

[diamondfan]

The 33 year old was truly amazing, did you hear the whole story about her? I was bawling before she even did her first vault.

 

[Anna0499]

Haha I asked some of my diving friends about their "uniforms" one time and he said that in the aesthetic sports (i.e. diving, gymnastics), the body needs to be showcased as much as possible so lines can be seen by judges...they are SO SO SO skimpy though!

 

[miraclesrule]

I only caught the last part. It had to do with her son. I was sort of glad I missed the story because it sounded like one that would having me crying too.

 

[diamondfan]

OMG that gymnast Jonathon Horton just did the high bar, with a triple twist dismount that he NAILED. He is amazing.

What happened to the Hamm brothers? I knew one got hurt but I think both are out of the games?

Japan, the number one in the world, not looking so hot in gymnastics. They look worn out and totally not into competing.

 

[diamondfan]

I saw more of those divers than I care to know.

The vaulter''s story...she was on the allied team, whatever Russia was called and she competed. Then she retired and had a son, who is now 8 or so. A few years back he was diagnosed with leukemia and her town and the country did not have good oncology hospitals. She ended up moving to Germany where she was friends with the coach of the German''s woman''s team and they helped her. She also got help from a former Russian male gymnast who is now the father of one of the girl''s on the American gymnastic''s team...they helped pay for stuff...so she became a German citizen and is now competing for Germany as part of paying her due to them for saving her son Alisher. He looks pretty good, I think he is in remission currently, and boy, she puts most of the young girls to shame she is a powerhouse! Some of the girls on her team and in the games were not even born when she competed for Russia.

 

[miraclesrule]

Ohhhh, I am so glad her son got the treatment he needed. I love her story. I am so glad that she is getting to compete and others put their faith in her. She is my hero right now.

 

[diamondfan]

She blew me away. Her vaults were totally great, and she is such a seasoned athlete. Her emotions must be so high, and she really is doing this as a thank you to the country who helped saved her son, she says without gymnastics he would not be alive right now.

 

[misspinky]

Date: 8/11/2008 11:42:24 PM
Author: diamondfan
She blew me away. Her vaults were totally great, and she is such a seasoned athlete. Her emotions must be so high, and she really is doing this as a thank you to the country who helped saved her son, she says without gymnastics he would not be alive right now.

I was crying when they played that too--and completely in awe of her vaults. I''m 24 and a former gymnast and I can''t even imagine competing at that level in my 30''s...heck, I can''t imagine competing at that level NOW.

And I was also impressed with the "team spirit" of the former "united" team--Nastia Luekin''s dad competed on it and was the one who donated money for the doctor''s bills. Amazing.

 

[miraclesrule]

She is awesome. And such an inspiration.

Phelps is making me mad. I can''t believe he has to consume so many calories a day. I would love to eat like that for a few days, but it would probably make me sick.

How cute was that volunteer that found Walsh''s ring in the sand? I love dimples.

 

[diamondfan]

It is the Unified team, I cannot believe I could not remember, and you are right, Luekin''s dad was a former teammate who helped fund his treatment...such an incredible story with such inter woven stuff.

 

[Anna0499]

Great to see heavily-favored China finally win in front of their home crowd. They were truly just heads above the rest. I thought USA was going to pull into second but the horse just killed them! I''m glad they at least hung on for bronze...I wonder if our women can do the same.

I saw the MP eating thing too! You can''t imagine the kinds of foods high performance athletes can get away with eating...but they aren''t really getting away with anything because they burn it all off! I think if anyone spends that many hours in the pool a day they could eat a cow a day and be as cut as he is - crazy!

I think the Olympics reminds everyone of how great the people who make up their country really are...so refreshing in this time where patriotism isn''t necessarily at the forefront of people''s minds (right or wrong). The Olympics in general just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

 

[diamondfan]

I think the US deserved silver in the men''s. they made boo boos of course, but supposedly Japan made them on every event. Our guys booped on the floor and horse a couple times, but really, their high bar and vaults were amazing. I saw the Japanese guys miss landings and screw up more. I kmow there are degrees of difficulty etc, but I think mistakes are mistakes. Better to do a slightly easier routine perfectly than flub on it. Look, I could never do ONE bit of any of this stuff, and I think the US teams have some amazing athletes...the US men were not expected t medal at all without the Hamms...and they nearly got the silver.

 

[FrekeChild]

Hahahaha!!! How many calories does MP eat?

Did you guys see the segment where they were talking about Phil Dalhausser (Beach Volleyball) and how he eats and trains to put weight on, because his 6'7 frame can lose ten pounds in a match? And that his metabolism has always been super high and that he has to eat a ton just to put weight on. If you look at him, he's super skinny, not crazy cut like most of the athletes, even his partner-who I'm sure works out just as much as he does-just not a ton of muscle tone. They said something about comparing his body from the beginning of the games to the end of the games and you'll see a difference.

Yes, you have permission to hate him too. Because I do.

ETA: What do you guys think about the new judging/scoring for gymnastics?

I think it's BS that the judges can go back and watch them in slow mo and real time. WTF?

 

[miraclesrule]

Oh Boo....I shouldn''t have come onto this thread. I forgot you are way ahead of me time wise. I just watched our men on the rings and the high bar. Dudes killed it!! I couldn''t believe our degree of difficulty and how they stuck their crazy wicked landings.

Then I had to watch the Chinese go crazy on the vault. I can''t believe the stuff these athletes do nowadays. Every year they push the envelope a bit further. Insane.

Freke: On one hand it pisses me off that the judges are able to nit pick in slo mo and delay the scoring so much. On the other hand, I prefer that we don''t have obvious bias by judges who don''t see the routine in front of them because they blinked at the wrong time. So I am torn. I don''t want it to take so long to judge that it gets under the athletes skin. Sheesh, I get all edgy waiting for them, I can only imagine how the waiting athlete feels.

Wouldn''t it be nice to have that kind of metabolism? It doesn''t run in my genetic code, unfortunately

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 8/12/2008 2:33:26 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Hahahaha!!! How many calories does MP eat?

ETA: What do you guys think about the new judging/scoring for gymnastics?

I think it''s BS that the judges can go back and watch them in slow mo and real time. WTF?

MP said his doctor recommended between 8,000 - 10,000 calories a DAY!

That''s more than what people on diets consume in a week! I am torn on the replays as well...everything happens so fast in gymnastics, it might make the judging more fair to allow it, but I just don''t like the waiting between events. Though because everything in gymnastics is scored and it''s not just a matter of the fastest time, etc., I think it probably does make the scoring more accurate. I guess the sport will just need to become accustomed to it like other sports that have employed the same measures have.

As for the men winning bronze...I don''t think they performed well enough on floor or horse to deserve the silver. Yes, the Japanese didn''t perform as well as they did earlier, but China/Japan''s expectations are so high that anything less than perfection is seen as a letdown. You can''t really tumble off the mat and score below a 13 on the horse and expect to overtake a team like Japan that late in the game. I was AMAZED at China''s ring performance...just ridiculous. I did really enjoy Sasha''s horse routine though...it was a fitting end for a great US team.

 

[diamondfan]

I think the slo mo replays are terrible. Any routine, if you break it down piece by piece, move by move, might have a bobble or flaw. To be able to re play it multiple times and be soooo picayune is too much. It is performed, and there is tape, but the slo synch reduces the artistry of it to me. Yes, it helps the judges really assess each step or move, but I am not sure watching it that way is really in the spirit of things. It seemed to take a long time to score last night.

the US did mess up, but they were amazing on high bar and vault. sadly pommel horse is their weakest rotation, and the last guy up thankfully did a great routine. But this team was not expected to medal at all, and the commentators made it sound as if Japan fell apart on multiple events. Our floor work had a couple of step outs, and the horse was okay not great, til Sasha went last, but from what Tim Daggett was saying, the Japanese team, who were the reigning gold medalists, were making errors on every apparatus and not looking at all like medal contenders. They did not show all of that so it was hard to know. Russian did not medal, which blows my mind.

The Chinese train sooo hard in gymnastics.

Jonathon was spectacular, the pressure must be immense. The Chinese, even with their errors, were top notch overall, their degrees of difficulty

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Another thrilling day in events--chills and spills; I love it!

cheers--Sharon

 

[miraclesrule]

It was awesome. I couldn''t believe how subpar the US team was on floor. Jonathan was on fire all night!! I bet that he couldn''t sleep. I really wish they would have made the decision to use him on the pommel horse. OMG, we were pathetic. Thank gawd the last guy was great!! I was breathing a sigh of relief. I couldn''t watch there for a moment and was pacing.

Once the Chinese got on the high bar, they didn''t even have to do difficult routines, just clean ones. If we would have put more pressure on them, they would have had to up the difficulty. In any case, it was awesome to watch the top teams. It amazes me how much more fluid the Japanese were on the parallel bars. Smoothe as silk...

When do the girls go? Tonight?

Yeah, can you believe getting to eat 10K calories a day? Just looking at MP''s breakfast made my mouth water. The bacon and eggs and hash browns. He just eats whatever he wants. It''s crazy.

 

[blondebunny]

can someone explain how they rate how "difficult" a routine is?? To me some of our routines so much more difficult than others, but we always in the 5.8-6.2 range... Some routines almost look identical that the Chinese were doing, and some were only up there for like 10 secs and score a 16.575 or something crazy. I honestly felt it was a bunch of BS how they were giving us such crappy scores. And seriously, noting to the gymnasts.. but you only have ONE routine to compete in and you get a 12?!?!?!? gahhhh..... If I were Horton, I''d probably be a little peeved as he killed everyone of his routines.. The Japanese didnt even seem excited to get a Silver, granted its not a gold, but still, show some excitement that you placed with all your mistakes...

BUT I cant wait for the girls tonight!!!!

 

[moremoremore]

Ok..who wants to start first regarding the little girls and the opening ceremony?
Every country wants to look good on the world stage, but it''s clear to me that the Chinese gov''t has no grasp on reality and they are all about their appearance and putting on a show...bunch of fakers in every way.....what they''d done to their own people in preparation for the games....don''t get me started on how they treat their women...their animals....their policy regarding births which leads to child stealing..no country is perfect, but I really have an issue with China...

NOT the Chinese people.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 8/12/2008 7:19:45 PM
Author: moremoremore
Ok..who wants to start first regarding the little girls and the opening ceremony?
Every country wants to look good on the world stage, but it''s clear to me that the Chinese gov''t has no grasp on reality and they are all about their appearance and putting on a show...bunch of fakers in every way.....what they''d done to their own people in preparation for the games....don''t get me started on how they treat their women...their animals....their policy regarding births which leads to child stealing..no country is perfect, but I really have an issue with China...
NOT the Chinese people.

HI:

No I get "it"...but what about the athletes? Medium is not the message?

cheers--Sharon

 

[misspinky]

Date: 8/12/2008 5:48:52 PM
Author: blondebunny
can someone explain how they rate how ''difficult'' a routine is?? To me some of our routines so much more difficult than others, but we always in the 5.8-6.2 range... Some routines almost look identical that the Chinese were doing, and some were only up there for like 10 secs and score a 16.575 or something crazy. I honestly felt it was a bunch of BS how they were giving us such crappy scores. And seriously, noting to the gymnasts.. but you only have ONE routine to compete in and you get a 12?!?!?!? gahhhh..... If I were Horton, I''d probably be a little peeved as he killed everyone of his routines.. The Japanese didnt even seem excited to get a Silver, granted its not a gold, but still, show some excitement that you placed with all your mistakes...


BUT I cant wait for the girls tonight!!!!

A routine''s difficulty is based on the elements that are performed. Each element is given a point value based on how hard it is to perform. For example, a simple release move on bars might be worth 1 while the same release move with an added half twist might be worth 1.2....There are also additional points that you get for "linking" skills (i.e. performing one skill right after another without pausing) for example you might get a bonus .2 points for doing two backhandsprings into a whipback on beam as opposed to one backhandspring into a whipback. Same goes for bars, floor, etc which is why you can have differing start values (or difficulty values) that are considered "high" for different apparatuses. Bar routines can have very high difficulty values (in comparison to say, vault) because of the bonuses you can get from linking skills. Does that make sense?

 

[misspinky]

Date: 8/12/2008 7:19:45 PM
Author: moremoremore
Ok..who wants to start first regarding the little girls and the opening ceremony?

Every country wants to look good on the world stage, but it''s clear to me that the Chinese gov''t has no grasp on reality and they are all about their appearance and putting on a show...bunch of fakers in every way.....what they''d done to their own people in preparation for the games....don''t get me started on how they treat their women...their animals....their policy regarding births which leads to child stealing..no country is perfect, but I really have an issue with China...


NOT the Chinese people.

I have my own bone to pick with China. I don''t really care who wins at any sport--more power to those who train hard to attain an undeniable edge--as long as everyone plays fair. But competing with not one, not two, but THREE athletes under the minimum age as defined by the RULES is ridiculous. You can argue all you want about how the rule shouldn''t be there because a growth spurt in the teenage years can ruin a gymnast''s career, that''s not the point. The point is that every country is held to this rule and is SUPPOSED to abide by it. Yet China gets away with it and wins a gold medal. Shameful.

Don''t even get me started on the practice of plucking a 3 year old child out of her home and essentially forcing her to do gymnastics. Shame on the government for that and even more for making that child''s parents so dependent upon the money and additional support they receive from their child''s participation that when that same child calls her mom and dad 10 years later and BEGS them to let her come home, they say no. Can you imagine having your child not only taken from you at 3 years old, but then refusing to let her come home when she begs you to? Sickening.

 

[blondebunny]

Date: 8/13/2008 12:45:22 AM
Author: misspinky

Date: 8/12/2008 7:19:45 PM

Author: moremoremore

Ok..who wants to start first regarding the little girls and the opening ceremony?


Every country wants to look good on the world stage, but it''s clear to me that the Chinese gov''t has no grasp on reality and they are all about their appearance and putting on a show...bunch of fakers in every way.....what they''d done to their own people in preparation for the games....don''t get me started on how they treat their women...their animals....their policy regarding births which leads to child stealing..no country is perfect, but I really have an issue with China...



NOT the Chinese people.

I have my own bone to pick with China. I don''t really care who wins at any sport--more power to those who train hard to attain an undeniable edge--as long as everyone plays fair. But competing with not one, not two, but THREE athletes under the minimum age as defined by the RULES is ridiculous. You can argue all you want about how the rule shouldn''t be there because a growth spurt in the teenage years can ruin a gymnast''s career, that''s not the point. The point is that every country is held to this rule and is SUPPOSED to abide by it. Yet China gets away with it and wins a gold medal. Shameful.


Don''t even get me started on the practice of plucking a 3 year old child out of her home and essentially forcing her to do gymnastics. Shame on the government for that and even more for making that child''s parents so dependent upon the money and additional support they receive from their child''s participation that when that same child calls her mom and dad 10 years later and BEGS them to let her come home, they say no. Can you imagine having your child not only taken from you at 3 years old, but then refusing to let her come home when she begs you to? Sickening.

response to post to me... thanks def understood it..

respone to the quote.. OMG i cannot believe that, forcing a child to do something that they didnt naturally choose...and I cant believe the parents made that girl stay... so sad.. I would NEVER let anyone talk my child from me... just wrong.. and I was notcing some of the girls looked like they still had some teeth missing.. Im not a dentist so Im not sure about that, but I mean by the time your 16 I would think most of your teeth would be all in?!?! that one looks about 12 that is the shortest... ridiculous...

 

[diamondfan]

Bela Karolyi basically said those girls on the Chinese team are mostly not 16 years old...the Chinese made them passports saying they were.

Communist countries view athletes so differently. They are grabbed from a very young age, coached, groomed, kept from their families and viewed as commodities by their government. They must meet rigid expectations and perform and lead very cloistered lives unless they are competing. If they do well, their lives are set. If not, who knows.

One of the Chinese girls wanted to come home, but was not permitted to. I think her parents told her to stick it out as it would make all of their lives better.

the US men were good under pressure, not expected to medal but did. I think the US women could have won the gold, their skill and the difficulties of their routines were high, but they did crumble a bit with the pressure, not that I blame them at all!

 

[blondebunny]

Date: 8/13/2008 1:07:59 AM
Author: diamondfan
Bela Karolyi basically said those girls on the Chinese team are mostly not 16 years old...the Chinese made them passports saying they were.


Communist countries view athletes so differently. They are grabbed from a very young age, coached, groomed, kept from their families and viewed as commodities by their government. They must meet rigid expectations and perform and lead very cloistered lives unless they are competing. If they do well, their lives are set. If not, who knows.


One of the Chinese girls wanted to come home, but was not permitted to. I think her parents told her to stick it out as it would make all of their lives better.


the US men were good under pressure, not expected to medal but did. I think the US women could have won the gold, their skill and the difficulties of their routines were high, but they did crumble a bit with the pressure, not that I blame them at all!

poor girls, even if they didnt mess up they wouldnt have won. The judges were definitely harder on them than the Chinese IMHO... same with the guys, the judges were so much harder on them. I just think since it was their "hometown" they were given some kind of advantage, but that is simply my opinion.
Poor ALicia Sacramone...just watch her interview..almost in tears.. like 1.7 in deductions for falls and stepping out of bounds....

that little shawn johnson is just such a cutie...

 

[miraclesrule]

Okay, can we agree to have two places to post? I mean, just for the sake of supporting the "spirit" of the games. I want to debate the ethics of China as much as you do, so that is why we have a thread in "Around the World".

I do have to say one thing though (because I am not y''all when it comes the many issues I have with China)....Isn''t it ironic that we love the Chinese people, but not their government...when that is exactly the same thing that the world has been saying about America?? Just some food for thought.

Anyway, here go the girls on the vault..... I wish I didn''t have a meeting tonight. I just got home so I just started watching at 10:30 p.m. my time...

 

[oobiecoo]

I feel so bad for Alicia! I think it was terrible asking her to do an interview and asking those hard questions when she''s clearly upset already.

I am in LOVE with Nastia! She''s so graceful and I''m excited to see more of her!

 

[miraclesrule]

D''oH, I missed it!! I always think it''s sad to watch the people who "lose" get interviewed. I still feel this way after every football game.

 

[Anna0499]

I really don''t think the judging was unfair...if you watch ANY sport where judging is set up like in gymnastics, the losing (or lower scoring) team/fans will always have something to say about biased judging. That happens in every sport with referees, too. The judges are from several different countries, and I remember the announcers saying they are different in the prelims than the finals, so that could explain why it seems very different. The announcers also admitted the judges were harsh on other gymnasts besides the US. I think both our mens & womens teams made the best out of an adverse situation and should be proud. Many of the deductions we received were obvious (stepping out, falling on a pass, falling on the beam), so it wasn''t as subjective as in other events. Our women seemed to have problems staying in bounds this year...I wonder if that''s all mental.

As for teams not being excited about getting silver, it''s difficult to be happy with 2nd place when you knew 1st was within your realm of potential; i.e. womens team was given a huge opening to take gold by China''s mistakes but couldn''t capitalize on it. If you place above your expectations, i.e. mens team, then you are obviously more excited. Just think if MP won silver...no excitement would be had there. The reason why the announcers were saying such bad things about Japan was that they were supposed to be so dominant as defending champions and had been amazing in the prelims, but just performed well in the finals. Granted, their "well" is another team''s "amazing," but it''s all about expectations.

I don''t think slo-mo in general is a bad idea, I just think they should limit it somehow; maybe just one replay per performance perhaps. That would increase accuracy without cutting into the sport too much. I did see that the coaches were placing some blame for Alicia''s fall on the scoring time gap, but I think that''s making excuses since everyone had to deal with it. Shawn did AMAZING on the beam!

miraclesrule - I agree...I am posting more of my opinion about the lip-syncing "scandal," China gymnastics, etc. in the Around the World thread. However, I did want to add that I think Bela''s accusations are RIDICULOUS - not because they are untrue, but because they are premature and lacking proof. I''m obviously not sure of the ages of the women, but if they have the documents to prove it & no one can produce real evidence otherwise, why throw out such statements to tarnish the Olympics? Bela himself says that he doesn''t think an age limit should even exist, and then makes age assumptions based on a woman''s teeth? I''m sure if some concrete evidence existed, then the IOC would''ve been all over it. I have several cousins in Vietnam who are around 15-17 and they look exactly like those gymnasts...very small and young-looking compared to girls of comparable ages in Western(ized) countries.

MP was awesome, as usual. Our relay team was so far ahead of ANYONE it was astonishing. He did seem upset at his time in the 200m fly...shows how competitive he really is!

Did anyone watch synch. diving? That stuff just baffles me! Several of the divers are from Indiana and Wenbo Chen was at Purdue for a bit, so I was excited to see so many ties in Beijing!