Gymnastics

[NUguy514]

39 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I wish Simone the best, but the reality is she choked. It happens. As far as family not being there, she's 24 not 12. That shouldn't affect her one way or the other. I think success can often be a double-edged sword. You get the attention, accolades and endorsement cash, but you've also got the pressure of carrying the team. Some can handle it, some crack.

Nope, this is not right.  She was systematically sexually abused as a child and used and abused (and is still being used and abused) unrelentingly by the organization that similarly made her its face and lazily used her for almost a decade as the conduit for easy gold medals.  Simone has, in fact, carried this team since 2013; she did not "choke" or "crack."  How utterly laughable.

A few people just seem pissed that the women's team won a different color medal than the color they expected or wanted the team to win and are blaming Simone.  No.  What Simone did was make an informed decision for her own physical safety when, actually, the easy decision would have been to have competed "anyway."  THAT would've been "choking" or "cracking" and bowing to external pressures; instead, she made the impossibly hard decision because she is the GOAT.  And make no mistake, nothing that has happened or will happen at these Olympics affects the immutable truth that Simone is the GOAT.

And Suni, Grace, and Jordan competed like the champions they are, and the team won a silver medal at the Olympics.  I'll take this silver over 247 golds.

[kittykat]

Congratulations Team USA for a well deserved silver medal.  I don't even want to think about the barrage of press because they LOST GOLD!  A faulty team competition that wasn't 100% perfect but it was 100% heart.

I don't care if we don't pick up another medal, mental health is first and foremost and I wish Simone all the best.  These US gymnasts have been through hell with the breakout of scandal and if this is PTSD then they need compassion not criticism.  Suni, Grace and Jordan did a great job.  Would Jade have made a better team member?  Who knows, even the greatest can fold and who can blame her it's been nothing but pressure all these years.  

Also big hooray to Britain for snagging bronze!!!  That looked like an interesting four way fight for bronze.

Edited July 27, 2021 by kittykat

[Jeddah]

2 minutes ago, kittykat said:

Also big hooray to Britain for snagging bronze!!!  That looked like an interesting four way fight for bronze.

I was so stressed for the US women that I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. Last I heard it was Japan and Italy battling it out for bronze. Then next thing I knew Great Britain had bronze! They looked so happy! No tears of bronze here. I hope NBC shows them in the prime time replay, so I can appreciate them this time. NBC probably won’t though.

[Sarahsmile416]

34 minutes ago, dovegrey said:

I thought she said made a similar comment to him first, earlier in the competition, and then he said it back to her in a jest-like way later on? Both times seemed a bit awkward.

She did! She told him that he could be a judge because he called it on how much one athlete got on their execution score (whether deserved or not).   
 

I could be wrong, but I haven’t sensed any hostility between them at all - if anything, I really enjoy their back and forth 

[Jeddah]

The anchor on Peacock just said the US was stuck between an R-O-C and a hard place. That has to be the worst pun of the Olympics.

[Daisy]

Way To Go Brits!!! It's always awesome when someone can break through and shake things up, and honestly, congrats to Russia for finally winning Women's Team Gold. I'm sure somewhere Svetlana Khorkina is doing the biggest fist pump out there 

I missed what happened with Biles, so i'll probably have to catch it on NBC Primetime

[AuntieDiane6]

1 minute ago, Jeddah said:

I hope NBC shows them in the prime time replay, so I can appreciate them this time. NBC probably won’t though.

They may.  It depends on whatever else is going on and who else is winning... or losing.  This was going to be a big night and I'm sure they are scrambling.  

[Minneapple]

Nastia is in primetime on NBC because Nastia is an all-around gold medalist. Nobody really knows who Bridget Sloan is. Remember, the primetime broadcast is for a general audience and that general audience remembers Nasty, not Bridget.

If anyone thinks the primetime broadcast is about who gives better commentary, I invite you to listen to Tim Daggett.

[AuntieDiane6]

23 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

Nope, this is not right.  She was systematically sexually abused as a child and used and abused (and is still being used and abused) unrelentingly by the organization that similarly made her its face and lazily used her for almost a decade as the conduit for easy gold medals.  Simone has, in fact, carried this team since 2013; she did not "choke" or "crack."  How utterly laughable.

She did choke today.  TODAY.  You're right... she did carry the team since 2013.  

I just wish she didn't pick TODAY to enter the crisis zone.  I bet she wishes the same thing.  

[Minneapple]

Let me add that if Simone was really in a mental space where she thought she was still turning but was about to land on her vault (like Laurie said), then it's absolutely the right call for her to withdraw. That is fucked up, and if she wasn't an elite athlete she could have seriously injured herself.

Choking is getting up there and not performing, like a home run slugger going 0-4 in Game 7, or an All-Pro quarterback throwing three interceptions in a playoff game. That's not what Simone did.

[Jeddah]

Mykayla Skinner’s husband has edited it now, but he posted on Instagram, “Funny how when you don’t take the team that gives you the best chance of winning gold…you don’t win gold.” I can see why he’s so compatible with Mykayla.

[Sarahsmile416]

I was struck the last few days how many twins there are in these teams.  Asia and Alice D’Amato on Italy, Jennifer and Jessica Gardova (on Great Britain) and Sanne and Lieke Wevers on the Dutch team 

 

[Lady Whistleup]

I took a nap and woke up and here are my thoughts:

1. In a way, this wasn't surprising. Father Time is undefeated. Simone is still 5 years older than she wasin Rio in a sport that is extremely cruel towards older athletes. Twitter sources said that she was competing with broken toes. Now she could have powered through with broken toes but I bet the pain + pressure meant she mentally wasn't in a good place.

2. She did a GOOD THING by pulling out. We don't know her medical condition but if she was having a panic attack she could have had some dangerous falls, and that might have sent the US women on a tailspin. This way they knew early what their task was. Do I wish Jordan could have stayed upright on floor? Yes, but I think an unhealthy Simone would have been worse for the team.

3. No one in that competition has anything to be ashamed of. The Russian girls showed lovely form, great bar work, and they deserved their win. EVEN WITH SIMONE THEY WERE AHEAD OF THE US IN QUALS SO NO ONE SAY THIS IS AN UPSET. The US won a silver. 

4. Suni would be a great AA champion and she actually beat Simone's scores in Day 2 of Olympic Trials so if Simone pulls of AA I hope no one says that Suni's results have an asterisk. She was an AA threat Simone or no Simone.

[NUguy514]

11 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

She did choke today.  TODAY.  You're right... she did carry the team since 2013.  

I just wish she didn't pick TODAY to enter the crisis zone.  I bet she wishes the same thing.  

Nope.  No, ma'am.  None of this, and that bolded sentence is exactly the point and the problem.

[dovegrey]

11 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

Nastia is in primetime on NBC because Nastia is an all-around gold medalist. Nobody really knows who Bridget Sloan is. Remember, the primetime broadcast is for a general audience and that general audience remembers Nasty, not Bridget.

If anyone thinks the primetime broadcast is about who gives better commentary, I invite you to listen to Tim Daggett.

Unfortunately, nobody I talk to at work about the Olympic gymnastics this week can tell me who Nastia Liukin is...and they're the general audience (both older, same age, and younger than me), not the ones on comment boards. The general audience is just about the last group I would think would care about a "name" from 13 years ago in our speed-of-light, next-please culture. I'd take a no-name who can do the job over someone who won AA gold but foo-foos every meet, but NBC and I disagree on just about everything when it comes to their "coverage" of the Olympics. :)

8 minutes ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

She did choke today.  TODAY.  You're right... she did carry the team since 2013.  

I just wish she didn't pick TODAY to enter the crisis zone.  I bet she wishes the same thing.  

"Pick" is an interesting choice here. And I'd wager that Biles has been in crisis or approaching crisis for a while now.

[Dots And Stripes]

Simone told the media she feels fine physically. I don't think it's broken toes.

This Simone "choking" argument completely misses fundamental truths about mental health. 

Simone scratching when she needed to for her health and well being is absolutely a huge step in right direction for the sport. I'm sure she wanted to compete today more than anything. If her body (physically or mentally) was telling her "no" I'm glad she listened. She doesn't owe anyone anything.

 

[Minneapple]

6 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

Mykayla Skinner’s husband has edited it now, but he posted on Instagram, “Funny how when you don’t take the team that gives you the best chance of winning gold…you don’t win gold.” I can see why he’s so compatible with Mykayla.

Oh jeez. Yeah they deserve each other. MyKayla was a specialist and couldn't even advance in her so-called specialties so that? Might be considered choking.

[Daisy]

1 hour ago, Minneapple said:

As an aside, it annoys me greatly that such pressure is put on the US women...and nobody even cares that the US men NEVER medal. Maybe the key is to have low expectations.

Curious why that annoys you? This happens in a lot of sports where X team (regardless of gender) has a TONNE of pressure where Y Team (regardless of gender) does not. For example, in Hockey - there is a tonne more pressure on the Men's team to win a Gold medal than there is for the Women. (in fact a lot of people had said in Salt Lake City that while the women had won gold, has the men had lost it would have been a major disaster).(Yet both are expected to win. But media etc have flat out stated the Men's gold means more to the nation). 

In the pool for Canada, the women seem to have the higher medal expectations than the men, but  in week two a lot of the medal expectations will be on the men and not so much the women in Track. 

I'm not American, but the US Women has been has been seen as a world power since Mary Lou Retton's time? (certainly since 1992 when they won their first Bronze - and then it snowballed with the Mag7 etc). Not to mention the their performances with multiple world titles etc etc. Have the men ever been considered a world power? I'm sure people care but if the expectation isn't there, if the performance/history isn't there, why should the expectations be on the US mens team? (and if they were to win (and come into the olympics as a heavy medal favourite - i bet you the pressure would 100 percent be there)

[kittykat]

42 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I was so stressed for the US women that I wasn’t paying attention to anything else. Last I heard it was Japan and Italy battling it out for bronze. Then next thing I knew Great Britain had bronze! They looked so happy! No tears of bronze here. I hope NBC shows them in the prime time replay, so I can appreciate them this time. NBC probably won’t though.

Definitely.  GB, Italy, Japan and France were all within a point.  That's a battle worth watching.

And Tears of Nothing for China.

[DawnDavenport]

7 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

Oh jeez. Yeah they deserve each other. MyKayla was a specialist and couldn't even advance in her so-called specialties so that? Might be considered choking.

Amen! Even if she did AA in the team final with her qualification scores, the US still would have not won! They need to stop perpetuating this myth that Skinner was the great white hope for the US team and should have been on it. 

I hope she retires and we never hear from her again.

[choclatechip45]

3 hours ago, Enero said:

Speaking of Gabby, I thought I read somewhere that she'd be doing gymnastics commentary at these Games, but have been unable to find anything else on this. I'm thinking someone must've made this up, since she's really not been associated with gymnastics since Rio.

Unfortunately, there will always be distractors no matter how reasonable or understandable what has happened may be. I just hope Simone will be okay and doesn't feel that she's let herself or anyone else down (which I'm pretty sure she will feel this way on some level). Hopefully, having these feelings won't cause her further mental anguish. 

Gabby was on the Today Show right before the games and they didn't say she was doing anything related to the Olympics. I did see somewhere she just moved to Texas. So hopefully she is doing well! 

[Chaser]

Mykayla reminds me of this actress who played best friends with her (now former) castmates but would like the shadiest tweets about them. A total narcissist. 

[HartofDixie]

The Us would not have one if Skinner was on the team though we would have a had more difficult vault. Even if you take away Grace’s penalty on vault and OOB from floor and Jordan didn’t fall on her pass they still would have won silver. 

I will not be surprised if NBC talks about how 2 Russian team members are 2005 babies and would not have been eligible last year.

 

[Minneapple]

5 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Curious why that annoys you? This happens in a lot of sports where X team (regardless of gender) has a TONNE of pressure where Y Team (regardless of gender) does not. For example, in Hockey - there is a tonne more pressure on the Men's team to win a Gold medal than there is for the Women. (in fact a lot of people had said in Salt Lake City that while the women had won gold, has the men had lost it would have been a major disaster).(Yet both are expected to win. But media etc have flat out stated the Men's gold means more to the nation). 

It just annoys me a whole lot that the US women always have pressure on them, and they often rise to the occasion while the men never win anything and nobody seems to care.

In Canada men's hockey is everything, and that team in Salt Lake was put together by Wayne Gretzky so yeah. For Canada it would have been disastrous to lose.

[Conotocarious]

25 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

Nope.  No, ma'am.  None of this, and that bolded sentence is exactly the point and the problem.

Absolutely correct. You are DEAD ON with your posts on this!

[emmawoodhouse]

McKayla actually tweeted praise for the team and support for Simone. 

[Conotocarious]

31 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

Mykayla Skinner’s husband has edited it now, but he posted on Instagram, “Funny how when you don’t take the team that gives you the best chance of winning gold…you don’t win gold.” I can see why he’s so compatible with Mykayla.

Mykayla’s husband is a douchecanoe and he should be forming a new relationship with the delete button.

[choclatechip45]

2 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Nope, this is not right.  She was systematically sexually abused as a child and used and abused (and is still being used and abused) unrelentingly by the organization that similarly made her its face and lazily used her for almost a decade as the conduit for easy gold medals.  Simone has, in fact, carried this team since 2013; she did not "choke" or "crack."  How utterly laughable.

A few people just seem pissed that the women's team won a different color medal than the color they expected or wanted the team to win and are blaming Simone.  No.  What Simone did was make an informed decision for her own physical safety when, actually, the easy decision would have been to have competed "anyway."  THAT would've been "choking" or "cracking" and bowing to external pressures; instead, she made the impossibly hard decision because she is the GOAT.  And make no mistake, nothing that has happened or will happen at these Olympics affects the immutable truth that Simone is the GOAT.

And Suni, Grace, and Jordan competed like the champions they are, and the team won a silver medal at the Olympics.  I'll take this silver over 247 golds.

I keep seeing this that she carried the team in 2013 and that's not really true. Kyla Ross was right up there in the beginning of that quad. You also had Gabby in peak form in 2015 and Maggie Nichols and Aly was the leader in 2016. 

I also think Gabby's comeback took a lot of pressure off of Simone leading up to Rio 

Edited July 27, 2021 by choclatechip45

[Lady Whistleup]

25 minutes ago, kittykat said:

Definitely.  GB, Italy, Japan and France were all within a point.  That's a battle worth watching.

And Tears of Nothing for China.

Curious why it makes people so happy to see the Chinese lose? 

[Daisy]

I will have to say this discussion is really interesting. (I'm still not picking up what exactly happened to Simone).  I was an athlete growing up (I played Volleyball and field hockey) and quite categorically it would legit have taken Death itself to keep me from being on the field of play. It was never Olympic level quality or anything but  - I LOVED going out there and supporting my team. And I suffered a lot of injuries (i mean it's sport you get banged up really well), but I just did not want to let the team down if I felt I could play. 

I see a lot of people blaming coaches (and there are really yucky ones out there we all know) - but for the most part the coaches don't want you playing if you are injured either. It's pretty much a system. If you say you can do it, they believe you. I've had coaches yank me out because they thought they'd  save me from myself (which a lot of athletes need  quite frankly,  so many hockey examples). 

I would have to imagine it's dialed to 100 when it comes to the Olympics. People perform on broken limbs quite frankly, (and i've heard some athletes state this) - this could be their only shot. It takes so long for so many athletes to get there, so many sacrifices (physical, emotional, financial), and their moment is only like what? 10 seconds? a minute? etc. A lot of people can tell themselves you can do anything for at least one minute  and then you can rest. (or as the saying goes. you can rest when you are dead). When anything can happen in a quadrennial (including a global pandemic) - i'm not going to fault people to wanting to perform without achilleses and broken feet  etc, esp. if this is their final Olympics (or their countries best shot to win a gold medal), even if it's probably something I wouldn't do (anymore. Hell, y'all I'm old. Walking to the bathroom hurts!). 

it does take a lot of strength and courage to pull yourself out of competition. (again I don't wanna comment too much on what happened to Biles because I didn't see it for myself). I'm not going to say that she choked or what not- (because I didn't see what happened). If she mentally wasn't there today or she felt she could have hurt herself performing then yah sit out, but i would say at the same time  - just pull yourself out completely. that's my pennies worth. 

[DawnDavenport]

Just now, Lady Whistleup said:

Curious why it makes people so happy to see the Chinese lose? 

I think it's because we hear year after year after year how great both the men and women team's are and how they are such a threat in any competition they enter. They NEVER live up to the hype and always under deliver except in 2008 when they probably had to win or everyone would have been sent to the glue factory.

 

8 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

I keep seeing this that she carried the team in 2013 and that's not really true. Kyla Ross was right up there in the beginning of that quad. You also had Gabby in peak form in 2015 and Maggie Nichols.

Don't forget Maroney was on the 2013 team as well and won the vault gold as consolation for not winning in London.

[Conotocarious]

4 minutes ago, Daisy said:

I will have to say this discussion is really interesting. (I'm still not picking up what exactly happened to Simone).  I was an athlete growing up (I played Volleyball and field hockey) and quite categorically it would legit have taken Death itself to keep me from being on the field of play. It was never Olympic level quality or anything but  - I LOVED going out there and supporting my team. And I suffered a lot of injuries (i mean it's sport you get banged up really well), but I just did not want to let the team down if I felt I could play. 

I see a lot of people blaming coaches (and there are really yucky ones out there we all know) - but for the most part the coaches don't want you playing if you are injured either. It's pretty much a system. If you say you can do it, they believe you. I've had coaches yank me out because they thought they'd  save me from myself (which a lot of athletes need  quite frankly,  so many hockey examples). 

I would have to imagine it's dialed to 100 when it comes to the Olympics. People perform on broken limbs quite frankly, (and i've heard some athletes state this) - this could be their only shot. It takes so long for so many athletes to get there, so many sacrifices (physical, emotional, financial), and their moment is only like what? 10 seconds? a minute? etc. A lot of people can tell themselves you can do anything for at least one minute  and then you can rest. (or as the saying goes. you can rest when you are dead). When anything can happen in a quadrennial (including a global pandemic) - i'm not going to fault people to wanting to perform without achilleses and broken feet  etc, esp. if this is their final Olympics (or their countries best shot to win a gold medal), even if it's probably something I wouldn't do (anymore. Hell, y'all I'm old. Walking to the bathroom hurts!). 

it does take a lot of strength and courage to pull yourself out of competition. (again I don't wanna comment too much on what happened to Biles because I didn't see it for myself). I'm not going to say that she choked or what not- (because I didn't see what happened). If she mentally wasn't there today or she felt she could have hurt herself performing then yah sit out, but i would say at the same time  - just pull yourself out completely. that's my pennies worth. 

The one difference I see is playing volleyball or field hockey while not mentally together is that it might result in a lousy performance but not paralysis or death.

[Lady Whistleup]

4 minutes ago, DawnDavenport said:

I think it's because we hear year after year after year how great both the men and women team's are and how they are such a threat in any competition they enter. They NEVER live up to the hype and always under deliver except in 2008 when they probably had to win or everyone would have been sent to the glue factory.

Sorry, this is nonsense. Chinese won mens' team gold in London, and individual medals in high bar, balance beam (actually went 1-2), parallel bars, and silver in uneven bars and rings.

They didn't have a good meet in Rio.

But prejudice against Chinese people seems to be super-acceptable since the pandemic and as an AAPI it infuriates me. I see it all over Twitter too.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[Daisy]

2 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

The one difference I see is playing volleyball or field hockey while not mentally together is that it might result in a lousy performance but not paralysis or death.

Well I was just talking from my perspective (as a former athlete) that I can understand why most athletes want to play. And yeah I won't be paralyzed or die if on the volleyball court, but it takes mental awareness in all sports to prevent injury. not to mention -it takes one bad hit to cause major injuries if you're not paying attention depending on the sport.  

But not being mentally together means you aren't focused and you can do serious harm to yourself just by not landing properly, etc etc. that's all I meant. Regardless of the sport, most athletes push themselves because they want to compete. Period - for the reasons i've stated. .

[Leeds]

13 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Curious why it makes people so happy to see the Chinese lose? 

Politics/history?  It's the same with the Russians/Eastern Europeans.  I'm sure many Americans actually have no idea about the background of the countries' relationships, but it doesn't stop them from perpetuating the prejudice.  (I'm not saying there aren't issues with their training programmes, but there have been/are with the US team's too.)

[Conotocarious]

8 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Well I was just talking from my perspective (as a former athlete) that I can understand why most athletes want to play. And yeah I won't be paralyzed or die if on the volleyball court, but it takes mental awareness in all sports to prevent injury. not to mention -it takes one bad hit to cause major injuries if you're not paying attention depending on the sport.  

But not being mentally together means you aren't focused and you can do serious harm to yourself just by not landing properly, etc etc. that's all I meant. Regardless of the sport, most athletes push themselves because they want to compete. Period - for the reasons i've stated. .

Oh yes, I know, and its an interesting perspective. I’m just saying though, that the stuff they all do but particularly Simone is so incredibly dangerous that even the thought of trying to continue when you get in your own head is somewhat terrifying to me. I do think she thought she was OK to go until she realized not only that she wasn’t but that she was  getting lost in the air. Can you imagine doing a triple-twisting double back when you don’t have a sense of air awareness? 

I just think that her remaining in might have cost the team more and that she and her coaches made the right decision for today.

[kittykat]

It's not racial prejudice.  Part of it is an inside joke carried over from the Rio forums.  Part of it carries over from controversy regarding ages of the gymnasts, which they were busted for.  And part of it is that the men have gotten away with erratic form but usually medal over teams like GB or Ukraine because they have ridiculously high start values on their routines.  It goes back to the debate of high start/poor form beating lower start/good form.

Quote

I will not be surprised if NBC talks about how 2 Russian team members are 2005 babies and would not have been eligible last year.

Oh I'm sure they will.  But as discussed, the one year delay has helped some and hurt others, that's life.

Edited July 27, 2021 by kittykat

[Lady Whistleup]

5 minutes ago, kittykat said:

It's not racial prejudice.  Part of it is an inside joke carried over from the Rio forums.  Part of it carries over from controversy regarding ages of the gymnasts, which they were busted for.  And part of it is that the men have gotten away with erratic form but usually medal over teams like GB or Ukraine because they have ridiculously high start values on their routines.  It goes back to the debate of high start/poor form beating lower start/good form.

GB and Ukraine though have trouble putting it together when it counts though. Like I'll never forget how in Rio all the chips were in place for Ukraine to medal and they ended up scratching in the team finals.

[Minneapple]

29 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

But prejudice against Chinese people seems to be super-acceptable since the pandemic and as an AAPI it infuriates me. I see it all over Twitter too.

As an Asian woman I will say it's not prejudice at all. They straight-up cheated in 2008 and everyone knows it. 

[Lady Whistleup]

2 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

As an Asian woman I will say it's not prejudice at all. They straight-up cheated in 2008 and everyone knows it. 

Not here, but on twitter it is really racist. Lots of "too bad their parents didn't throw them down wells" shit.

And since the pandemic prejudice against Asians has become depressingly acceptable.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[emmawoodhouse]

Fair article on what happened to Simone.

Simone's IG post

https://www.instagram.com/p/CR1qltpBe3k/?utm_medium=copy_link

Edited July 27, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[annzeepark914]

In 2008, wasn't there a lot of controversy re: the ages of the Chinese female gymnasts? 

[DawnDavenport]

36 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Sorry, this is nonsense. Chinese won mens' team gold in London, and individual medals in high bar, balance beam (actually went 1-2), parallel bars, and silver in uneven bars and rings.

They didn't have a good meet in Rio.

But prejudice against Chinese people seems to be super-acceptable since the pandemic and as an AAPI it infuriates me. I see it all over Twitter too.

My bad, I forgot about London. I just don't care for their approach to gymnastics, it certainly has nothing to do with prejudice against any ethnic groups. I just think they are always overhyped and hardly even deliver. 

[Dr.OO7]

3 hours ago, Minneapple said:

As an aside, it annoys me greatly that such pressure is put on the US women...and nobody even cares that the US men NEVER medal. Maybe the key is to have low expectations.

I've noticed that with certain sports, there's often hype only around one gender, and gymnastics is one of them. It's the same with figure skating.

[choclatechip45]

56 minutes ago, DawnDavenport said:

I think it's because we hear year after year after year how great both the men and women team's are and how they are such a threat in any competition they enter. They NEVER live up to the hype and always under deliver except in 2008 when they probably had to win or everyone would have been sent to the glue factory.

 

Don't forget Maroney was on the 2013 team as well and won the vault gold as consolation for not winning in London.

I should have included Maroney, but you are right the 2013 & 2015 Worlds and 2016 Olympic Teams are some of the most talented teams we have sent and it just feels like those gymnasts aren't getting the credit they deserve by saying Simone carried them. 

[Lady Whistleup]

3 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

I've noticed that with certain sports, there's often hype only around one gender, and gymnastics is one of them. It's the same with figure skating.

It's a shame because MAG is always one of the best competitions. The six rotation format makes it almost a decathlon with the AA gymnasts having to master so many different skill sets.

I always tell my friends that they don't know what they're missing with MAG events.

[satrunrose]

I agree that pressure is different based on sport and gender, but I think t does vary based on the country and the time. Canada put a lot of pressure on Men's figure skating in the 90s. It was like Elvis Stojko! Kurt Browning! Oh, and those girls that always come 5th.

[Raachel2008]

Simone Biles doesn't have to prove anything to anyone, and I'm glad she and her coaches were able to recognize that a medal is not worth her life, her mental health or a serious injury. She gave FIVE Olympic golds to US. FIVE. She made people turn on the TV, sponsors cash in. She made tons of young girls think 'I want to do it, I can do it'. All power to her.

I thought I had posted it earlier, but clearly I didn't hit the reply buttom, but I liked the Russians. They were first in the trials and they seemed solid. I loved their coreographed parts on the floors, to my untrained eyes they looked more gracious and flawless than the others. 

I was rooting for the Italians to get a medal, but I can't be mad with the results. 

I don't feel sorry for the Chineses at all.

[Harry24]

4 hours ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

As a victim of sexual assault and as someone who suffers from anxiety disorder I cannot imagine what Simone must be feeling.   I can only hope she has good people she can talk to.  

I find myself wondering if she and Naomi O could ever connect personally with each other over this mental health issue in general.   Lord knows there aren’t a lot of people in the world who perform at their level and are as visible.  (I’m pretty sure Naomi doesn’t have a history with sex abuse, or at least she has never said so.  I certainly hope she doesn’t.)

[choclatechip45]

USA Men's Gymnastic team was a favorite for a medal in 2012 and they collapsed under the pressure. The 2004 team was favored for a medal as well and they got silver.