Gymnastics

[choclatechip45]

9 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

So I was watching MyKayla's vlogs and it seems as if the gymnasts are staying in a hotel apart from the rest of the Olympians. I understand why they made this choice, but it seems that without their parents and support systems, I could see how it'd be even more isolating and increase anxiety.

It seems as if after practice they just go to their hotel rooms by themselves and are all alone. Why did anyone think this was a good idea?

Here's the video:

 

The team had the choice between staying in the village or staying in the hotels and they chose to stay in the hotels. Also yes it sucks they are isolated, but I wonder how they would feel if they couldn't compete due to getting COVID. 

[blueray]

I wonder if some of the further isolation is that they have to room by themselves now since they had to switch hotels. In the video she shows her and Simone rooming and seeming to be having a good time. At least they don't have to eat meals by themselves.

[Jeddah]

I really never wanted to see Mykayla Skinner’s horrible form ever again, but I’m relieved Simone isn’t competing in vault. I really hope Jade can win it. I have been so impressed by her this year.

[Conotocarious]

2 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

This has actually been the case for many top-flight competitors over the years, the lack of family and friends back at the hotel being the only difference.  I doubt anyone from USA basketball is staying in the village, either.  They never did in the past.  Top figure skaters from the US don't stay in the dorms and haven't for many years.  Many times, these elite competitors will go to the village and pose in a room for a photo op for the fans back home and then go back to their hotel.  I remember when Wayne Gretzky played hockey for Canada and it was a big deal because he was the only member of the team who actually stayed in the athlete dorms; he was a big Olympics geek and didn't want to miss the experience.

As it is, due to COVID, the Olympic Village is very different and isolating this year anyway,  The communal cafeteria is restricted to a limited number who must sit at least 6 feet apart and leave as soon as they finish eating, athletes are encouraged to take their boxed meals back to their rooms to consume.  No visitors are allowed in, only athletes and coaches.  No group spaces like lounges are open to discourage people gathering in groups.  In years past, the lounges had pool tables, video games, big screen TV's etc and there were people hanging out all hours of the day and night.

Here's a link to the lengthy booklet on COVID rules given to all competitors.  The stuff on the village starts around page 35 or so.

https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Tokyo-2020/Playbooks/The-Playbook-Athletes-and-Officials-V3.pdf?_ga=2.245635202.703977941.1626198525-1869423040.1621021245

 

Tom Daley has a fantastic YouTube video taking you through the village that goes into the cafeteria and shows the rooming situation. It’s the best look at the Olympic village I’ve seen. 

[PepSinger]

41 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

I really never wanted to see Mykayla Skinner’s horrible form ever again, but I’m relieved Simone isn’t competing in vault. I really hope Jade can win it. I have been so impressed by her this year.

Why is her form so bad? Who allowed this? I want answers!

[Jeddah]

2 minutes ago, PepSinger said:

Why is her form so bad? Who allowed this? I want answers!

Especially in light of all the discussion about safety in the last few days. It feels like her training was just go ahead and chuck it and see what happens. Like her coaches were just like “Eh, she seems to only be using one arm for her block on the Cheng, but it’s fine because she made it.” I will admit she does seem to be using both arms on her block these days. She made an Olympic event final with that form, so what do I know?

[HartofDixie]

1 hour ago, blueray said:

I wonder if some of the further isolation is that they have to room by themselves now since they had to switch hotels. In the video she shows her and Simone rooming and seeming to be having a good time. At least they don't have to eat meals by themselves.

They roomed together in the 1st city they stayed at with the alternates. After Kara tested positive they switched to single rooms.

Suni during AA

https://youtu.be/xxoDZfCwbrk

 

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, PepSinger said:

Why is her form so bad? Who allowed this? I want answers!

No idea! It has always been awful since she was a junior!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, PepSinger said:

Why is her form so bad? Who allowed this? I want answers!

Bad habits learned early and never corrected. Plus US judges tend to not as harsh on form issues causing athletes with issues to be hammered on execution at international meets.

[Snow Apple]

I'm in the US CST. Does anyone know where to watch the women's events live tomorrow, Sunday?

Edited July 31, 2021 by Snow Apple

[Lady Whistleup]

5 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

I'm in the US CST. Does anyone know where to watch the women's events live tomorrow, Sunday?

NBCOlympics or Peacock starting at 4 AM EST. Yikes.

[Quilt Fairy]

4 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

NBCOlympics or Peacock starting at 4 AM EST. Yikes.

Same for the men's events, I assume?

[Lady Whistleup]

Just now, Quilt Fairy said:

Same for the men's events, I assume?

Yeah it's all together.

[emmawoodhouse]

Interesting article comparing/contrasting Biles and Strug, with a little Artur (and his motivations) thrown in for good measure.

Edited August 1, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[Jeddah]

3 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

NBCOlympics or Peacock starting at 4 AM EST. Yikes.

Yeah, I’m just going to have to hope I wake up to good news for this one. I think they’ll be okay without me cheering from halfway around the world.

[Snow Apple]

4 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

NBCOlympics or Peacock starting at 4 AM EST. Yikes.

Thanks. I don't have Peacock but I'll have to try to figure out NBCOlympics. If all else fails, I can always just watch NBC. I like spoilers anyway.

[Chit Chat]

20 hours ago, Daisy said:

Yeah. I mean that's what I would do, but i'm just the girl eating salty sweet popcorn and playing legend of zelda right now, not an Olympian so *shrug*

Daisy, I see that the Bama Gymnastics FB page is showing Shallon Olsen will be in the Vault event!  I will be cheering her on.  Roll Tide!

Edited August 1, 2021 by ChitChat

[Daisy]

9 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

Daisy, I see that the Bama Gymnastics FB page is showing Shallon Olsen will be in the Vault event!  I will be cheering her on.  Roll Tide!

shares Canadian treats

[KittenPokerCheater]

4AM?  Good god that's early.

I hope there will be a way to watch the WHOLE thing on a replay. 

[HartofDixie]

Steam link

https://stream.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics-event-finals-mens-floor-pommel-horse-womens-vault-bars

[irisheyes]

38 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

4AM?  Good god that's early.

I hope there will be a way to watch the WHOLE thing on a replay. 

If you have a cable/streaming service subscription, the full replays are usually up on nbc Olympics within a few hours. 

[Lady Whistleup]

Simone withdrew from the FX event final.

[emmawoodhouse]

14 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Simone withdrew from the FX event final.

However, no announcement re beam.

eta Tirico said beam would probably be announced tomorrow.

Edited August 1, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[ancslove]

I'm surprised beam is her last decision, just because that's really not her strong apparatus to begin with.  And it must be hugely disappointing (for basically everyone) that she won't get the chance to have that vault skill named after her.

Regarding her critics, I think part of the confusion and initial reaction is that she really didn't do a good job of explaining her withdrawal from the Team final when it happened.  And obviously, she must have been feeling so many different emotions at that time, it's not surprising that she didn't get her point across clearly and concisely.  But first impressions count, and the first impression here was kind of weak.  Even when she was saying in the post-medal interview about how she "knew the team would be fine, and she had to just take care of herself" - in hindsight, if she had phrased it as knowing she couldn't perform and believing the team would be better without her, that might have been more understandable?  Again, it's not her fault.  It's just rather unfortunate.  I think posting to social media and showing what was happening to her was a really smart move.  

[Mirabelle]

From FiveThirtyEight: Why It's Not Surprising Simone Biles Cheered for Angelina Melnikova

[NUguy514]

51 minutes ago, ancslove said:

Regarding her critics, I think part of the confusion and initial reaction is that she really didn't do a good job of explaining her withdrawal from the Team final when it happened.

The only people to whom she needed to give any kind of explanation for her withdrawal were her teammates.  She didn't need to explain her decision to anyone else.  If the anyone else was confused or upset, that's on them.

And let's be real: any explanation would have been eviscerated because there is a segment of the American population (comprised mostly of white men) who will use any excuse to attack a successful black woman.  That's just the truth.  And it's gross and sad.

[HartofDixie]

Great article of Suni and the coaches.

https://oanow.com/sports/college/auburn/tremendous-team-auburn-s-sunisa-lee-and-the-graba-twins-put-together-a-golden-plan/article_1b8fb698-f0aa-11eb-9dd2-53f68ff9aac8.html

[CheshireCat]

1 hour ago, ancslove said:

I'm surprised beam is her last decision, just because that's really not her strong apparatus to begin with. 

The moment she announced she won't compete anymore, she has two days to go home. This way, she can stay and support her teammates. She probably also doesn't want to make that decision before she absolutely has to, at the off chance that she would be able to compete.

[Quilt Fairy]

59 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

The only people to whom she needed to give any kind of explanation for her withdrawal were her teammates.  She didn't need to explain her decision to anyone else.  If the anyone else was confused or upset, that's on them.

I disagree.  She is the premier athlete of these Olympics.  Millions of people around the world were expecting her to compete for up to 6 gold medals.  Don't we have a right to be upset and confused? I think we do.  Are we owed an explanation?  I guess not.  Are we going to be disappointed and confused without one?  You bet. 

This is not to take anything away from what happened to her and her decision not to compete.  I get that it would be dangerous for her to compete right now.  I would not want the weight of all those expectations on my shoulders.  But people aren't going to say "Oh, OK, Simone's out" after seeing her leave the floor after her vault.  They're going to want to know what happened. 

[Cherpumple]

I completely support Simone's decisions to do whatever she needs to be safe and healthy, but I admit that I was very confused during the team competition because I couldn't figure out what was going on based on how she and the team were behaving. If she had an obvious bandage or was on crutches or something, it would be clear that she had a physical injury. If she left the floor completely, I would assume it was injury, illness, maybe a panic attack, or even some bad news from home. But when she came back so quickly in seemingly good spirits I was wracking my brains trying to figure out what could be so serious as to make her withdraw from the meet midstream, but at the same time be "no big deal" enough to have her spend the remainder of the meet laughing and joking and cheering with her teammates. It just didn't make sense to me in the moment and distracted me from an otherwise great competition.

I don't think Simone owed a public explanation beyond saying she was having a medical issue, but I'm really glad she gave one. Not only did it introduce a lot of people (including me) to the specific condition known as the twisties, which is apparently common to many athletes, but she shone a bright light on the issue of "invisible" illnesses/disabilities, which are commonly ignored, misunderstood, or not believed. She absolutely does not need to take time out of her incredibly stressful week to patiently educate the world about her condition, but I love her even more for doing so, and am certain that the good that will come from it will far outweigh the ignorant vitriol of her critics.

[Irlandesa]

15 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

The moment she announced she won't compete anymore, she has two days to go home. This way, she can stay and support her teammates. She probably also doesn't want to make that decision before she absolutely has to, at the off chance that she would be able to compete.

I also think I read somewhere that beam is the one event with the fewest twisty moves so it makes sense that she might try to find a way to compete in it. 

14 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Don't we have a right to be upset and confused? I think we do.  Are we owed an explanation?  I guess not.  Are we going to be disappointed and confused without one? 

The issue is that sometimes an explanation is never enough.  It's a "medical" reason wasn't enough when she officially withdrew. Then when they got more specific that it was related to mental health, criticism even became worse because if nothing was broken, then why wasn't she out there?  Then numerous gymnasts came out to explain the phenomenon that she was experiencing and it still wasn't enough.  She made a video showing how she literally flops onto the mat when she tries to do certain elements and she still has people criticizing her. 

I don't think her critics are criticizing her because they didn't get information fast enough at this point. It has been a week.  A ton of information has been released about her condition and yet the critics still chirp up. 

I get feeling disappointed.  I am too.  I wanted to see her assert her dominance after everything she has been through in her career.  I ache for her because I have zero doubt how badly she wanted this and it just sucks that this hit her now. 

And I've actually been pretty impressed with how many people are supporting her.

But I don't think information management is the issue with those who don't.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Irlandesa

[NUguy514]

1 hour ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I disagree.  She is the premier athlete of these Olympics.  Millions of people around the world were expecting her to compete for up to 6 gold medals.  Don't we have a right to be upset and confused? I think we do.  Are we owed an explanation?  I guess not.  Are we going to be disappointed and confused without one?  You bet. 

This is not to take anything away from what happened to her and her decision not to compete.  I get that it would be dangerous for her to compete right now.  I would not want the weight of all those expectations on my shoulders.  But people aren't going to say "Oh, OK, Simone's out" after seeing her leave the floor after her vault.  They're going to want to know what happened. 

I guess I needed to be clearer then because I take extreme umbrage to the implication that Simone herself is to blame for the confusion because she didn't do a "good job" of explaining her withdrawal.  Simone herself doesn't owe anyone an explanation, and her status as one of the premier athletes of these Games doesn't mean that anyone is entitled to demand one from her.  If other people are upset and confused because they expected her to compete for six golds, well, tough; she is not competing for us fans.  That disappointment is certainly nothing compared to whatever disappointment Simone herself is feeling, and for anyone to say that she didn't do a "good job" explaining why she withdrew in the immediate aftermath is missing the point completely.

As much as I'm sure it would've killed Andrea Joyce and NBC, any explanation should have come from Tom Forster as the team coordinator, or a spokesperson for the US team.  A simple statement would have sufficed: "Simone withdrew because she is suffering from a neural issue affecting her proprioception.  This issue has caused her to lose her sense of air awareness.  As a gymnast, this is extremely dangerous and, had she continued to compete, could have resulted in serious, permanent, or even fatal injury.  For her own safety and the sake of the team, she chose to withdraw from the team finals.  She and we will monitor her over the next few days to see if her condition improves enough for her to take part safely in the individual events, and she will be available to speak with the media if and when she so chooses.  We are incredibly proud of her brave decision and of her, Grace, Jordan, and Suni for capturing the silver medal."  But Forster is a spineless asshole, and the USAG does nothing but treat these young women horribly, so that's not what happened.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, ancslove said:

Regarding her critics, I think part of the confusion and initial reaction is that she really didn't do a good job of explaining her withdrawal from the Team final when it happened.

How could she even explain it while it was happening? She couldn’t (and shouldn’t) run out and make a statement during the middle of the competition. Her job at that point was to support the other members of the team. If anyone was going to give an explanation it would have had to come from USA gymnastic officials and it really wasn’t their place to release details about her mental state. 

1 hour ago, NUguy514 said:

As much as I'm sure it would've killed Andrea Joyce and NBC, any explanation should have come from Tom Forster as the team coordinator, or a spokesperson for the US team.  A simple statement would have sufficed: "Simone withdrew because she is suffering from a neural issue affecting her proprioception.  This issue has caused her to lose her sense of air awareness.  As a gymnast, this is extremely dangerous and, had she continued to compete, could have resulted in serious, permanent, or even fatal injury.  For her own safety and the sake of the team, she chose to withdraw from the team finals.  She and we will monitor her over the next few days to see if her condition improves enough for her to take part safely in the individual events, and she will be available to speak with the media if and when she so chooses.  We are incredibly proud of her brave decision and of her, Grace, Jordan, and Suni for capturing the silver medal."  But Forster is a spineless asshole, and the USAG does nothing but treat these young women horribly, so that's not what happened.

It was not his place to make that kind of statement for Simone unless it’s what she wanted. Particularly sense there is a history of these gymnasts being silenced. What was released and how it was released should be completely and only Simone’s decision. 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Guest

[Harry24]

Yay, Rebeca!!!

Jade. :-(

Bummed Skinner medaled, if I’m to be honest.

Yeo’s first fault was the best one of the day.  So impressive.  Glad she got the bronze.

[Conotocarious]

I slept though vault. What happened to Jade?

 

eta: GOOOO REBECA! I wanted her to win so bad!!!!

Edited August 1, 2021 by Conotocarious

[Harry24]

7 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

I slept though vault. What happened to Jade?

She totally messed up her step pattern on her run up in her Cheng and scored an 11 something.  It was so sad.  I’ve totally lost my heart to her these Olympics.  She seems like such a lovely, warm-hearted young lady.  I was hoping she’d win this.  Sniff.

ETA: WTF with the Brazilian national anthem?  It sounds like ersatz Mozart crossed with ersatz early Verdi.  I was expecting something a lot, well, sexier.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Harry24

[Conotocarious]

1 minute ago, Harry24 said:

She totally messed up her step pattern on her run up in her Cheng and scored an 11 something.  It was so sad.  I’ve totally lost my heart to her these Olympics.  She seems like such a lovely, warm-hearted young lady.  I was hoping she’d win this.  Sniff.

Poor Jade! at least she can still medal on floor though! I’ll be pulling for her. What a time for a mistake like that. That probably almost never happens to her. Olympics, man. 

[Conotocarious]

I just saw the slo-no of Rebeca’s Cheng and she landed outside the lines again. Her Cheng is so glorious otherwise.  What was her second vault? 

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, Harry24 said:

Yay, Rebeca!!!

Jade. :-(

Bummed Skinner medaled, if I’m to be honest.

Yeo’s first fault was the best one of the day.  So impressive.  Glad she got the bronze.

I think I’m mainly disappointed that the competition was lackluster with too many errors. There were a few highlights and I’m happy for Rebecca but it was very underwhelming as a whole. 

 

19 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

I slept though vault. What happened to Jade?

She had a stutter step in the run up and had to pull out of the skill. She ending up doing a Yurchenko tuck. 

4 minutes ago, Conotocarious said:

I just saw the slo-no of Rebeca’s Cheng and she landed outside the lines again. Her Cheng is so glorious otherwise.  What was her second vault? 

Amanar. 

[Steph619]

I’m sad for Jade. It’s very unfortunate that her steps were off on her first run to the vault. I think she definitely would’ve benefited from warming up on the actual apparatus before completing the event. I didn’t know they weren’t allowed to do that. I’m hoping Jade will shake this off and do really well tomorrow on FX.

On the other hand, I’m very happy for Brazil. First, silver and now gold for Rebecca Andrade.  She’s done great and made her country proud.

I’m also happy that McKayla got the silver. I know she’s been controversial and not everyone’s favorite, but it’s still nice to see a US gymnast win. It’s crazy how things went from her not qualifying for any events to going on to compete on vault and win the silver medal.

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Steph619

[Conotocarious]

2 minutes ago, Steph619 said:

I’m sad for Jade. It’s very unfortunate that her steps were off on her first run to the vault. I think she definitely would’ve benefited from warming up on the actual apparatus before completing the event. I didn’t know they weren’t allowed to do that. I’m hoping Jade will shake this off and do really well tomorrow on FX.

On the other hand, I’m very happy for Brazil. First, silver and now gold for Rebecca Andrade.  She’s done great and made her country proud.

I’m also happy that McKayla got the silver. I know she’s been controversial and not everyone’s favorite, but it’s still nice to see a US gymnast win. It’s crazy how things went from her not qualifying for any events to going on to compete on vault and win the silver medal.

 

They absolutely should have a one touch warm up and it’s so crazy they do not. I agree it has a lot to do with what happened to Jade. Sucks.

[Lady Whistleup]

Oof Suni had a disappointing bars.

[Harry24]

Can I just say how much I love Suni?  She did (for her) a relatively poor bars set, but she looks genuinely amused by life.

[Conotocarious]

Suni could very well be out of medals for UB. That is unexpected for sure but the Olympics are hard and all kinds of crazy stuff happens. 

[Lady Whistleup]

Melnikova off bars. Wow.

[Lady Whistleup]

And now Fan Yilin. Bad juju from bars.

[Conotocarious]

What a disappointing bars final. 
 

Suni gets a medal in every color. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Conotocarious said:

What a disappointing bars final. 
 

Suni gets a medal in every color. 

I can’t help but wonder how much better the event finals would have been if they had a one touch warm-up. 

[Conotocarious]

3 minutes ago, Dani said:

I can’t help but wonder how much better the event finals would have been if they had a one touch warm-up. 

My guess is much much better. That ridiculous rule needs to go now.

[Steph619]

Congratulations to Suni for winning the bronze! It wasn’t her best bars routine, but she still did a good job and now she has a medal in every color. Looking forward to seeing her on balance beam.