zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Much rather that than be killed or living with a defect the rest of my life
2020/2021 Olympics
- Thread starter zitothebrave
- Start date
Much rather that than be killed or living with a defect the rest of my life
acesfull86
Well-known member
Looks like another American won the individual all-around?
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Yup. Always a good shot that would happen. Suni Lee is a great gymnast. She got her chance to shine and did.
acesfull86
Well-known member
Other than a little soccer and men’s hoops, I haven’t watched any of these games. Are the Americans doing about what they’re supposed to do? I bet the over 43.5 gold metals, but no idea where I stand lol.
edit: Was looking at total medals earlier. USA currently has 14 golds
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
US women bounced. not really surprising. Seems like they're in the same rut they were in back in the early 2010s. Lots of older vets who run the team. All our forwards but one was 32 or older. Like that's not good.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
OHTANI
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
USA gets a shot for revenge in the Gold Medal Game.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
Landon Donovan famously took a mental health sabbatical.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Yeah and he never won any major trophies unlike Simone
Not that it matters, but do you buy into the theory about Simone knowing she’d be popped for banned drugs that’s why it was a sudden and last minute withdrawal? the evidence add ups just as much as the ‘twisty’ excuse. Shes openly admitted that she takes medicine that’s banned in the olympics.
She performed in the balance beam conpetition not even a few days later. So she must've had someone good to cover it up for her.
zitothebrave
Connoisseur of Minors
Yeah, it would be silly to assume she was cheating when she competed later.
Though I think the only reason US didn't dominate Skating and BMX is because of the pot rules.
Runnin
Well-known member
I don't know what to think about her. She knows herself better than anyone but I think no Japanese or Chinese gymnast would've withdrawn, or been allowed to withdraw, from Olympic events because of "the twisties". They would've been more psychologically prepared and with a deep sense of personal investment and responsibility.
But it's also true that the kind of moves Biles makes are super difficult and dangerous. Fortunately the US was very deep.
Japan also bans some substances that are not on the Olympic ban list.
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
Didn't watch that much of the Olympics, but heard a lot about Biles' decision both pro and con/reasoned and venomous.
All I can say is gymnastics is the cruelest sport in the world and it only gets more and more cruel as these athletes reach higher levels of competition. My daughter was in club gymnastics until she finished seventh grade. She reached Level 9 (two levels below Elite where the sifting for the Olympics begins) and placed quite well. But at Levels 8 and 9, she was practicing 25 hours a week and I was starting to observe a Svengali dynamic between her and her coach. Her coach left the gym she was at (and tried to convince my daughter's mother and me that she should follow him to his next destination). She changed gyms and really didn't like the coaching approach (and they were insisting she repeat Level 9 even though she had finished second in the state the year before), so she decided to hang it up. She grew four inches her first year out of gymnastics. She went over to the much less arduous high school gymnastics and did very well (even won the state all-around title as a junior).
I don't know why Biles went back to the Olympics in 2021. Whatever pressure she felt was unwarranted. But that doesn't mean there weren't people putting pressure on her. It's a sport that requires this odd mix of daring athleticism and total Zen. If those girls think, they inevitably mess up and when an athlete is attempting to successfully perform the types of maneuvers they are expected to perform, it does become extremely hazardous.
Like almost everything else in the culture these days, Biles' decision took on dimensions well beyond its isolated importance. To me, that's the biggest problem.
All I can say is gymnastics is the cruelest sport in the world and it only gets more and more cruel as these athletes reach higher levels of competition. My daughter was in club gymnastics until she finished seventh grade. She reached Level 9 (two levels below Elite where the sifting for the Olympics begins) and placed quite well. But at Levels 8 and 9, she was practicing 25 hours a week and I was starting to observe a Svengali dynamic between her and her coach. Her coach left the gym she was at (and tried to convince my daughter's mother and me that she should follow him to his next destination). She changed gyms and really didn't like the coaching approach (and they were insisting she repeat Level 9 even though she had finished second in the state the year before), so she decided to hang it up. She grew four inches her first year out of gymnastics. She went over to the much less arduous high school gymnastics and did very well (even won the state all-around title as a junior).
I don't know why Biles went back to the Olympics in 2021. Whatever pressure she felt was unwarranted. But that doesn't mean there weren't people putting pressure on her. It's a sport that requires this odd mix of daring athleticism and total Zen. If those girls think, they inevitably mess up and when an athlete is attempting to successfully perform the types of maneuvers they are expected to perform, it does become extremely hazardous.
Like almost everything else in the culture these days, Biles' decision took on dimensions well beyond its isolated importance. To me, that's the biggest problem.
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
Snowflakes.