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shipperxKind of gave up early and went to bed so I actually missed the Phelps gold.
I did watch all of the women's all-around in gymnastics. I felt bad for the Russian gymnast who cried when she got silver. Her floor routine was a thing of epic beauty and, somehow, it's more difficult losing when you do something spectacular than when you screw up (although, both her vault and her balance beam had screw-ups. Her parallel bars and her floor routine were phenomenal and the floor routine was last... and, again, phenomenal. (so graceful. And her landings... WOW. She landed each run perfectly). I sympathized with how tough a loss would be after having done that well on the final aparatus.
That said, Gabby Douglas was consistent throughout the competition with no significant screw ups on any aparatus (and she also looked gorgeous on the parallel bars). So I sympathize with the Russian gymnast for how tough a loss feels, but she wasn't robbed. Douglas did well with few deductions on every aparatus, and it is the all-around competition. (If the Russian produces a floor routine like she did last night, though, the Russian totally deserves the floor routine gold).
The bronze Russian gymnast completely fascinates me. She has attitude. When she screwed up on the beam then came back and slapped away her coach's comforting hand... (And she did the same thing in the all-around. I noted then that when she made a mistake and her coach would approach to comfort her, that she slapped him away then too... then walked off on her own). She did NOT want to be comforted. Either time. She wouldn't have it. And she always looks intensely, intensely determined. Even when she loses or screws-up, she looks stoic. That girl has backbone. Of steel.
She's fascinating.
While the tales of her being "hard to coach" are perhaps understandable, someone that determined to do it come hell or high water and she didn't need your patronizing pat on the back or hug when she screwed-up either, she's got this, and if she doesn't she'll handle it on her own is highly intriguing.
I did watch all of the women's all-around in gymnastics. I felt bad for the Russian gymnast who cried when she got silver. Her floor routine was a thing of epic beauty and, somehow, it's more difficult losing when you do something spectacular than when you screw up (although, both her vault and her balance beam had screw-ups. Her parallel bars and her floor routine were phenomenal and the floor routine was last... and, again, phenomenal. (so graceful. And her landings... WOW. She landed each run perfectly). I sympathized with how tough a loss would be after having done that well on the final aparatus.
That said, Gabby Douglas was consistent throughout the competition with no significant screw ups on any aparatus (and she also looked gorgeous on the parallel bars). So I sympathize with the Russian gymnast for how tough a loss feels, but she wasn't robbed. Douglas did well with few deductions on every aparatus, and it is the all-around competition. (If the Russian produces a floor routine like she did last night, though, the Russian totally deserves the floor routine gold).
The bronze Russian gymnast completely fascinates me. She has attitude. When she screwed up on the beam then came back and slapped away her coach's comforting hand... (And she did the same thing in the all-around. I noted then that when she made a mistake and her coach would approach to comfort her, that she slapped him away then too... then walked off on her own). She did NOT want to be comforted. Either time. She wouldn't have it. And she always looks intensely, intensely determined. Even when she loses or screws-up, she looks stoic. That girl has backbone. Of steel.
She's fascinating.
While the tales of her being "hard to coach" are perhaps understandable, someone that determined to do it come hell or high water and she didn't need your patronizing pat on the back or hug when she screwed-up either, she's got this, and if she doesn't she'll handle it on her own is highly intriguing.
