Sure hope USA gets their act together for gymnastics

[cati]

xx

 

[Laz]

Thier is a lot of pressure on them. I know I couldn't do what any of those atheletes do. Good luck to them all.

 

[cati]

xx

 

[palmtreegirl]

I think they're doing great, just a little jitters. Better to have those small mistakes tonight then in the finals!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

They made the mistakes tonight so they won't make them on Tuesday.

 

[Planogirl]

So far the Rumanians and Chinese look really good so they'd better pull it together. I prefer it when lots of teams are competitive but hopefully the American team will prevail. But whether or not they do, it should be fun.

 

[JPN4265]

Would someone explain to me why the Japanese Head Judge had the American Men's Team change the performance they had practice on for a year? Something about technique.

 

[honeywolf7]

He said that a specific move that they did (can't remember the name right now) won't be scored as highly as it always has been before.

 

[missypie]

I felt so sorry for Courtney McCool. She was rock solid at the Olympic Trials. Last night, after her messups, she looked like she just wanted to throw up. As a person who could never even do a cartwheel, it's amazing to me that Courtney could do all that she did on the beam, but then be proclaimed "out of it" after one balance issue....but that is the life those girls have lived - and chosen - for at least a decade.

 

[danacara]

Think about who they compete against. The Chinese took those girls from their homes when they were six, put them in ten years of gymnastics boot camp. Romania, same deal, gymnastics was the whole family's ticket out of poverty and oppression. They don't have to do anything except gymnastics, they don't go to school, they all look underfed. I mean, is 4'7" a normal height for an 18-year-old, even in China? If the Americans can even compete against that, I'm happy.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by missypie
I felt so sorry for Courtney McCool. She was rock solid at the Olympic Trials. Last night, after her messups, she looked like she just wanted to throw up. As a person who could never even do a cartwheel, it's amazing to me that Courtney could do all that she did on the beam, but then be proclaimed "out of it" after one balance issue....but that is the life those girls have lived - and chosen - for at least a decade.

Yes, yes, YES! You are totally right. One little bobble (and to my obviously untrained eye, I almost thought it was part of the routine) and it's all over. I remember when the only time the announcers were really shocked by errors was when the gymnasts fell off the apparatus...now the gasps of shock and horror come over things like balance checks. No wonder many of these girls can't take the pressure....I sure couldn't!

Nor could I ever do a decent cartwheel, btw. I did, however, perfect the art of the buttwheel, which is its graceless second cousin.

 

[disneyatl]

Did anyone notice how low the crowds were during last night's gymanstics? I coundn't believe it. I remember when the Olympics were here in Atlanta in '96, the gymnastics tickets were very hard to get. My DH and I were quite surprised!