Svetlana Khorkina

[LadyBears]

Originally posted by goofyshell
She does look like an ostrich, but I think the problem is her attitude. After she won silver in 2000 she ripped off her medal in disgust, that really turned me off.

I missed that back then, but tonight they did say that "at the 2000 Olympics, Khorkina, a nine-time world champion and the face of Russian gymnastics for the past 10 years, fell on a vault that was later discovered to be set too low. She ended up 10th in the all-around." I am not making up excuses, but perhaps she felt she would have done much better if she didn't have this problem? I am sure once she fell it stayed with her during her next routine. Things would probably have been different for her if the equiptment was not faulty.

 

[tonyswife]

Svlenta was robbed in 2000. Immediately upon discovering the vault was not a regultion heght through no fault of her own, she should have been allowed to do it over. Did she react badly at the ceremony back in 2000? Sure. But, remember that Olympic gymnasts sacrifice everything. They have totally abnormal lives and work so hard for that one moment. All of that was taken from her. It was terrible, I really felt for her back then and it was hard to watch it replayed again tonight.

Is she too skinny? Maybe she is, but some people really ARE just that skinny, no matter how much they eat. We do hear about gymnasts that starve themselves to stay small and competitive. But, those gymnasts rarely make it too far or too long in the sport because it requires such stunning physical strength. If she really is an anorexic, I doubt she would be an Olympic level gymnast in her twenties. Her body would have given out by now. I'm glad for her.

I hope she goes on to live a full, healthy, happy life.

 

[sydally9367]

she should have been allowed to do it over

Actually, they mentioned tonight that after the Vault discrepancy was discovered, they offered all the athletes the chance to do it again. However, by that point, Svetlana had already fallen off the bars and she chose not to do the vault again.

I do think she showed alot of grace tonight though, I fully expected her to repeat her boo hoo antics of 2000 and she suprised me.

 

[snoopy]

Originally posted by Winka
She is thin but still undeniably beautiful. She seems to have a deep passion for her sport, her country and her place in both. I thought she ended the evening graciously.

I wasn't crazy about her until last night, and then I realized that frown she always wears really is just a look of deep concentration.

And I gotta say, if she is an ostrich, I wouldn't mind looking like an ostrich! I think she is absolutely beautiful. She is much thinner than the other girls, but she is also built completely differently, long and lean as opposed to short and muscular. She is also incredibly graceful, much more so than the other girls, imo. I enjoyed watching her perform more than anyone else. Hopefully she gave girls who are taller a little incentive to pursue gymnastics if that is their dream.

 

[Robinrs]

OM goodness am I out of the loop in this world.

I thought she looked ill, and if that is what is considered beautiful in your world, I'm a Martian.

I am so glad that Carly won, a girl with healthy meat on her bones. There are already too many young girls who want to emulate a woman who looks like a skeleton. I turned off the television at one time because when she was running towards something her thighs, thin as they were, shivered, like she had no muscle tone. I'm sorry, she looked like she just recovered from a major illness.

 

[dizneenut]

She really does look anorexic.

 

[Betsyt82]

I feel that she is too thin and most likely does eat the minimum to stay that thin. The girl always looks like she had just eaten a Lemon.

 

[gina2000]

I think she's a beautiful gymnist who has been disappointed in achieving her gold.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

I wish people would stop using the term "anorexic". Anorexia is a serious disease that should not be used as an adjective for skinny people. I don't want to get on a soap box here, but just let you know that thin does NOT always mean eating disorder.

True, she looks like she could use a few pounds, but I still think she is beautiful and graceful. I'd rather see more gymnasts that look like her rather than the ones that look like miniature tanks.

 

[DemonLlama]

Just to clarify, Khorkina pulled of the silver medal in disgust at the TEAM finals, not the competition in which the vault was too low. She was just being a bad sport at that point.

I've met some of those girls built like tanks and they are gorgeous in person: muscular and feminine, too. The camera adds pounds.

Which begs the question: just how thin is Svetlana in person?!?

(We have tapes from the past ten years and she was much more muscular in her early years. It's not exclusively her build that is creating such a thin look now.)

BTW, Nan Zhang of China took home the bronze.

 

[sweet angel]

I looked at her profile this morning on the olympic website because I couldn't believe how tall she was. She's actually only 5'5" (not exactly a giant) and 110 lbs.

She lists one of her hobbies as eating, so maybe she just has a really amazing metabolism...I should be so lucky. She also posed for the Russian Playboy.

I thought she looked like Uma Thurman.

 

[tkyes]

Her face was much more gaunt this Olympics than it was in 2000, she is definately thinner.

I don't really see her beauty either, there is something akward about her. She does look considerably better when she isn't scowling.

Here's an interesting quote from her in the paper today - "I'm still Olympic champion," said Khorkina, lifting her chin defiantly. "If somebody doesn't know, I was Olympic champion in Atlanta and Sydney. If the judges were Greek, I would have no difficulty winning the gold medal. They are the ones who are going to have to live with their conscience."

 

[Kallison]

She reminds me of me in high school. I was all legs and very thin. I could barely walk and chew gum at the same time though! She amazes me at how she can swing those legs around!

 

[sweet angel]

Besides Uma Thurman, she also reminds me of Bambi as a baby.

 

[Disney's Deluxe Princess]

I think people are too quick to label ultra skinny girls annorexic. I have a friend who is 5'5 and weighs 101 pounds. She is very thin, yet very helathy. She was "blessed" with a very high metabolism rate. It runs in her family. All of the females are thin. Yesterday, we went to the mall for lunch. She ate pizza and fries. Probably burned it off in a couple of hours. I had a salad. I'm the same height and struggle to maintain 135 pounds, even with exercising.

Now imagine someone that thin with a high metabolism, who exercises as their career! Yes, she will be a pretty skinny girl.

I also get annoyed by the "double standard" that it's ok call someone annorexic looking, but God forfid you call them a fat pig. They are both equally insulting.

 

[danacara]

My guess is that she keeps herself that small to alleviate as much impact as she can on her hips, knees, ankles ... she's 25 and has been doing this her whole life. Imagine hitting the ground that fast 100 times a day every day for years. Your joints would be killing you. Staying small has probably been a key to her longevity.

 

[hipporina]

The thing that I find most shocking about her was the comment that she wanted to win gold more than she wanted to mother her own child. I understand being driven and determined, but I just don't understand that.

 

[snoopy]

I doubt she is anorexic and be able to compete at that level. Her body would break down, particularly at 25 years old. She just has that very willowy frame.

That quote from her seems sort of typical, Tamie. Its what I don't like about her, although last night she really surprised me and seemed to show a lot of grace. I can imagine these athletes are disappointed when they don't win the Gold, but those type of statements makes her sound like a sore loser.

 

[danacara]

Originally posted by hipporina
The thing that I find most shocking about her was the comment that she wanted to win gold more than she wanted to mother her own child. I understand being driven and determined, but I just don't understand that.

I think she said as much as, and she doesn't have a child, it's probably an easier thing to say when it's a hypothetical.

 

[sweet angel]

Okay, don't tell me she's THAT thin AND has given birth.