Women's Team Finals - American Success

They did it! The USA Women's gymnastics team earned the gold medal today by over five points. Twelve nearly flawless performances clinched the gold for the exceptionally young team including literally the most beautiful vault I've ever seen. To watch the women hit routine after routine was incredibly satisfying. The Fierce Five were as fierce as ever.

Why is the US Succeeding? I personally like to think that it's our "melting pot" and "best of both worlds" structures that provide everything and the kitchen sink to the American athletes. The Women's US Olympic Gymnastics Team is coached by individuals from each of the top 4 gymnastics nations, if you consider the old USSR & Russia one and the same. Rather than having a distinct weakness like some other teams, the varied coaching styles present different strengths amongst Americans. For instance, Aly Raisman is coached by Romanian Mihai Brestyan seemed to inherit the nation's weakness on bars but their strengths on beam and floor. Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas and US Alternate Anna Li have all been nurtured by Chinese Coaches and seem to prevail on bars. Of course, many coaches are present within a young gymnast's career and other factors influence success besides coaching, but I thought it was worth noting that the US relies on a melting pot environment to hone a strong team.

I do think that we all need to applaud Marta Karolyi. For all the slack that we as fans give Marta, we should realize that she does have some earthly idea what she's doing. The USA's never earned lower than silver at the Olympics under her direction and today they not only earned the gold, but it was by a fairly hefty margin. At the end of the day, Marta has the majority of the control over who makes the team and on which events they compete.

But of course, the real indisputable reason for the win was the USA's performances. When competing that level of difficulty that impressively, they were nearly uncatchable. The USA stayed solid while competing some of the most difficult routines in the world. Ultimately, THAT'S why they won. I've already heard many people saying, "Well, if the Russians would have hit, they'd have the gold." Not only is that irrelevant, it's also untrue. I did a little experiment wondering if Russia had the opportunity to take the higher scores between prelims and finals for each routine, if they could beat the USA's performances today. The numbers that are crossed out are Team Finals results replaced by qualifying scores.

Vault-

Komova- 15.833

Mustafina- 15.225

Paseka - 15.3  15.533

Bars- 

Grishina - 14.7 

Komova - 15.766  15.833

Mustafina - 15.7

Beam- 

Komova - 15.033  15.266

Mustafina - 14.533  14.7

Afan - 14.833 15.066

Floor - 

Grishina - 12.466 14.066

Mustafina - 14.8

Afan - 14.333  14.833

Russian Olympic High Score Total : 181.555

USA's Actual Team Total : 183.596

The bottom line is, it doesn't matter. The USA simply out performed Russia in both Prelims and Finals. Grishina & Afan's Floor Mistakes, Paseka's step on vault, as well as Komova and Mustafina's beam struggles were all frankly irrelevant. It wouldn't have mattered. It was the USA's competition to lose and they didn't budge. 

It was an exciting event and until Grishina's floor mishaps, I wondered if the USA would falter and Russia would prevail. The pressure was on the USA's shoulders and they rose to the occasion.  

Pictures all property of ESPN.

Twas the night before finals...

Twas the night before finals and all through the net, 

The gymnernet waited and started to fret.

Filled with excitement, knowing drama's ahead, 

Visions of Amanars, danced through my head.  

While lying awake, I started to think, 

What will they wear? Will the leos be pink?

Will Jordyn stay strong? And with Gabby on beam, 

Can the USA Women fulfill such a dream?

To win the team gold, it will sure be a fight, 

with the USA's lead just ever so slight,
Russia could overcome with their fabulous bars,
Either team could win big and become the new stars.

When thinking of this, I started to shake,
and decided to stop and just take a quick break,
So to twitter I headed and started to read,
and quickly found bitching about Aly's lead.

"She sucks", one girl wrote, "Ew, her toes!" another read,
 And yet still a few more were just tweeting with dread,
about Marta's choices, the rules and results,
a few more went on and sent Douglas insults.

As I kept reading tweets, I just had to yell "FUCK!"
Can you not just be funny and make jokes like Buck?
It's okay to be funny, without being a dick,
But to hate on sweet Gabby? You're just fucking sick.

As I read and I read I became more enraged,
With the BS on twitter, the girls are upstaged!
This is the Olympics! It's about the sport!
We shouldn't be hating, we should give support.

It's McKayla, Gabby, Kyla, Aly & Jo,
These girls are so fierce even with a bad toe.
While the placements have changed these girls still are on top,
We don't know if they'll stay there, or whether they'll flop.

We'll find out tomorrow, when finals begins,
 which countries will fail or will earn their first wins,
I can't believe that tomorrow the day will arrive,
when I'll get to cheer for my favorite Fierce 5.

Women's Qualifying - A Closer Look

Yesterday the women kicked off their Olympic experiences with an, all things considered, fairly uneventful day. The four top teams finished in their expected positions with the exception of Romania who seemed to have some uncharacteristic struggles. Romanian proclaimed "Future Olympic All Around Champion" Larisa Iordache was expected to be left out of the All Around due to plantar fasciitis but was thrown back in after a shitload of tape on her foot supposedly alleviated the issues. Apparently the tape didn't work its magic  as Larisa qualified 9th in the All Around and failed to qualify for any event finals. Her teammate Catalina Ponor, the 2004 Balance Beam & Floor Exercise Olympic Champion, had some issues as well, bobbling significantly on beam and balking a tumbling pass on floor, although her scores were still high enough to qualify her for the event finals on both apparatuses. China just had a really shitty day, lead by the mistakes of 2011 World All Around Bronze Medalist Yao Jinnan who fell on three of her four events. 

Japan & Canada both placed surprisingly well although Canada struggled with falls throughout the day. Regardless, they qualified the women for their first team final in Olympic History. Great Britain also seemed to rise to the pressure of competing on home turf rather than crumbling. Italy, who didn't qualify to team finals in 2011 yet placed 1st at the test event qualified to the team finals as well. 

Russia and the USA will be the two major contenders for the Gold Medal with each team lead by 3 strong all arounders. Russia seems to be closing the USA's difficulty gap with upgraded vaults. Historically this quadrennium, the USA's had an advantage on vault that Russia had the potential to overcome with their Uneven Bar scores. While each team gets stronger on every event, the winner may come down to small performance errors. 

Of course, the media portrayed the biggest story of the day as Jordyn Wieber's failure to qualify for the All Around Finals. I feel like people are making it a lot less cut and dry than it really is. It's been the rule since 1976 that a set number of gymnasts from each country are allowed into each final. (The number was 3 until 2004, now it's 2). You'd have thought that someone had murdered Jordyn Wieber with the way that people were talking. Phrases like "horrific" and "something she'll spend years coming to terms with" are the way that I hear violent attacks described. In reality, Jordyn was simply met with the same fate that many expected Aly Raisman to be faced with. People tend to forget that every member of the 2011 World's team would have qualified without the "2 per country rule" and that Gabby Douglas qualified just 1 place lower than where Wieber sits currently. Where were the cries of outrage then? I understand that Jordyn is the reigning World Champion and my heart goes out to her, but to be frank, I worry that the outrage is more about being bummed that a "favorite" is out than wanting actual "fairness" within the sport. 

People keep saying "The Olympics is supposed to be the best gymnasts in the world competing." Is it? If that were true, the IOC wouldn't have 2 Egyptian gymnasts competing rather than extra gymnasts from the USA, Russia, Romania & China. Certainly had Alicia Sacramone made the team, she'd be in Vault finals. Fifteen American Seniors scored higher than the 54.232 needed to qualify for this year's Olympic All Around Finals this season. Some of those girls didn't even qualify for the US Olympic Trials such as Amanda Jetter, Brianna Brown, Mykayla Skinner and Abigail Milliet. It's just a fact that the Olympics are NOT simply the best in the world competing. Although many of the gymnasts are the strongest, the entire field is never present for every competition as there are injuries, politics, age limits and limits on team size which prevent that.

It's not just gymnastics. A competitive swimmer recently told me on Twitter that her freestyle times were faster than numerous Olympians. Yet, she wasn't even close to qualifying for her country's team due to its dominance within the sport of swimming. If the Olympics were just for "the best of the best", the USA would have 20 female artistic gymnasts and no rhythmic gymnasts. (Yet we seem to be celebrating Julie Zetlin's inclusion by the IOC.) I suppose It's important to ask ourselves what the reaction would be if Aly were the gymnast left off the All Around roster.   

All in all, it's sure to be an interesting final. In my opinion, if the USA hits it will be difficult for Russia to catch them, but it's important to remember : This is gymnastics; anything can happen. 

Pictures property of Grace Chui (1&2), NBC Sports (3) & Sports Girls Play (4) 

My thoughts on USA's Podium Training...

Okay, so I just watched podium training, as I was at work while it was airing live. (Don't worry! I'll be able to watch everything else live!) Here are my thoughts on the American performances, as those were the only ones that I, like most of you, were able to see.

NBC Sports

Vault: 
-This whole thing was fierce. If the USA wins, this will be why. They are head and shoulders above everyone on this event. I mean, in my opinion, Paseka was put on the Russian team for an Amanar about as strong as our WEAKEST vaulter, Kyla.
-I was pleased to see that McKayla is vaulting like herself, which I anticipated. Even though she is dealing with a minor foot injury.
-I wish that there were a reason for Kyla to compete her vault that DIDN'T involve anyone else getting kicked off the lineup due to injury/whatever. That DTY is gorgeous and often stuck.

Uneven Bars: 
-NBC really bugged me with their coverage here. I suppose I should be grateful for anything but I do NOT want to see people chalking up over a Dougie release EVER.
-I honestly worry about Jo struggling on bars in TF and hitting at other points. Call me crazy, but her whole situation reminds me of Carly Patterson.
-I love how different Kyla and Gabby are on this event, and yet they're both so strong!
-To those of you freaking out, the whole point of this training is to get used to the equipment. It's not surprising that they fell some.

Beam: 
-I LOVED how quickly the women worked on this event. The second one girl was of, the next was on.
-Kyla Ross should do a press to handstand mount on beam. It could be really pretty.
-Super proud of Kyla & Gabby for not missing a fucking beat when they turned the lights off.
-WAIT! Somone's floor music is the song from the P&G mom commercial! Or is that just what they play in the background?

Floor: 
-The thought that Kyla will likely go up on FX in prelims makes me die a little bit inside. She seems like a really sweet girl, but that floor... ugh.
-Gabby's floor seemed more appropriate for the venue than I expected. Maybe it's the hot pink podium?
-Jordyn seemed less... connected than usual. Maybe it's nerves? Maybe it's because there's no crowd.
-Weird front tuck instead of front layout from Aly. I wonder if she was worried about getting it around or if that's the new plan?

Random Thoughts: 

NBC Sports

-I have to be honest, I didn't dislike the leotard, but it reminded me of a sparkly pink pot leaf.
-The pink podium looks great on camera, but does indeed clash with the Gymnova mats.
-It's really pissing me off that people feel the need to pit Jordyn & Gabby against each other saying things like "they haven't interacted at all." Jordyn doesn't interact with people on the podium really. That's just not how she rolls. It's bad enough for 12 year old girls to make up vicious rivalries, it's worse when members of the associated press do it.
-Pink is a good color on Marta.

You can watch a replay of podium training here : http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/gymnastics/gymnastics-podium-training-u-s-women.html

UK: London re-elects Boris Johnson as mayor

Boris Johnson speaking after signing the declaration of acceptance as Mayor

LONDON (AP) -- London's comic and outspoken mayor Boris Johnson won re-election Friday, triumphing in a closer-than-expected vote to secure a second term and his status as the unvarnished and unpredictable host of the 2012 Olympics

Johnson's victory, in election results confirmed late Friday, was a bright spot on a rough day for his colleagues in Prime Minister David Cameron's governing Conservative Party, who took a drubbing in local elections.

Voters stripped both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats - the junior partner in Britain's coalition government - of hundreds of local authority seats, punishing the government for biting austerity measures and Britain's stalled economy.

But the Conservatives could take some solace when it was announced that Johnson - known best for his shock of blond hair and sometimes shocking foul-mouthed outbursts - had eked out a win against the opposition Labour Party's Ken Livingstone and earned the privilege of leading London into the global spotlight when the Summer Games begin on July 27.

In his victory speech at City Hall after hours of waiting for results, Johnson did not mention the Conservatives' dismal showing in local elections and instead thanked those who voted for him during the "long and grueling" campaign.

"I want to thank all of you for giving me a new chance and a new mandate to take us forward," Johnson said, pledging to continue "fighting for a good deal for Londoners."

He also somewhat sarcastically described Livingstone - his predecessor as mayor - as one of the "most creative and most original" left-wing politicians he'd seen - a reference to the at-times bitter exchanges between the two candidates.

Livingstone called the defeat the one he will "most regret" in his four-decade career in electoral politics - which appeared to be over late Friday.

"This is my last election," he told City Hall.

Many had expected Johnson, 47, to handily defeat Livingstone, a veteran leftist known for his admiration of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

But he won by a tighter margin than expected - 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent - and the drama of the race was heightened by delays in counting ballots. The result was announced just minutes before midnight - more than 24 hours after polls had closed.

Johnson's victory could be bittersweet for Cameron - offering relief from his party's national woes, but cementing the outspoken mayor as a likely future leadership rival.

Cameron's Conservatives took a bruising in votes in the 181 local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland which held polls this year, losing more than 400 seats - including some in the leader's own political district.

Although the results won't put Cameron's leadership in jeopardy, they prompted grassroots Conservatives to urge him to ditch some of his more liberal policies, including the planned introduction of same-sex marriage.

Johnson, who has appealed to traditionalists with messages on tax cuts and looser ties to Europe, is increasingly seen as a plausible national leader - not least for bucking his party's national slump.

"The best thing for Cameron would be to have Boris locked into the London mayoralty for the next four years and out of the way," said Patrick Dunleavy, a political science professor at the London School of Economics.

Cameron also suffered a blow to his legislative hopes, as nine cities - including Manchester, Birmingham and Newscastle-upon-Tyne - voted down plans to have their own directly elected city mayors.

The leader had hoped that new city chiefs, and U.S.-style elected police commissioners, would help deliver power away from Parliament and into the hands of local communities.

Bristol, in southwestern England, was the only city to vote in favor of electing a new mayor.

Like Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats - the junior partner in Britain's coalition government - suffered a collapse, losing 336 councilors. That pushed their total number of local councilors below 3,000 for the first time since the party formed in 1988.

Main opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband toasted his own party's revival after its ousting from national office in the 2010 national election. It won control of 32 more local authorities and claimed 823 new council seats.

"We are a party winning back people's trust," Miliband said. "People are hurting. People are suffering from this recession, people are suffering from a government that raises taxes for them and cuts taxes for millionaires."

Cameron insisted his poll battering was to be expected at the midpoint before a 2015 national election, and with his government carrying out grueling economic repairs following the global economic crisis.

"These are difficult times and there aren't easy answers," Cameron acknowledged.

Elsewhere, the United Kingdom Independence Party - which advocates a British withdrawal from the European Union - made advances. The far-right British National Party saw its vote wiped out, losing all six council seats it held in the areas contesting elections.

In Scotland, Alex Salmond's separatist Scottish National Party made local gains before an expected 2014 referendum on independence but win control of Glasgow's council, a key target.


News by AP

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