Tough math leaves Liukin silver
It isn't the "tough math" that phases me, but rather the use of vernacular in the beginning of the article.
It seemed she wuz [sic] robbed, China's He Kexin getting the gold, Liukin left with silver. China's Yang Yilin got the bronze, the bars results adding to the host nation's sensational gymnastics performance at these Games -- the great haul of China.
Wuz [sic] Liukin robbed?
Lest we judge her entire life on the events of last night, here is a video of some lighter times, in which Alicia does what she does best: inflict pain upon others.
[H/T: The Big Lead]
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Yesterday's battle during the Women's Gymnastics Team Final started out as epic as advertised. The United States and China were paired up on rotations, so it seemed like no one else was even competing. With three stuck landings, the US pulled out to an early lead on vault after the first rotation.
Moving along to the uneven bars, we had solid, though unspectacular performances by Chellsie Memmel and Shawn Johnson before an amazing showing by Nastia Liukin, who seems like a lock to win the individual gold in the event with an unreal score of 16.9 (in comparison, Memmel scored 15.7, Johnson scored 15.375). However, the Chinese proved to have the best uneven bars team in the world, throwing in two scores that nearly matched Liukin's, and edging into a slight 1 point lead after two rotations.
On the balance beam, the Chinese showed definite nerves. Captain Cheng Fei fell off the beam, while Deng Linlin never looked completely balanced in her entire routine, driving the Chinese to an average score of 15.7 on the event. Seeing as every single US gymnast put up a score of above 15.9 in qualifications, this seemed like a great chance to take the lead going into the final rotation.
Alicia Sacramone, object of many a fancy, quickly put an end to that notion as she fell off the beam on her mount of all things, leading to an automatic 0.8 point deduction and a score of 15.1. Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson took care of business, but the US Women had their work cut out for them to finish off.
Going into the last rotation, floor exercise, the United States trailed by exactly 1 point, which is not that much early on, but a lot with only three scores to rely on. In other words, they needed nothing short of perfection. Alicia Sacramone was first up, and if she delivered anything, it wasn't perfect as she sat on of her passes, and stepped out of bounds on another to give her a dismal score of 14.6, effectively ending all hope for the Americans. You could see it in the reactions of her teammates after her routine. Coach Marta Karolyi met her, but wouldn't hug her. None of the American gymnasts approached her to say anything or give any comfort. They knew and she knew.
After her also imperfect routine, Nastia Liukin seemed to be the first gymnast to walk over to Alicia to give any sort of support. They embraced and then Nastia whispered a pretty long motivational speech to her. It was probably something along the lines of "You tried your best, it's not your fault, etc," but Nastia Liukin feels so cold to me that I wouldn't be surprised if it went something like "You have singlehandedly destroyed our chances at winning the team gold. I hope you are happy to be an American."
Some will point to Nastia and Shawn's missteps on the floor, but remember those came after the US was already pretty much eliminated. Some will point out that the Chinese cheated by using "little babies" , but it doesn't take away from the fact that they, the little babies, stepped up to the plate, while Alicia Sacramone, our 20-year-old team captain, hailing from the town of Winchester, Massachussetts, where I happen to be typing from right now, couldn't meet the challenge.
When Paul Hamm "fought through" a broken hand to qualify for for the Olympics and a chance to defend his all-around gold medal (as in he told the selection panel to include him and they agreed), it was heralded as one of the feel good stories of the 2008 games. I, however, did not feel so good about it.
There are two ways someone can qualify for the Olympics. First, you can qualify automatically, which means that during trials, you finish in the top 3 in three of the six events and in the top 2 overall. Failing that, a committee assesses your performance at the trials combined with the skill set you bring to the team and past performance to select a Olympics team that they think will be the best bet to get medals.
What the second part usually entails is selecting several gymnasts you are world-class at a single event on top of just a couple all-around threats. The committee wants to build a well-rounded team and doesn't want to have to leave a gold medal pommel horse at home to make room for a fourth place worthy all-around guy, though the latter might be the better gymnast overall.
At the trials, no gymnast met the requirements for automatic qualification, though Raj Bhavsar came the closest, finishing in the top three in the requisite 3 events, but falling only 0.08 short of second place all-around. Because of Hamm's petition to be included on the Olympic team despite not participating in trials (because of the injury), he was included and Bhavsar was left out.
ESPN had a field day with the Bhavsar story, as the same thing happened 4 years ago. Bhavsar went out during trials, hit 12 of 12 routines (as in he didn't make a mistake during the entire trials period), and at the end of the day just wasn't good enough. He contemplated quitting the sport for a while, but eventually decided to come back as determined as ever. I can't speak for everyone, but I know I was watching his scores intently during the trials period, hoping for that automatic berth. You can't help but like this guy, as he's full of energy, excitement, and culminates every routine with his signature double fist pump.
Now, with the new injury to Hamm's rotator cuff forcing him out of the competition, we get to see that spunk on display at Beijing, where Raj Bhavsar, all-around good guy (no pun intended), will make his Olympic debut. Let one feel-good story die, and another arise from its ashes.
[edit] Here's the fluff video that ESPN showed about Raj during the trials:
And here is a video of the high bar routine that he was about to begin when that fluff video aired:
Being a former gymnast (I use the term loosely), I feel like I should know this, but how do their arms not get ripped out of their sockets?
