OT Artistic Gymnastics

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Ellie Black out and Kara back in to beam finals. What a wild ride for her. Hope she's able to stay focused. I'm not sure how much routine re-working can be done at this point, but I hope she ends on a high note.
 
After today I’ve decided I’m wayyy too emotionally invested in Sam Mikulak. Pretty sure my neighbors heard me wailing in agony when he fell on PH.

I swear the poor guy is cursed.
 
Anyone able to explain how Jade Carey managed to get silver over Ellie? I know she has more difficulty on one vault but Ellie's seemed to be so much better executed than Jade. Was it the .4 in difficulty that clinched it for her?
 
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I think a lot of it is stereotypes. Little boys don't want to do gymnastics, it's not "cool". I'm not sure why being super strong and being able to do flip isn't cool, but throwing someone to the ground and giving them a concussion is buttttt that's another story.

Female gymnasts are celebrated, the men just aren't. I don't think they have a big pool to pull from to begin with, and I think there are very few coaches that can handle and properly coach all the male apparatus. Just many small things that add up to major discrepancies between the men and women in the US. I think in countries like China or Russia there is not such a stigma against male gymnasts if I had to guess.

I also think that it is also the culture. I mean look at Russia, they basically normalized ballet as also something young boys could do and wouldn’t be teased about despite being on their toes, doing turns and wearing fitting practice wear.
 
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Anyone able to explain how Jade Carey managed to get silver over Ellie? I know she has more difficulty on one vault but Ellie's seemed to be so much better executed than Jade. Was it the .4 in difficulty that clinched it for her?

Vault 1
Jade Dscore: 6.0 Escore: 9.166 Final: 15.166
Ellie: Dscore: 5.4 Escore: 9.2 Final: 14.6

Vault 2
Jade: Dscore: 5.8 Escore: 9.1 Ded: .3 Final: 14.6
Ellie: Dscore: 6.0 Escore: 9.033 Final: 15.033

Jade average: 14.883
Ellie average: 14.816

Jade didn't beat her by much, but she was saved by a higher difficulty average and a slightly higher execution average. Jade's 2nd vault, the one with the step, scored the same as Ellie's first vault.
 
After today I’ve decided I’m wayyy too emotionally invested in Sam Mikulak. Pretty sure my neighbors heard me wailing in agony when he fell on PH.

I swear the poor guy is cursed.
He just can't get it when it matters. I think I read somewhere that he and a lot of guys on the men's team struggle with the mental aspect of competition, something that is compounded in International meets vs. American ones.

Beam was particularly aggressive in terms of deductions- but GOOD. Get that apparatus cleaned up. I hope Kara's coaches learned their lesson and give her a better routine, one that is more realistic to her strengths. It's just a shame she had to suffer for that construction.
 
I think a lot of it is stereotypes. Little boys don't want to do gymnastics, it's not "cool". I'm not sure why being super strong and being able to do flip isn't cool, but throwing someone to the ground and giving them a concussion is buttttt that's another story.

Female gymnasts are celebrated, the men just aren't. I don't think they have a big pool to pull from to begin with, and I think there are very few coaches that can handle and properly coach all the male apparatus. Just many small things that add up to major discrepancies between the men and women in the US. I think in countries like China or Russia there is not such a stigma against male gymnasts if I had to guess.

I think the common thread between Russia and China is that their cultures run on the idea of doing what’s best for the group (the family/country), rather than the individual (collectivism vs. individualism).

So in China, if a kid’s parents put him in gymnastics because they’ve decided this is how he’s going to bring pride to his family/country, stereotypes don’t hold much weight. Their worldview is so much more sprawling and really doesn’t have time to acknowledge fleeting discomfort.

It’s not like in America where we put a lot of emphasis on the individual (“Follow your dreams! Be yourself!”) If a kid doesn’t want to take gymnastics classes anymore, we’ll acknowledge their individual desire and take them out. Not so in collectivist cultures. If you do something, you’d better do it and do it well out of respect for the people/country that made it all possible for you in the first place.

And I have to say: looks like it works. China and Russia are pretty dominant in the gymnastics scene — as well as many other arenas — and I have to think it’s got something to do with this worldview that emphasises big-picture thinking.
 
Not gymnastics related but Jordan Chiles related. Was watching the first 30 mins of The Great Christmas Light Fight last night because a local family was on it and guess who else was featured? The Chiles fam! Spoiler alert: they ended up winning the episode's competition.



It was neat to see the activities of the rest of the family and the property they manage. You can see some pics here.
 
This is how I know I’m clueless about elite gymnastics after all:
I watch Laney’s videos and do not understand why she isn’t doing well. I mean, yes there are some technique issues, BUT she isn’t trying to make Team USA. It’s Bulgaria. She is trying some really crazy skills and obviously practice vs competition is different... Can she just not put it together? What is it?
 
This is how I know I’m clueless about elite gymnastics after all:
I watch Laney’s videos and do not understand why she isn’t doing well. I mean, yes there are some technique issues, BUT she isn’t trying to make Team USA. It’s Bulgaria. She is trying some really crazy skills and obviously practice vs competition is different... Can she just not put it together? What is it?
im not an expert but at worlds she just could not pull it together. She fell on almost every event and with her form being as poor as it is and having a low starting score that just can't happen. I think she would be a great level 10 but she just isn't able to compete with most elites even from other countries.
 
This is how I know I’m clueless about elite gymnastics after all:
I watch Laney’s videos and do not understand why she isn’t doing well. I mean, yes there are some technique issues, BUT she isn’t trying to make Team USA. It’s Bulgaria. She is trying some really crazy skills and obviously practice vs competition is different... Can she just not put it together? What is it?
I think you’ve underestimated how tough it was to qualify to the Olympics via the AA rankings this past Worlds. Also, this routine:


Don’t even mention the form on her Pak, even her back swing is atrocious.
 
the execution just isn't there. she could've just done power tumbling though that won't get her to the olympics.
 
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