2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

[max]

I think that both Kexin and Nastia should have received the Gold for tying at the same score. At the same time, the scoring made perfect sense. How can you call that cheating if the exact same procedure was used to determine the winner of the Men's Vault competition? It seemed to just "make sense," and there was no complaints. Well, of course because no one in that competition was from the United States, right? Oh, I just have to bring this up. I so very disliked the commentors during the Uneven Bar competition. They were harsh. My friends and I were so disappointed while watching it, and they were Americans, too! Of course the American commentors are going to think that the gymnasts from their country did better and should have won Gold. All three of those commentors were major jerks.

Both Kexin and Nastia had their flaws, and I guess that Nastia just had a tiny bit more flaw than Kexin did. Nastia is actually my favorite gymnasts from the United States. If I were put in that position, I would cry, too. At the same time, my friends and I believe that Yilin did better than Nastia, considering that she had flaws, too, but she stuck her landing. That is just our opinion, though. I am glad that Kexin won, though. Again, I just feel that by her winning, people are more determined to bring up the whole "age issue" up again.

 

[mizterkevin]

Yeah OH MAN, I hate the commentors on NBC or whatever channel I've been watching on, they're such jerks, not that their comments are mean but the fact that they seem to be incredibly biased.

 

[max]

I know! One of the commentors was like, "Does Kexin really think that she won the Gold?" Like, even if you felt that way, keep it to yourself until the cameras are off. I feel that that is so unprofessional. Of course you are going to favor the gymnasts from your home country. Also, I thought it was uneccessary for them to say something like, "All of those judges come from countries that have not received a medal in this event." I feel like that is like a slap in the face. I mean of course they will not be as experienced in judging, but do you have to spell it out? I have also heard their unreasonable comments for other events as well that have really bothered me, but I think this is the worst that I have heard so far.

I really do not like that one guy that keeps on talking... the one that has the wife as a coach for the United States team. Him and his wife are so harsh with their words towards the Chinese team. I have been reading a lot about what they have been saying about the Chinese gymnastics team. It is so unprofessional.

 

[mizterkevin]

I think what really ticked me off was when he would comment on the Chinese and say how her flaws were more visible than the American girl's. It's not like he's not doing his job, it's just that when you're talking to millions of people that have no experience with gymnastics, they're going to take your word for it.

I actually come from the same exact city where that international gymnastics place is, it's about 10 minutes from where I live. They've been getting so much business, I hope it brings business in.

Oh another thing, I get most of my news off Yahoo cause it's so easily accessible on the front page, all I read is all this crap about other countries and the occasional Fox worthy articles about everything giving you cancer.

 

[raymond_obsessed]

dang. phelps won the 8 out 8 gold medals? dang...! so is he retiring after this? or what's he going to do?

i watched women's track last night. jamaica basically swept. so much skill... so much. B) i can't wait for gymnastics to end on wed./thurs. so i can get some sleep.

Nope, not yet, we'll have to see what he has planned for the 2012 Olympics in London...he's gonna retire after that though, cuz he said he doesn't plan on swimming after his 30's...but I'm looking forward to 2012, to see him attempt to win the backstroke and stuff like that, competitions that he's not very experienced at, and see him go up against Aaron Piersol...

anyone else pissed off with the scoring of the girls gymnastics???...errrrrrrrrr...damn judges...i say nastia should've gotten gold for the individual girls on the uneven bar and alicia should've gotten the bronze for the vault instead of the girl from china...considering she landed on her knees...errrrrrrrrrrrr...overall, throughout the girl's gymnastics so far...the scoring has pissed me off...i think they're totally unfair infavor of china over U.S....china has made so many mistakes but yet they keep getting higher scores than U.S....

I'm mad at the scores too...even though the girls do a flawless routine, if their start value is low, then that's all they get, poor shawn...but I'm mad about things like Nastia's flawless vault, she was the only one that stuck her landing, but I think one of the Chinese girls got a better score than hers, even though they didn't really stick their landing at all...Nastia deserved the all-around gold medal, her routines were all flawless, and she stuck all of her landings, it was so fun to watch...But sometimes, without the comments from the spectators, it got me mad that the Chinese girls made obvious mistakes, but were getting better scores than girls that made little to no mistakes...especially on the balance beam...I mean, they deserved to win the gold, they did very well as a team...I felt bad for Alicia...but seriously, I really don't think those girls are 16, some are still missing teeth...younger girls have more of an advantage than the older, more experienced ones...but whatev...I was mad at the tie, I felt that they should've given both girls the gold medal...they do it in every other sport, why not gymnastics?

I think what really ticked me off was when he would comment on the Chinese and say how her flaws were more visible than the American girl's. It's not like he's not doing his job, it's just that when you're talking to millions of people that have no experience with gymnastics, they're going to take your word for it.

I actually come from the same exact city where that international gymnastics place is, it's about 10 minutes from where I live. They've been getting so much business, I hope it brings business in.

Oh another thing, I get most of my news off Yahoo cause it's so easily accessible on the front page, all I read is all this crap about other countries and the occasional Fox worthy articles about everything giving you cancer.

I listen to one of the male commentator's opinion, because he's the only one that has the right to talk, he was an Olympic gymnastic back in the day, so he knows what he's talking about when he's watching the girls do their thing...he knows exactly what's good or not good, and he's always been right about what the judges will deduct...but it's just so shocking to watch the U.S. girls do so well, only to get a low score...

 

[Worranat]

I think what really ticked me off was when he would comment on the Chinese and say how her flaws were more visible than the American girl's. It's not like he's not doing his job, it's just that when you're talking to millions of people that have no experience with gymnastics, they're going to take your word for it.

I actually come from the same exact city where that international gymnastics place is, it's about 10 minutes from where I live. They've been getting so much business, I hope it brings business in.

Oh another thing, I get most of my news off Yahoo cause it's so easily accessible on the front page, all I read is all this crap about other countries and the occasional Fox worthy articles about everything giving you cancer.

Yea i totally agree with ya there!!! I complain about it but my mom jus says to ignore lol.

 

[7270]

that shiat last night should not have even been a tie. it should have been nastia - gold. ^_^ she EARNED and DESERVED it.

i actually thought nastia should have also got gold for floor and shawn for silver. i'm not a nastia fan by the way. i'm a shawn-fan, but i have to admit that nastia did a superb job on floor and bars. although she won gold for all-around and shawn the silver, their scores should have been a lot higher than what it was... not close like that b/wn 2nd & 3rd. sure. they still won, but their scores should been much higher.

that's why sports like swimming are so much better. they're strictly objective. this year with women's gymnastics... <_<

 

[Azlisakhmer]

me 2 luv swimming u clearly know the winner if their a tie both get the medal. Guys catch the beach volleyball golden girls get the gold against China

 

[mizterkevin]

I listen to one of the male commentator's opinion, because he's the only one that has the right to talk, he was an Olympic gymnastic back in the day, so he knows what he's talking about when he's watching the girls do their thing...he knows exactly what's good or not good, and he's always been right about what the judges will deduct...but it's just so shocking to watch the U.S. girls do so well, only to get a low score...

There are two commentators, and one is incredibly opinionated. It's not that he doesn't have the right to talk and share his views on the performance, it's that some of the things he says aren't appropriate and they make certain teams look bad in the eyes of the public, the kind of opinion that doesn't have to do with performance. Like what max said "Does she really think she's won gold?" it's comments like that that deam him inappropriate and unprofessional. Just because he was an Olympic Gymnast doesn't make him a worth commentator, you have to remember he's from the American team, and just like the judges on the panel, they can't have a judge from the same country as a competitor.

He, as a commentator, has a job of informing on a non biased platform. He's the type who makes the inexperienced panel of judges seem justified.

EDIT: They quoted Nastia in this article I read right after she lost the gold, she was elegantly well-spoken and classy about her response.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/b...?urn=oly,101564

But my question is...who's there to quote Kexin? It's rare to see what she says about these things. Is it the government that's not allowing interviews? Or have we just not put in the effort to see the other side of the story?

Oh and I found this article, too. It was really funny and satirical.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/b...?urn=oly,101537

 

[thuynmt]

with age, there are some girls that are 15 too. dunno. young - more flexible can do many. old - many experiences and can do many too... should be even?

The reason the Olympic authority (or whoever) set the age limit to be 16 is because of health concern. The younger girls who are trained in a very young age will suffer development problems, something related to muscle and bone growth. In addition, as you said, a younger gymnastic body is more flexible than those who are older; therefore, it's unfair even against to those of the experienced gymnastics.

Take for instance, most of the gymnastics in the Olympics are short. Not a lot of guys are like 6 feet as you can see with the swimmers, etc.

 

[mizterkevin]

I can't breath.
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/s...all-usa-kor%3A1

Olympic cheerleaders

 

[7270]

i call dibs on the far right one. B)

 

[max]

I listen to one of the male commentator's opinion, because he's the only one that has the right to talk, he was an Olympic gymnastic back in the day, so he knows what he's talking about when he's watching the girls do their thing...he knows exactly what's good or not good, and he's always been right about what the judges will deduct...but it's just so shocking to watch the U.S. girls do so well, only to get a low score...

I understand that he is an experienced gymnasts and that he may be very correct in pointing out the flaws from each gymnasts. At the same time, I feel that it is biased when he points out only a few flaws from Nastia's performance, but really points out the flaws from other gymnasts, not only China. Let us not forget that he was an American gymnast and now he is an American commentor. Therefore, that reflects what he says. I still strongly believe that a lot of what he and the other two commentos said was very unprofessional, regardless of how experienced or honored they may be in whatever.

But my question is...who's there to quote Kexin? It's rare to see what she says about these things. Is it the government that's not allowing interviews? Or have we just not put in the effort to see the other side of the story?

I felt that Nastia's response was professional, and that is good for her.

You are right. I am not sure if it is the Chinese government or if it is just that we do not put enough effort to see the other side of the story. Well, I tried to look for interviews from the Chinese gymnasts, both female and male, but it is hard to find them anywyere. I guess it is because we live in the United States and most of us do not have access to CCTV or other Chinese channels? I actually found a bad quality clip of a Chinese reporter interviewing the Chinese female gymnasts after they won Gold. Therefore, I am sure that they are interviewed, and it is just that we do not have access to it. I would love to hear what they do have to say, though.

At the same time, I still believe that Kexin deserved the Gold. On the other hand, my honest opinion is that I think that Yilin did better than both Kexin and Nastia. I know very little about juding gymnastics, but from watching gymnastics ever since I was a child and until now, I can kind of point out the flaws. I did see flaws from everyone, including Nastia, like when she went from the high bar to the low bar and towards the end of her routine when her legs went apart, which my friends and I were able to use our inexperienced judgement and point it out and joke about the deductions that she will receive (because the annoying commentors are always like "that's going to cost her a tenth of a deduction). Last time that I checked, Kexin, Nastia, and Yilin all had the same degree of difficulty, which was a 7.7. Therefore, I believe that if anyone was cheated in this event, it was Yilin, and not Nastia.

There has been so many complaints in regards to gymnastics and it seems like the only nation that is complaining is the United States :/ (Shrugs)

 

[max]

Also, I keep on seeing how unfair the the "tie breaking rule" was for Nastia, but what about the Men's Vault competition? Two male gymnasts from two different countries tied at the same exact score like Kexin and Nastia did. The judges used the exact "tie breaking" procedure, and there were no complaints and this event is not featured on every site that I open like Yahoo or MSN. Of course, it is because neither gymnasts were from the United States, right? It makes me feel that American media complains about everything in this Olympics just because they lose. You cannot always work around reasons as to why the United States did not get Gold and say that because "She/he was cheated and totally under-scored." Then of course the United States will mentally feel like they were "robbed a medal." For example, that Bela coach said that the United States (Alicia) was robbed a medal at the Women's Vault competition. I can see why it could be unfair, but I can also see why it could be fair as well. Even though Fei landed on her knees on her second vault, on the first vault, her score was much higher than that of Alicia's. Therefore, averaging both scores, Fei won because her average score was better.

I have read several articles and the United States media is so very bitter!

On a happier side, I love Michael Phelps =)

 

[jeanie]

Every media is biased. Like for example most everyone knows that FoxNews is more conservative based and CNN is slanted towards the left. It's all about target audience cause at the end of the day media is still a business corp. and they're in it for the money just like every other corp. out there.
If you read American news of course it's going to be biased in favor of Americans. If you read Chinese news it's going to be biased towards China. Try reading news from the French about America.

About no interviews from the Chinese gymnasts that is because they are controlled by the gov't. They aren't free to talk, it's a communist country afterall. Even the foreign reporters don't have complete internet access. I remember Yang Yilin when she got the bronze in the all-around was caught alone with the reporters and they bombarded her w/q's. Her coach took her away after she said some things.

I don't really think there's cheating going on but I do think there's some anti-American sentiments going around, and it's really a shame for the youngsters. Shawn Johnson has been consistently underscored no matter what she does out there. Her execution scores are nowhere near the other top gymnasts but she gets by thru difficulty. The most obvious one is on the qualifying night her beam routine was better than the ones she did so far (including the one she won gold for) and one judge gave her an execution score of 8.7. But that could be that they don't like her "look." The international judges like the lean, lanky lines (like Nastia) and SJ is more stocky and powerful than graceful which they hate.

This is one of the main reasons why I hate "judged" sports. People could debate it till the cows come home and there will always be some complaints. How could there not be one? It's subjective. Not like swimming, or track or the other sports that's measured by time, distance or something that is definable. There was some doubts about Phelps 7th win and all they had to do was whip out the pictures and the video and it shut everyone up. Can't do that with gymnastics.

 

[7270]

There was some doubts about Phelps 7th win and all they had to do was whip out the pictures and the video and it shut everyone up. Can't do that with gymnastics.

if only swimming could be scored, poor phelps.

why can't they whip out a video for gymnastics, & POINT out where the deductions should have been taken... MAKE the judges explain where the deductions came from & ASK them why a deduction wasn't taken at a specific pauses in the video? there's no way a judge can say "oh b/c she didn't look as graceful as nastia and so we didn't give her the full points." but yeah, you're right, they can argue 'till the cows came home.

 

[mizterkevin]

Of course media from any aspect is biased and in favor of the originator, it's just that as Americans, we pride ourselves in being consistent and accurate about the information we convey to the public.

EDIT:
What separates art from athletics? I understand the difference is athletics deals numbers and rules and art is an expression and interpretation of oneself. (Not saying you can't express yourself through athletics or certain forms of expression can't be considered as athletics.)


Gymnastics is like putting the two together, you're trying to put a number and set of rules to an expression. In that, you come up with judging. Just like other forms of Artistic Olympic Athletic Events such as High Diving, Ice Skating, or otherwise, they have a panel of judges that put numbers on their form and execution as well as difficulty.

And that's where it becomes difficult because it really depends on how the judges interpreted the piece/performance.

I hope you get what I mean, it took me a long time to try to get that through.

 

[noungning]

there's been several recalculations of scores in gymnastics. partially and possibly because of the "new" scoring method. it's not scored on the 10 scale anymore. this whole factor of coming from the prequals with a certain score and having that affect the finals... it's just sooooo bs, meaning there's very little room for mistakes, so nope can't have a bad day!

the tie breaking computation is pretty straightforward, so there is no cheating there.

the commentators are VERY biased. so were the scores since day 1 of gymnastics. i've noticed that the moment i see china screwing up a few times, but yet walks out with the top scores and leading them to gold. and yeah lol the commentators do not say much when it's a team they don't care about... they'd be silent, then make a small comment in the end like "oh there goes her chance of a medal"... but when it comes to either china or usa, they are ALWAYS saying something. the female commentator, obviously a Nastia fan, she said after Nastia finished the floor exercise, "wow, i think that's it" the male commentator "think it's what?", after he said all along, Shawn was better. "i think that was gold", says the female commentator. then silence, score comes out, it's lower than Shawn, so she goes on "wow, i definetly think that was much better than Shawn..." i dunno. everyone has their favorites i suppose. but i understand how shawn won silver because she was very good in the prequals and it was expected of her to do well in finals also, and she prevailed. however, romania had to come and kill the hope of gold for her bummer.

 

[darvil]

Phelps fukin rules.

He's da man all right.

I'm also very impressed with the two Jamaicans who won gold. The guy who ran the 100m dash is freaking amazing. Jaw dropping performance. And of course the women just sweeping the metals. This Olympics is great for Jamaicans.

 

[anan]

Phelps 100M Butterfly replay (funny vid)... for Phelps lovers....

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/774511cc7a