Rick Mc

first Saudi female Olympians

Sarah Attar … competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the first female Olympians representing Saudi Arabia. She has Saudi Arabian and American dual nationality and is currently a student at Pepperdine University in … California. …

… the International Olympic Committee had threatened to ban Saudi Arabia from the Games unless they allowed women to compete. She was expected to wear outfits that comply with Islamic law. …

During the Opening Ceremonies’ Parade of Nations, Attar and Shahrkhani, the only two females in the Saudi Arabian delegation, were forced to walk behind their male teammates, unlike delegations from other Islamic nations. …

… Saudi Arabia is one of three Islamic countries, along with Qatar and Brunei, that brought female athletes for the first time, making this the first Olympics in which every national team includes a woman. …

… “This is such a huge honor and an amazing experience, just to be representing the women,” Attar said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I know that this can make a huge difference.”

… “For women in Saudi Arabia, I think this can really spark something to get more involved in sports, to become more athletic,” she said. …

Because she’s on a college track team, Attar knows all about this year’s 40th anniversary of Title IX, the barrier-breaking law that opened doors in sports for women in the United States. For the first time this year, women outnumbered men on the U.S. Olympic team.

Nobody is dreaming about making that kind of history yet in Saudi Arabia.

Every grand mission, however, has to start somewhere. …

National Post – Sarah Attar becomes Saudi Arabia’s first female Olympian on the track

love the Olympics …

Congratulations London. Wonderful job.

Click PLAY or watch Muse’s London 2012 “official song” Survival on YouTube.

McKayla Maroney is Impressed

The anti-meme has begun.

See more things that impress McKayla on Gymnast Crossing.

Russia, Belarus, Italy

It’s a clean sweep for Russia in rhythmic gymnastics, just as it’s been at the last three Olympics.

The Russians won their fourth straight Olympic gold medal in the group event Sunday, easily beating Belarus. With Evgeniya Kanaeva winning the individual all-around Saturday, Russia has now won both rhythmic titles at every Olympics since the 2000 Sydney Games.

… Russia finished a whopping 1.5 points ahead of Belarus with a total score of 57 points, delighting the big contingent of Russian fans in Wembley Arena.

Italy, which had hoped to break Russia’s stranglehold on the Olympic gold after winning the last three world titles, was third after appearing to make mistakes on both of its routines. …

CBC – Russia sweeps rhythmic gymnastics golds

Ye Shiwen, Katie Ledecky both innocent

… until proven guilty.

Two swimmers at this Olympics had suspiciously fantastical performances. One Chinese. One American.

In the past, with that kind of “smoke”, there’s sometimes been “fire”.

Both have been scrutinized as having (possibly) done something specifically for this competition, performance enhancing.

The Western media has been harder on Ye Shiwen than the American. Partly bias. Partly it reflects the reality that China is a totalitarian regime where a few at the top can decide that Ye Shiwen needs “vitamin injections”. She’d have no idea what’s in that needle. And no right to refuse.

When American athletes cheat, they know they are cheating.

Click PLAY or watch a detailed defense of Ye Shiwen on YouTube.

Better is this post on Swimming World:

In My Mind: American Bias – Fact or Fiction? Ye Shiwen vs. Katie Ledecky

I’m celebrating both athletes hitting career performances when it counted most. Peaking for the BIG meet is what every coach wants to see. 🙂

Mustafina & Alexandrov on TV

There’s not much new in this Russian TV interview. But I love the English translation.

Warm-ups for the Bar final did NOT go as planned.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

In September the Team will train in Spain. A working holiday, I predict.

Thanks for the link, Brigid.

mckayla is not impressed

McKayla Maroney’s brutally honest, unmoved reaction after winning the silver medal and not the gold in the Olympic individual vault competition earlier this week has spawned a hilarious Internet meme starring the American gymnast.

If you missed it, here’s McKayla’s expression:

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