tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
The Christchurch School of Gymnastics has spent $125,000 to acquire one of eight sets of equipment made available after the Rio Arena had its gymnastics gear removed from the main auditorium and training hall.
Generations of Christchurch gymnasts will now have the opportunity to train and compete on the same equipment American Simone Biles honed her vast array of skills on before the 19-year-old won four gold medals and a bronze.
Rio Olympic Games gymnastics equipment bound for Christchurch
Even though they missed the team final, the Canadian women still had reason to celebrate. In fact, the 171.761 that got them to ninth place in Rio surpassed any other Canadian team score under this code of points, including the score they posted when they placed fifth at the Games four years ago. The depth among the teams fighting for this year’s final was so great, it didn’t matter that this was Canada’s strongest Olympic team ever. But the fact remains that it was their best squad, and even if the ranking wasn’t their highest, they still showed a tremendous improvement from any year in the past.
The team also had some great individual success …
One sample:
Ukraine
4th team (2004)
1st all-around (Lilia Podkopayeva, 1996)
6th vault (Alona Kvasha, 2004)
4th bars (Viktoria Karpenko, 2000)
2nd beam (Lilia Podkopayeva, 1996)
1st floor (Lilia Podkopayeva, 1996)
First appearance: 1996
Most recent: 2016
Total appearances: 6 (1996-2016)
Lauren Hopkins calculates that 26 nations would have been represented in Rio IF they had 36 finalists rather than 24.
26 nations! That’s exactly what the Olympics is all about.
36 Finalists, 3-Per-Country
Countries Represented: 19
Belgium (2), Brazil (3), Canada (2), China (2), France (2), Germany (2), Great Britain (2), Guatemala (1), Hungary (1), Italy (2), Japan (3), Mexico (1), Netherlands (3), Russia (3), Spain (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1), USA (3), Venezuela (1)
Non-Team Countries Represented: 7
Guatemala (1), Hungary (1), Mexico (1), Spain (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1), Venezuela (1)
In fact, Lauren argues for 36 finalists, maximum 3 / nation rather than the current 2 / nation.
I’m happy with 2 / nation but completely agree that it’s OBVIOUS that major competitions should have 36 all-around finalists. It’s stupid to have two apparatus empty during the Men’s AA.
The good and the bad.
Elise is one of my favourite Bar workers all time. And I think of her frequently – every time we talk “Ray” on Bars during workout. 🙂
“This was my fourth Olympics as a judge. For us, it was the best-judged Olympic games that I can recall. Out of hundreds of competitors, we only had two inquiries from coaches who disagreed with a score. One was a case of a Chinese coach who wanted to know why the degree of difficulty was lower than expected for an athlete on the rings. We explained why and there was no problem. The other case was a competitor from Cuba whose degree of difficulty was graded too high and had to be adjusted.”
Thanks Cordelia.
Its members call it, with an almost religious conviction, “the Olympic Movement,” or “the Movement” for short, always capitalized.
At the very top of “the Movement” sits the International Olympic Committee, a nonprofit run by a “volunteer” president who gets an annual “allowance” of $251,000 and lives rent-free in a five-star hotel and spa in Switzerland.
At the very bottom of “the Movement” — beneath the IOC members who travel first-class and get paid thousands of dollars just to attend the Olympics, beneath the executives who make hundreds of thousands to organize the Games, beneath the international sports federations, the national sport federations and the national Olympic committees and all of their employees — are the actual athletes …
“The athletes are the very bottom of a trickle-down system, and there’s just not much left for us,” said Cyrus Hostetler, 29, a Team USA javelin thrower and two-time Olympian who said the most he’s ever made in one year in his career, after expenses, is about $3,000. “They take care of themselves first, and us last.” …
USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus makes $854,000, and national swim team director Frank Busch makes $346,000; their swimmers competing in Rio next month can make monthly stipends that cap at $42,000 per year. USA Triathlon CEO Rob Urbach makes $362,000 while Team USA triathletes compete for stipends that range from about $20,000 to $40,000 a year. The coach of the USA Rowing women’s team makes $237,000 while his rowers vie for stipends that max out at about $20,000 per year. (U.S. Olympic athletes are given an additional stipend if they win a gold, silver or bronze medal.) …
Washington Post – Olympic executives cash in on a ‘Movement’ that keeps athletes poor (July 30, 2016)
The IOC does many good things, of course. But as one of their frequent volunteers, I do feel remuneration for administrators is far too high.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 