What an exciting 2 weeks it has been. No, I wasn't in London myself, but I have been watching all the action at this exciting time! World records have been made, many dreams have come true, and history has been made. There have been tears and disappointment. There has been joyful screams and successes. I love listening to the inspiring stories of these dedicated athletes who find themselves at the Olympics to represent their country. I will have to admit, I have had a hard time watching the gymnastics, knowing that this was always my own dream to be there. I trained so hard, my body couldn't keep up and I was forced to give it all up. However, the dream is still there, I would give anything to be one of those athletes out on the Olympic floor!
I would like to highlight some moments I will forever remember...
The Fab Five: Gabby Douglas * Jordyn Weiber * McKayla Maroney * Aly Raisman * Kyla Ross
Our Woman's Gymnastics Team won the gold medal! The first team to do this was the Magnificent Seven back in 1996. Many doubted out team of rookies known as the Fab Five would be able to do it. But, they conquered and won the gold! They not only won it, but they won by 5 points! Yay!
Gabby Douglas, 4 foot 11 inch gymnast, has captured the hearts of many Americans. Her sweet smile, unwavering faith in God, strong determination, and love of the sport of gymnastics is unforgettable. She made history in becoming the first ever African American to win the individual all around in women's gymnastics.
“I give all the glory to God. It’s kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to him and the blessings fall down on me.”
Whoever came up with the rule that only 2 gymnasts from each country can qualify for the Individual All Around needs to re-think it. Jordyn Wieber came in 4th place in the AA Qualifiers; she was one of the best. But I guess the committee (whoever this may be) wants an international competition & not a best of the best in the world competition. My heart broke for her :(
McKayla Maroney did an amzing vault in the Women's Gymnastics Team Final; it really should've been a perfect score, but somewhere the judges found deductions as she received a 16.233 out of 16.5. I guess that is the hard thing about gymnastics...it isn't the first to cross the finish line or the team to score the most goals, it is all based on a group of judges opinions and what they see in that moment you are performing in front of them. When Maroney competed in the individual vault final, her first and most difficult vault was awesome! However, the second vault, there was no mistaking it...she felt right onto her butt. That had to have been hard, coming into competition and falling on the easier of the two vaults when it counted. A vault which she never struggled with in the past. But despite this hard disappointment, I think she could've shown a little better sportsmanship than she did. After all, she is representing the USA. She gave one of the other gymnasts the cold shoulder when she tried to congratulate her with a friendly hug on winning the silver medal. Then, during the medal ceremony she pulled a twisted grimace which said it all. "McKayla Maroney is NOT impressed." I am not sure what was going on through her head at that moment in time, but this....this is the face that will forever be remembered...sad but true.
Aly Raisman qualified for the individual AA and bc of the stupidest tie breaker in history got bumped to 4th place knocking her out of medal range. They decided to drop the lowest scored event, which happened to be beam for both her and Aliya Mustafina of Russia. Well, that was fortunate for Aliya who fell on beam and in my opinion, didn't even attempt to try to save it! So, Aly went on to focus on the individual events on beam and floor. Again Aly found herself tying for third on beam with Catalina Ponor. Only this time, there wasn't an event to drop. So they took the highest execution score, which makes more since, and Aly took Bronze. Then on floor, she earned the Gold medal, being the first american to take gold on this event! She was great and definitely deserved it! In fact, I think her parents should get a medal for most entertaining parents...you should check them out on youtube! It is hilarious!
Kati Ledecky won Gold in the 800m freestyle. At age 15, she came to London as the youngest member of Team USA and out-paced the field by four seconds, breaking the American record and nearly the world record in the process. Way to go Ledecky!
Oscar Pistorius is the first ever Paralympic athlete to compete against able-bodied athletes. After some disputes, they finally decided his "blades" didn’t offer him any type of advantages. As a member of the South African team he ran in his first race, the 400m, finishing second to qualify for the semis. He didn’t make the finals, but that wasn’t his goal: "The whole experience is mind-blowing," Pistorius said after his race. “It’s a dream come true. It’s really a humbling experience to be here.” In the finals qualifier, Grenada's Kirani James won, then took his name plate off and exchanged it with Pistorius.
"He's an inspiration for all of us," James says. "He's very special to our sport."
Michael Phelps came back for his third Olympics and has become the most decorated Olympian in history ending his career with 22 Olympic medals (18 gold).
Breeja Larson, a member of the LDS church, didn't start swimming until 3 years ago as a senior. She realized she needed a college scholarship and decided to give swimming a try after attempting track, softball, and volleyball. She is definitely a natural! Though she didn't come home with any medals, she performed really well. During one heat, she jumped in to begin the race during a confusion of the "go beep" that went off without the "on your mark". I am sure it had to have thrown her off, being the only one to jump in the pool and realizing it was a mistake. She finished in 6th while her teammate, Rebecca Soni, proceeded to finish in second taking the silver.
Break a leg...Manteo Mitchell literally did this very thing. As the first runner of the US team in the qualifiers for the 4x400m, he heard a POP part way through his leg of the race and knew it wasn't good. But he had 200 meters to go and knew he had to keep running or stop and lose the race. To him, it was never much of a choice. "I heard it and I felt it," Mitchell told The Associated Press. "But I figured it's what almost any person would've done in that situation." He finished the lap and limped to the side to watch the Americans finish the race and qualify for the final. A few hours later, doctors confirmed what he suspected: He had run the last half-lap with a broken left fibula.
Irish gymnast, Kieran Behan, becomes the second Irish mens gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. Though he didn't qualify for any individual events, he has quite the story to be told. At age ten he had surgery leaving him with permanent nerve damage to his foot. Doctors told him he would never walk again. But he was determined and 15 months later he was back in the gym working towards his Olympic dream. This was only the beginning of his incredible journey to London. Months after recovery, he hit his head on the bar during training, severely damaging the vestibular area of his brain – the area which controls balance. He landed back in the wheelchair, having to relearn simple movements. Despite doctors predictions, he found his way back into the gym. He broke bones and endured ACL tears in both knees before he found himself competing in London at age 23.This Olympics has been awesome! It has brought joy and tears. I want so badly to be apart of that incredible joy of competing in the Olympics, as an athlete representing the USA. And boy, I would have a story to tell....
Go team USA. Congrats to our amazing athletes who have sacrificed so much to be where they are!
-Peanut
1 comment:
I always think about you when I watch women's gymnastics. You have amazing abilities!
Post a Comment