Of course any time you throw subjectivity into the mix, sports get even more high-stakes then they already are. Baseball, basketball, soccer... its a simple matter of points scored. In swimming or track field there's no question... it's who crosses the finish line/ gets to the wall first on that given day in that particular race. Michael Phelps doesn't get seconds added to his time because one of the officials didn't like how his elbow was bent at a specific angle during his front crawl. You can be the best 100 meter sprinter in the world but on that given day, maybe you slept poorly, ate wrong, your toenail hurts, a butterfly bats its wings in the Amazon in opposing direction to your head wind and you don't end up with a medal... that's understandable. But the brutal sport of gymnastics is based on judging - a dangerous concept in life and sport. And unfortunately fates hang in the balance because of it.
At real issue here is the crazy rule that has been put back into place since the Athens Games in 2004, when the FIG (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique- the governing body of the sport) decided to would re-implement a 2-athlete/ country max to All-Around qualification. I think this was done because people were tired of the Russians/ Romanians/ Chinese SWEEPING the medal stands. But unfortunately it's at the detriment of the girls who work so hard for this ONE chance every FOUR years. Jordan Weiber- the reigning WORLD CHAMPION- and argueably, truly, THE best gymnast in the world, was 4th in the over-all All Around totals in the Team Qualification round. She posted the 4th highest total score in the competition. Yet girls placing 20 spots LOWER than her, will get the chance to try for individual ALL AROUND GOLD- a chance that Jordan, is denied. How does that make sense???? Someone worse gets a chance... but someone who is a true contender does not. That is so backwards. The problem is that of the THREE girls scoring higher than Jordan, 2 of them are her own compatriots... so she's the odd-girl out :(
Back in the day - 1992 Barcelona- Those cut throat Russkies had the same thing happen... again, this was in the original era of the 2 athletes/ country max rule... They had a gymnast who THEY THOUGHT was their best chance at gold on their team, finish 3rd in qualification round! So, the day of the All Around Finals they told the poor 2nd place girl, that she would not compete, and put their 3rd place girl in in her place- saying that the other girl had a 'knee injury. What was the outcome of the switch? Those damn Russkie's were right... their substitution and favorite for the gold actually went on to WIN the gold!!!! Maybe you all don't remember her, but Tatiana Gutsu will always hold a special place in my heart - not just because she's a fun Trivial Pursuit factoid, but because she looks just like my baby sister Caitlin! Judge for yourself...
Couldn't we do the same thing and switch silly, immature, inconsistent Gabby Douglas out and put the favorite, more dominant, better bet for Gold, Jordan Weiber in in her place??? We could, but that wouldn't be in the spirit of the Games either. I - for one- LOVE an underdog. But I think the real underdog darling here is Aly Raisman. Gabby is just a fluke and Jordan's just a victim.
Not being able to do anything about the rules, my money - and heart- is on Aly for the overall Gold. She's the team Captain, a solid competitor and irony of ironies, best friends with Jordan. I can't imagine being in Jordan's shoes, but being the strong, mature and classy athlete that she is, I'm sure she'll bring her absolute best to the podium today for Team Finals, and maybe, just maybe, if we all lean as hard as Aly's parents during the routines, we'll keep the American Girls on the beam and bars and cheer and cry with every stuck landing along the way.
I'm not sure I have the emotional fortitude to make it through these next few days of gymnastics coverage. It's simultaneous the best.. and most F'D UP sport in the world...
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