Those kooky gymnasts

[aerocontrols]

I suspect you are not often chosen to keep score?

Line Judge.






















Tan Line Judge.

 

[nelsondogg]

My understanding is these are not nitpicking, but obvious misses, like when a boxer gets knocked down, he may only score 8 for a round he loses. Point well-taken, still, but it's not quite that simple.

I don't think its simple at all. That was my point in respect to Hamm/US Olympic team saying they could have deducted .2 from the Korean on that particular routine. Why don't they also, in the interest of fairness, request a review Hamm's vault where he almost flew right off the the landing mat and see if maybe the judges weren't being too nice when they gave him a 9.something...

 

[WildCat]

I don't think its simple at all. That was my point in respect to Hamm/US Olympic team saying they could have deducted .2 from the Korean on that particular routine. Why don't they also, in the interest of fairness, request a review Hamm's vault where he almost flew right off the the landing mat and see if maybe the judges weren't being too nice when they gave him a 9.something...

But that misses the point. The Korean wants only to adjust the scores that are favorable to him, and ignore what would be unfavorable. It's his routine that's in dispute, not Hamm's.

Obligatory beach volleyball pic w/ lesbian theme:

 

[Hand Bent Spoon]

I never thought I'd say this, but I don't find female beach volleyball players attractive. There's definately something 'off' about them. Unless you like masculine women, which is a perfectly legit preferance.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I don't really get the concept of "giving" a gold medal. I understand that the gold medal winner gets a disk (presumably made out of gold, although it seems like 24 karat gold would be very impractical). But is that disk really the gold medal? When someone competes in the Olympics, are they really competing because they want a gold disk? Or are they competing because they want to be declared to be the best in the world, and the disk is just a bonus/symbol of their superiority? It seems to me that the disk is not the medal, and while Hamm could give his disk away, how can he give his medal? It seems to me that what they’re really asking Hamm for is a declaration that he is not, in fact, the best gymnast in the world. Isn’t that an incredibly rude thing to do? And how effective will it be? Will everyone start referring to Yang Tae-young as the gold medal winner?

 

[Meadmaker]

I never thought I'd say this, but I don't find female beach volleyball players attractive. There's definately something 'off' about them. Unless you like masculine women, which is a perfectly legit preferance.

There was a picture in USA Today of Walsh and May as Greek priestesses holding volleyballs. Incredibly good looking, and very feminine. But I agree in a way. When playing, they were, for my tastes, not all that attractive. Their athleticism was too distracting. I found them very attractive, except when they were playing volleyball. But while they were playing, I was in awe of their abilities and effort.

All in all, count me in on being a beach volleyball fan in general, and May and Walsh in particular. Proof positive that women can be admired for athletic ability, and for more traditional reasons.

But as for gymnastics, there is one thing I am not grasping. Hamm was asked to give the third place finisher his gold medal. Justifiably in my opinion, he declined to do so.

What requests were made of the second place finisher, who was also mistakenly ranked ahead of the bronze medallist? He was a teammate. Had he already agreed to give up his silver?

In the end, it is a bit silly. They each performed. They each showed off. The judges made one or two errors. Everybody understands that sometimes the judged events give medals to the "wrong" people, but they each performed superbly and no judges mistakes can change that. I say keep the standings the way they finished, because the official standings reflect the rules as they were played at the time, and everyone knows that sometimes, mistakes happen. If you tried to correct every injustice in sport, you would never make it. Hamm got the gold medal according to the rules, even if it was a mistake.

The Korean, Jung (?) should call up Al Gore and they can console each other about how unfair contests can be.

Art,
Technically, the disk given to the athletes, which are gold plated, remains property of the Olympic committee. If they ask for it back, the athletes are supposed to give it back. I don't know how long that property holding goes on. In other words, I don't know if they ever become the athletes' property after the games are over or after some years, or if, technically, they remain permanent property of the IOC, held by the athletes. I know there was a controversy because a disqualified Russian shot-putter refused to give the disk back to the committee, and said she had already mailed it home to her brother. (She was disqualified after the medal ceremony, when her drug test came back positive.) However, as you noted, disk or no disk, the record book will show that she did not win a gold medal.

 

[shuize]

But that misses the point. The Korean wants only to adjust the scores that are favorable to him, and ignore what would be unfavorable. It's his routine that's in dispute, not Hamm's.

Al Gore meet Korean Olympic team.

As posted above, if the IGF wants to change the results, then they should be the ones to step up and take the heat. It's pretty spineless for them to say to Hamm: "There was a scoring error. But rather than taking responsibility for it, we want YOU to fix things."