posted
Did anyone else watch Hamm last night at the all around? The fall, then the amazing parralell routine, and the high bar to get the good after he fell to twelth? Wasn't that just amazing?
Posts: 1900 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Is last two routines were spectacular, full credit for that. That shows some mental fortitude that I can only dream of. But, man, poor Wei. That was his competition after Hamm fell and he screws up on one of the easiest moves on his bar routine. It'll haunt him for the rest of his life, I'm sure.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Yeah, but Wei had such a lead. Going into the 4th apparatus Hamm and Wei were trading high 9.7s while everyone else was getting 9.6s. With only two events left Wei could have played it safe (for him) got some 9.5s and still won the gold. That and his fall was because of a total mind fart. I'm sure he can do that in his sleep, it's not like he slipped off a complicted release move.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Yes, almost started a thread myself, about how much I LOVE the olympics. I dont know what it is, but every time they come up, I am glued to the TV every single night until midnight. Its making me so tired at work but I dont care. Hamm's performance last night was spetacular. Swinging one handed, and three releases in a row, with a perfect dismount. awesome.
And I generally dont like the swimming too much, but with the guys winning the relay the other night, and then the ladies following suit but also SMASHING the world record from 87 set by east germany... another great moment.
The romanians were doing great, but i couldnt help but notice the judges scores being so 'unpredictable'. That other american, mcclure did an awesome highbar routine, no falls, no big mess ups, and they gave him a 9.2... oh well. Cant wait to watch more!
Posts: 879 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Yeah, i know that they do that for different difficulties, but id really like to see how they justified it to be a 9.5 for a perfect run...
Posts: 879 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I only have internet and radio to keep track, but enjoyed the story last night on NPR All Things Considered about the shot put. Holding the event in the olive grove, with the people watching, standing, and sitting on the grass seemed to capture something that is often missing in mass spectator sports.
At least to me, the personal nature of it was evident. Greece has done a good job of puting some individual stamp on these games. They seem to be very effective hosts.
Posts: 440 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I don't know enough about gymnastics to know if it was a perfect run (I also didn't see it) but not every run is out of a 10 (most aren't). Every move adds difficulty and you tally them to get the start value. Perfection can't increase the your maximum score. Seriously, guys, I don't think this was a conspiracy to keep him down.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I appreciate the wreaths. Before it started, I said to my husband "I hope they put the wreaths on the winners heads, I think that's such a cool thing." And they did. I am happy.
Hamm was amazing, I can't believe how he pulled himself back together after that fall. And what he said afterward - "Never give up." What a lesson for young gymnasts everywhere. Yound people everwhere, that is.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Well, the head Japanese judge did tell the Americans that their routines would be worth less two days before the team competition, effectively screwing them over. But it's not really a conspiracy.
My new thing is watching the live updates at work. I sit on the internet and just watch the numbers fly. Like yesterday, it was probably 2:30, and Paul Hamm was heading into his final rotation. I'd been watching and scribbling numbers down, thinking what he'd need to win (9.825, according to my notes), and then hitting refresh. At that exact moment, I was called upon to run an errand. Gah! So I ran away to the basement of the building, found an internet kiosk, got on, and eventually did a dance of joy.
It might seem like it's taking the fun out of watching at night, but it doesn't. Now I know when to eat, when to go to the bathroom, and when to pay rapt attention. (Pss... watch women's gymnastics and all swimming tonight)
I watched the all-around last night with one of my roommates and we had a lot of fun mocking the commentators:
"It's entirely unprecedented." "AND unpredicted."
"It'll be a Korean party tonight!"
"Could he crash the coming-out party?"
"... those mighty lungs from the American midwest..."
"He spent his youth bouncing around in a barn with his twin brother in Wisconsin."
It's good fun. I particularly love the aerial shots of Athens - reminds me of when I lived there. Sigh.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Yeah, I dont think it was a conpiracy to keep him (mcclure) down, its just that the 9.5 as a perfect score seemed a little low. But, as many here, I dont know enough about gymnastics to give any more than just what I thought.
Posts: 879 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Paul Hamm That was really awesome. Especially since the disaster on the vault, any medal at all would have been an amazing comeback. After being in first, to drop to 12th, and deliver such a spectacular routine... He obviously didn't believe it either. When he saw his score he kept saying "No, no", and later he said he thought he needed a 9.8-something just to get the bronze.
I did think that the judging was a little screwy this year, especially on the rings. They seemed to give people good scores when they made a lot of mistakes, and give people horrible scores when they only made little mistakes.
McClure had a pretty good routine, but made one mistake on the landing, and thay butchered his score for it.
Posts: 4174 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I don't know if there's another thread on the topic, but this seemed like an appropriate place to post it. The judges did screw up on one of the scores, so the gold shouldn't actually have gone to Hamm. Any news on what they're doing about it?
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
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I love how most of the American gold winners don't know wether or not to remove their wreaths for the national anthem. Most I've seen do. Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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![[Hail]](graemlins/hail.gif)
Paul Hamm![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
He obviously didn't believe it either. When he saw his score he kept saying "No, no", and later he said he thought he needed a 9.8-something just to get the bronze.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
