'Trash'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
I thought that at first, but what about the other direction?
The judges are on that side, so you would be blocking their view if you were spotting. And yes, the mats are for breaking a fall.
I LOVED Superstars.
Me too! I remembered the kickassiness of pole vaulters from that.
The Russian female pole vaulter cracks me up.
So, with fall-breaking... do you sort of half-catch and fall with them?
It's more that the coach knows how to spot that move and what's likely to go wrong, so they can guide the gymnast's body in a less dangerous direction. And the coaches tend to be in pretty good shape, and the gymnasts tend to weigh about 5 pounds, so sometimes they can just catch them, like in this example of little Nastia:
So, if you're going to fall, do NOT fall on the judge.
So, if you're going to fall, do NOT fall on the judge.
Poor Paul Hamm.
like in this example of little Nastia:
Oh! Could you just DIE of the cute there?!?!?
I think I fell in love with her Dad when his face was so filled with disappointment and disbelief as Marta showed him the tie-breaking procedure again and again up until the medal ceremony. He was just so crushed.
Oh! Could you just DIE of the cute there?!?!?
YES.
I still haven't seen any gymnastics tonight. I am spoiled though. What time does it come on, do you remember?
I don't remember when it came on and I just erased it! Sorry. (I'm erasing ASAP to preserve precious space. It's brutal)
I feel like it came after ENDLESS beach volleyball. I respect those women as athletes to be sure, but I can't help but think it being shown so incessantly has something to do with women in bikinis flashing hand signals behind their very nice asses. (I swear I watched the guys for twenty minutes before we zoomed in on a hand signal)
Oh! I loooooooooooooove the gymnastics uniforms on the Chinese women.
Pole vaulting is such a perfect Olympic sport to watch. I never even have thoughts about it until I see it again four years later. Also, the objective is quite clear, and the skill is done quickly. Perfect Olympic sport. What I want to know, though, is who first thought this up? Who was like, "Oh, my God. I have a GREAT idea! Let's take this really long stick, run really fast at a wall, and use the long stick to fling ourselves over! It'll be awesome! I bet I can beat you at it!"
Wasn't there an Amazing Race challenge where they used poles to vault across a muddy river? Maybe it evolved from something like that?