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:
[link]
So, if you're going to fall, do NOT fall on the judge.
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?
Wasn't there an Amazing Race challenge where they used poles to vault across a muddy river? Maybe it evolved from something like that?
Possibly, but if just seems so illogical. If I had a long stick or two, I'd be looking into the possibility of bridge-building. Maybe they were inspired by catapults?