Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Gymnastics

It's a good thing that she felt able to pull out. She can't be the first to have felt that way, so to be able to sit out in the same way an athlete with a physical injury would have done perhaps suggests things in the American team at least may have improved somewhat.
 
Cid said:
I think 16 is the limit... Biles is arguably the greatest gymnast ever. It is a relentless sport... I do wonder whether it needs to be withdrawn until they manage to work out a less abusive way of doing things.

Biles was also one of Nassar's victims.
Click to expand...

It seems like a pretty ruthless sport. No, there was certainly a 15yo in the coverage earlier.

And the skateboarding was won by a 13yo, that's also not right.
 
Petcha said:
It seems like a pretty ruthless sport. No, there was certainly a 15yo in the coverage earlier.

And the skateboarding was won by a 13yo, that's also not right.
Click to expand...

It's not entirely rational, but the skateboarding bothers me a lot less. I mean there's a decent argument that age limits should be universal, though obviously all sports do have junior competition. I think the thing about gymnastics, and women's gymnastics specifically is that the way training has grown around it is really inherently abusive.
 
Cid said:
It's not entirely rational, but the skateboarding bothers me a lot less. I mean there's a decent argument that age limits should be universal, though obviously all sports do have junior competition. I think the thing about gymnastics, and women's gymnastics specifically is that the way training has grown around it is really inherently abusive.
Click to expand...

There was also something slightly unsettling about watching such tiny young girls in such skimpy clothes wearing heavy make up being coached by middle aged men. Just a bit jarring. I'm sure it's entirely innocent in most cases but it still doesn't look great.
 
Petcha said:
There was also something slightly unsettling about watching such tiny young girls in such skimpy clothes wearing heavy make up being coached by middle aged men. Just a bit jarring. I'm sure it's entirely innocent in most cases but it still doesn't look great.
Click to expand...

I suppose it's because skateboarding is far less of a closed world. Gymnastics often takes place in specialist camps, basically boarding schools where even communication with the outside world is limited.
 
It's got to have a hugely detrimental effect on their physical and mental development, surely?

But then again, I suppose you can say the same of any sport when they train at such a high level. There's something very unsettling about it. All the sacrifice of normal life, all the injuries, the pain, the "blood, sweat and tears" and for what ...? A tiny chance of a bit of glory, in order to entertain the rest of us.
 
Out of interest - are the girls told to dress/get made up like that? What if they showed up looking like normal girls their age - would they be marked down?

The guys don't seem to bother so much with all that.
 
Sorry for the whinge, but where the fuck can I find the rest of the women's gymnastics coverage? Watched up until midway through (so after Biles pulled out) and then the BBC did its channel flip thing and now I can't find which section it is on the iplayer :(

More power to Simone Biles btw. She's fucking superhuman and to do the right thing by herself and her team under such intense scrutiny only confirms that in my eyes.
 
May Kasahara said:
Sorry for the whinge, but where the fuck can I find the rest of the women's gymnastics coverage? Watched up until midway through (so after Biles pulled out) and then the BBC did its channel flip thing and now I can't find which section it is on the iplayer :(

More power to Simone Biles btw. She's fucking superhuman and to do the right thing by herself and her team under such intense scrutiny only confirms that in my eyes.
Click to expand...

I think it's here. You can fast forward.

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Sport - Olympics, 2020, Day 4: BBC Two - 12:00-12:45

Great Britain go up against the USA in the women's team final.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

The BBC isn't doing a great job this year as Discovery seems to have a lot of the events this time around.
 
Petcha said:
I think it's here. You can fast forward.

www.bbc.co.uk

BBC Sport - Olympics, 2020, Day 4: BBC Two - 12:00-12:45

Great Britain go up against the USA in the women's team final.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

The BBC isn't doing a great job this year as Discovery seems to have a lot of the events this time around.
Click to expand...
Apparently Discovery+ has the rights and the BBC can only show 2 live events at once

BBC Olympics coverage misses events after loss of TV rights | BBC | The Guardian

Viewers complain after rights-holder Discovery puts majority of events behind paywall
amp.theguardian.com amp.theguardian.com
 
Petcha said:
Out of interest - are the girls told to dress/get made up like that? What if they showed up looking like normal girls their age - would they be marked down?

The guys don't seem to bother so much with all that.
Click to expand...
Coquettish moves and face pulling in some of the floor routines is questionable, too, although I noticed that in the last OGs. Maybe it's not as bad this time.
 
ElizabethofYork said:
It's got to have a hugely detrimental effect on their physical and mental development, surely?

But then again, I suppose you can say the same of any sport when they train at such a high level. There's something very unsettling about it. All the sacrifice of normal life, all the injuries, the pain, the "blood, sweat and tears" and for what ...? A tiny chance of a bit of glory, in order to entertain the rest of us.
Click to expand...

I think this is a bit presumptive. I suspect most of them do it because they enjoy it, the enjoy being good at it and comepting with the best. If you love doing acrobatics what better job to do? It's probably more fulfilling for many than working in a circus or dance troupe, or trying to grab occasional stunt work.
 
platinumsage said:
I think this is a bit presumptive. I suspect most of them do it because they enjoy it, the enjoy being good at it and comepting with the best. If you love doing acrobatics what better job to do? It's probably more fulfilling for many than working in a circus or dance troupe, or trying to grab occasional stunt work.
Click to expand...

To an extent... But gymnastics specifically is one of those ones that's hugely susceptible to parental pressure and the like. And, especially with women's they have to start very young; girls can join competitive teams in the US at age 4. 7-10 for selective programmes, training camps etc. Where does the line between enjoyment and 'this is just life, right?' get drawn?
 
Cid said:
To an extent... But gymnastics specifically is one of those ones that's hugely susceptible to parental pressure and the like. And, especially with women's they have to start very young; girls can join competitive teams in the US at age 4. 7-10 for selective programmes, training camps etc. Where does the line between enjoyment and 'this is just life, right?' get drawn?
Click to expand...

Probably something that gymnasts and former gymnasts are better-placed to answer than people on Urban75. However I think it's possible to be aware of the pressures many of them experience without presuming they'd all rather spend their weeks pissing about on the internet instead.
 
maomao said:
No one has suggested any such thing. Maybe they'd like to do some sports that don't stunt their growth and delay puberty though.
Click to expand...

Is that what they told you, or are you being presumptive too?

Are there many interviews you've come across with ex-Olympic gymnasts in which they lament their ruined youth and wish they'd spent half their teenage life swimming backstroke instead?
 
Cid said:
To an extent... But gymnastics specifically is one of those ones that's hugely susceptible to parental pressure and the like. And, especially with women's they have to start very young; girls can join competitive teams in the US at age 4. 7-10 for selective programmes, training camps etc. Where does the line between enjoyment and 'this is just life, right?' get drawn?
Click to expand...

I don't like the idea of such pressure being put on such young kids. I went to my kid's sports day last week and was almost having a heart attack during the egg and spoon race.

Gymnastics does seem the weirdest of them all though. Too much, too young. And I don't think I could entrust my kid to a random middle aged bloke in a trackie before and after school but maybe I'm over-protective.
 
platinumsage said:
Is that what they told you, or are you being presumptive too?

Are there many interviews you've come across with ex-Olympic gymnasts in which they lament their ruined youth and wish they'd spent half their teenage life swimming backstroke instead?
Click to expand...
I used to know a failed gymnast who went a lot further than that. And I've known two other people who'd been intensively trained as kids for high level sports (one basketball and one MA) in China and I'm not sure the wishes of the child came into it very much.
 
platinumsage said:
Is that what they told you, or are you being presumptive too?

Are there many interviews you've come across with ex-Olympic gymnasts in which they lament their ruined youth and wish they'd spent half their teenage life swimming backstroke instead?
Click to expand...

Why do you come up with all this weird shit? You're absolutely right that many of them will get enjoyment out of it. It's what they know, what they're good at, what they can get into a flow state with... But there are thousands who have failed in their wake. Damaged and fucked up, told they're too heavy, not graceful, too tall, the wrong proportions. And even those success stories are forced to deal with the end of their career being around when they can legally start drinking. Even those success stories have been through a system that is very obviously, provably abusive. That is something they will have to deal with in their own way for the rest of their lives.
 
For people who don't do Netflix, or prefer podcasts, 30 for 30 did one on the USAG abuse called 'heavy medals', worth listening to.
 
Last edited:
Cid said:
Why do you come up with all this weird shit? You're absolutely right that many of them will get enjoyment out of it. It's what they know, what they're good at, what they can get into a flow state with... But there are thousands who have failed in their wake. Damaged and fucked up, told they're too heavy, not graceful, too tall, the wrong proportions. And even those success stories are forced to deal with the end of their career being around when they can legally start drinking. Even those success stories have been through a system that is very obviously, provably abusive. That is something they will have to deal with in their own way for the rest of their lives.
Click to expand...

Why is it weird? This post I was originally responding to implied that it's inevitably "hugely detrimental" and entirely pointless. I'm just saying I surmise that many involved would disagree. 🤷‍♂️

As to those that fail along the way, you could say the same about anything competitive that children and teenagers partake in, football, snooker, piano playing... I'm not denying that there's no problems with the training system in gymnastics specifically, but I think it's quite patronising to assume that all these elite gymnasts are doing pointless, harmful stuff and brian-washed into thinking they're enjoying it.
 
Petcha said:
Out of interest - are the girls told to dress/get made up like that? What if they showed up looking like normal girls their age - would they be marked down?

The guys don't seem to bother so much with all that.
Click to expand...

Don't know about this specific case, but there are some sporting groups that do. I saw this the other day:

MSN

www.msn.com

After looking at the photos of the women in the required "uniform" and what they wanted to wear instead, and I have to say that I'm on the teams side on this one.

BTW, if you want round trip to the weird search for "child beauty contests in the US." I sometimes see stuff from those show up on my feed, and its not unusual to see really little girls in full makeup, wigs, and skimpy clothing. I've heard that some of them will actually pad their tops, starting way before they should have a top to pad.
 
Last edited:
Watching women's gymnastics "I like a bit of purple, me." About a girl wearing a purple leotard as she walked across the floor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom