Looking Back: Artistic Gymnastics in London

One year ago today, the 2012 Summer Olympics came to an end. Among the shock and meltdowns there were a good share of heartwarming moments and stories for the ages. In a moment of reflection, let’s look back on what we learned from the gymnastics segment of these games and some things that went unnoticed.

Jordyn Wieber is Not a Robot
The USAG--or any American national sports federation--does a good job of training  their athletes to be as political correct as possible. Lines like “I just want to do my best” are as paramount as their first words were. After months of losing ground to Gabby and looking more musceled and sluggish, Jordyn did the best she probably could have done in London. That should have been enough--you train your whole life for hours upon end with the promise that if you train yourself to the ground and prepare, you will be ready when the day comes. But due to an usually clean bar routine and vault from Raisman, Wieber’s best just wasn’t enough.

The most difficult part to watch was not to see her burst into tears once Raisman’s floor score came up, but watching her fight back sobs in her interview with Andrea Joyce. She regurgated the normal PC phrases, but her shaking voice and bloodshot eyes told a different story.

Raisman's State of Mind
We’ve all seen tears and tantrums when dealing dissapontment, but the most poignant moments for me are those subtle reactions. Once again, the American gymnasts’ media training was evident in Raisman’s reaction to her score in the BB events finals, but this time it was more than a monotone register or a rehearsed, generic answer. When her score goes up and Mihai runs off to protest, she whispers to herself “it’s okay”. For a eighteen-year-old athlete to have this kind of poise after she got yet another fourth place finish was something that really struck me.  She was reassuring herself--not for the media, but for her.

Mustafina and Komova’s Comradery after the AA Compared to Douglas and Raisman
Ruthless. Cold. Diva bitch. Those are the words that NBC and the four-year fan on Twitter tossed around. Mustafina does have a death glare that rivals Jonathan Toews’ dead shark eyes, but she genuinely cares for her teammates. We can only imagine the rivalry that would have been forged--if it wasn’t there already--between Mustafina and Komova if Komova had been born a mere two weeks earlier and been age eligible to go senior in time for 2010 Worlds. I’m sure the atmosphere between the two Russians at Round Lake was not always cheery, but their relationship was much warmer than that of Raisman and Douglas.

After Komova stepped off the floor in All-Around finals, Mustafina practically held her. Although Mustafina’s only a few months older, she treated Komova so motherly. It was an intimate moment between teammates that didn’t seem forced at all. Unlike Douglas and Raisman who stood like soldiers on the other side of the arena, eyes glued to the scoreboard but much more than an arm’s length apart. When I see them, I see practiced interaction. Now, yeah, they act much more friendly towards one another (I’m not just talking about Raisman, but the whole Fierce Five’s cold-shoulder tactics when it comes to Gabby), but it’s much easier to be friendly towards someone when that person didn’t come out of nowhere and suddenly became a lock for a team that you were supposed to be the star of.

The King Wavered, but Did Not Fall
It seems like in every Olympics there’s an undeniable favorite that dominated every aspect of the sport for the past three years, only to crash and burn at the biggest stage. After qualifications, it seemed like Kohei Uchimura was going to have a performance in the All-Around similar to Michelle Kwan in Salt Lake City. Thankfully, we were all saved from that terror and a king was rightfully crowned.

What Zanetti’s Victory May Mean for Rio
My knowledge of mens’ gymnastics is limited, but when I woke up at five in the morning on a Sunday to watch a choppy BBC livestream, I was shocked to hear the Brazilian national anthem being played. Arthur Zanetti’s victory was highly disputed and the more I watch the tape I lean towards the anti-Zanetti camp, but this is gymnastics and politics are always at play. Zanetti’s victory was the FIG throwing Brazil a bone. They have the talent, they have so much raw talent, but in a  corrupt country (coming from Chicago I have no right to talk) with a focus on football (soccer), Olympic sports aren’t going to get focus until after 2014. Two years is hardly enough time, but Brazil has never been one for planning.