OLYMPICS OR LAS VEGAS CASINO?
Aliya and Vika waited for Viktoria’s score for her floor, which closed the AA competition. Gabriella Douglas was completely alone, biting her lips.
Douglas was not sure of anything, except that Aliya Mustafina, who stayed in gymnastics like a heroine, had won bronze and Komova… In this instant it was decided to be, or not to be. To be Olympic Champion, or not to be Olympic Champion.
It’s over. Vika drops her head on Aliya’s shoulder. The judges have decided: Douglas!
I choose the sentence "Douglas has been named Olympic AA champion". I can explain when this happened. It was not when Komova didn’t land her Amanar vault well.
Her mistake on vault was not fatal. It was still possible to make it up. They just didn’t allow her to do so.
Douglas performed with pleasure and with luck. She was overscored for her uneven bars routine. Later they increased her “capital” on beam. It was enough for a new American victory. After bars Komova could have not fought. In her first World championships in Tokyo she was underscored on Wieber’s behalf. At her first Olympics, on Douglas’ behalf. The Americans change, the judges’ alliances remain the same. And they are very smart in the way that they build up their strategy.
Valentina Rodionenko mentioned those alliances during the spring. Let’s consider the judges on bars where Douglas was crowned. There wasn’t a single American judge. UK, Puerto Rico, Australia. That’s enough. Alliances working for the US include judges from South and North American, with Australia and the UK.
A gymnast can’t even upgrade her bars completely in a year. But then, there is a miracle in two days!
One of the team’s coaches says nervously: "All interviews after the final. What? Douglas? The judges know better".
I talk to Nastia Grishina who won silver with our team . I ask her the same question. What does she think about Douglas’ score? She just says: “Judges’ stuff”.
Komova’s turn on beam. She’s not scared. She looks beautiful.
Аliya Mustafina falls off beam, but thanks to a fantastic bar routine she overcomes the second American – Aleksandra Raisman - and wins bronze! Her bronze is a genuine victory...
…Our girls, who perform elements from rhythmic gymnastics on floor, such as spins in vertical split, are standing and applauding. Art on floor cannot compete with the art of fair scoring when necessary.
On bars Komova was far better than Douglas, they were equal on beam. To compare them on floor is similar to comparing Mariinsky Theatre and a disco.
Yet Komova loses to Douglas. This happens and it will happen until someone does something to prevent the Olympics from becoming a casino.
"I feel happy for Komova, she fought all over," says Aleksei Nemov, four time Olympic champion. "For me she deserves to be Olympic champion. Vika is beautiful, polished and she has unique elements, while Douglas is kind of ugly, excuse the vulgarity of my masculine phrase. I say what I think. This is my feeling, you see, but the judges saw this differently... we cannot blame Vika for anything. Let’s congratulate her and Aliya."
Biassed? Yes. As biassed as much of the 'neutral' gymnastics press. As biassed as the 'objective' code ... as biassed as some of the 'fair' judges.
Douglas dancing was not ugly but TERRIBLE!!!
ReplyDeleteGirl, you are not in the 70-80's anymore.
I agree that Douglas was overscore in bars and beam but it was Komova's vault that killed her chance for gold.
I think that vault was fairly scored relatively. They were all over scored, but relative to eachother, the scoring was fair.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with you assesment that gabby was overscored on bars. I've watched the replays, and gabby hit her handstands, much better than komova did who was greater than 10% off vertical on almost all of hers. She also flies on her release moves. It was also hard to see if she moved her legs to the side on her piked tchakev, but it looked better than earlier in the competition. I think that bars were fair scores for both of them.
Aliya blew both of them out of the water with her bar set and the judges rightly recognized that.
As for beam, i think that the were both overscored, and were essentially tied on that event: No serious bobbles and a .3 dismount deduction.
Komova's floor was incredible. The only real problem that i saw was the early termination of her memmel turn. It was an amazing routine, that i didn't know that she had in her.
Gabby had a great routine and her score was definitely fair. Ballet isn't the only kind of dance, and the judges shouldn't reward one style of dance over others. Unfortunately Komova had too much ground to make up on floor exercise, and Gabby didn't leave her any room.
The were both phenominal in this event, and I would have been happy with either of them winning. Komova just dug herself a hole on vault that she couldn't overcome. without the .8 landing deduction the gold would have been hers.
Excuse me, I am no judge, but even as an amateur I saw, that Douglas was not really straight up in her handstands, when she rotated on bars, seen both from sidewards and forward.I don't no what you want to have seen in Komovas memel turn, but wasn't Douglas landing very close to the edge in one of her rows? No, Viktoria is another class, the judges must have been blushed, when they planned and heralded the judgement. I think Americans cannot bear the the russian leading role in gymnastics, thus it is scorn to play "sportsmanship" here.
DeleteBy the way I hate it to peer for mistakes of others.
Agree with every word in that article ... it's all the manipulative judges' fault ... Komova is the real gold medalist
ReplyDeleteI think that Nemov is right about what he has said as he personally went through the same experience in sydney by another manipulative judges
ReplyDeleteIve really fallen for Mustafina in the last few days, the more I read about her the more I admire her. I cant wait to see her on the bars and floor. My opinion on the Americans is they look like like cheerleaders, their still amazing to watch but Its nothing as beautiful as Aliya.
ReplyDeleteThis is the opinion of someone who knows nothing about gymnastics, I don't even know the names of the moves they do, but Russia definitely do them with more grace and style.
Completely agree with Alexei Nemov! Douglas just doesn't have a unique quality to her gymnastics like Komova does. Komova is a true artistic gymnast, innovative, unique, and stunning to watch. Douglas is forgettable. One day later and I still can't remember what her floor routine was. Whereas I can't get Komova's floor performance out of my mind. She was amazing! The judges are ruining this sport by their damn politics.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely agree with the poster who said that the Americans look like cheerleaders. They're really just performing acrobatics with little personal style. Forgettable.
Well said,the most upsetting thing about it is that " The judges are ruining this sport by their politics" , they just kill the beauty of the sport.
DeleteYou are absolutely right with the cheerleader comments. Watching Gabby to Viktoria is like watching a cheerleader perform contrast to a ballerina, no contest. This was a devastating Olympics so far for me, I was rooting for the Russians so much - they are powerful, innovative, and artistic, everything gymnastics needs to be. Yes I think the judges over scored Gabby on bars and beam, but that could be said with Vika's vault. It was weird - it seemed like she didn't fight for the landing and took those steps voluntarily (?) I don't know, those steps seemed like they could've been easily saved and she would've gained a couple more tenths thus resulting in a potential Olympic gold.
ReplyDelete*Sigh*
But now I can't wait until finals and I really hope both Vika and Mustafina redeem themselves. I also want Afanyseva to win floor too, although I haven't seen her routine yet on TV. It's such a shame that I live in the US, cause I only get NBC and all they show are the Americans and some of the Russian gymnasts. They barely showed the Romanians or Chinese, or any other countries! They also show montages and dramatize certain situations and all I want to see is gymnastics! It's not a reality tv show for goodness sakes!
Gymnastics is NOT ballet. Just because the Russians look 'prettier' doesn't mean they're better gymnasts! Viktoria's vault was overscored. I think Vika and Musty are great gymnasts, but just cuz they're more balletic doesn't make them any better than Douglas.
ReplyDeleteThis is only MY opinion, so please don't start hating.
Can you say that one more time? I don't think they heard you lol. While I don't like Gabby's choreography and it can be loads better people put way to much emphasis on who looks like a ballerina and who doesn't. Balletic is not the only form of artistry out there. At the end of the day both Mustafina and Komova said Gabby deserved her Gold.
DeleteBallet is about basics, not style ... basic things like posture and body alignment that are sadly deficient in much of Douglas's work.
DeleteALL gymnasts should have good ballet basics in the sense that they should present themselves gracefully and in context with other cultures of movement. Modern dance; jazz etc all draw on ballet basics. You can't move elegantly without a grasp of ballet. It is simply fundamental. Not just evident in the dance, but throughout the full range of skills including acrobatics, and on all 4 apparatus.
Choreography is not just dance composition (which again was poor in Douglas's routine) but also the basics of movement.
Yes, not every gymnast has to dance Swan Lake or Giselle ... even within this genre there are wide variations. Just look at the variety in the routines of the 1989 Soviet team for a start.
I personally don't think a gymnast is even a gymnast before she can move with grace, economy and amplitude. Let alone an Olympic champion.
and Gabyy overscored on UB and BB then Komova should've won ... and don't you start a preemptive strike to gag us from saying what we think
ReplyDeleteI love how being in disagreement with the results is being whiny, bratty, trolling, etc... I'm not saying that based on the shitty code we have to live by Douglas didn't earn it, but there is definitely room for complaining, as the scoring was not consistent with what was seen on the previous days. I still haven't seen a break through of the eight events with the rightful scoring done by anyone.
ReplyDeletefoi uma verdadeira vergonha! vika merecia o ouro! não entendi o que douglas fez de tão diferente pra ganhar 15.777 nas barras! vika tiraria fácil a diferença! =(
ReplyDeleteIt's easier to find anything or anyone else to blame. Russians always to this. Komova and Mustafina should look at themselves to blame.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mention anyone most of the people who know that Komova should won not Russian ! Our Gymnast didn't blamed anyone !
Deleteand why the Americans didn't blame Weiber for not qualifying to AA final instead of their tantrum about two per country rule? you adopt an oxymoronic rhetoric
DeleteThen why didn't the Americans blame Weiber for not qualifying for AA final instead of blaming the two-per-country rule or you may ask Weiber to blame herself, right? ... double standard alert !!
DeleteExcept this time, the judges are to be blamed.
DeleteAbsolutely agree with this post!!!
ReplyDeleteEven if Komova had those side steps in the vault, I think she REALLY made up for it in the bars, beam and most definitely floor!! Her floor deserved a higher score!! It was so artistic and she really performed. It was just perfect!!
She should've been the Gold.
I read an article in which both Komova and Mustafina admitted that Gabrielle had performed brilliantly and deserved to win. Doesn't the word of the athletes in the competition count for something?
ReplyDeleteI was rooting for Vika the whole competition, to me she epitomizes the true classic AA gymnast I love so much. She is a flash of the beautiful past we all miss, daughter of a Soviet reminding us of what went before. I feel had she had just a month or two longer she would have been unstoppable, same for Aliya. Aliys couldn't even walk just over a year ago and is not the AA bronze medalist WITHOUT an Amanar. Vika in her whole senior career has trying to recover from that one injury, she hasn't yet actually been at full strength which shows quite how phemonenal she is. She has consequently gone through the massive growth spurt which always happens with such injuries (as has Aliya). To have not even be able to compete two pieces at Europeans, then come back with an Amanar that hadn't been seen since she was a junior, and the double arabian dismount is remarkble. I imagine the full in will be back next. Just that tiny bit more time needed, and her strength and consistency would have been back to 100%, I would say she was at about 85%. I only hope she keeps going, I hope all the girls keep going, they are beautiful gymnasts who should be proud of the gymnastics they bring to the world.
ReplyDeleteI feel that perhaps what happened is after vault where Vika's mistake was obvious, if Gabby went clean she was going to be given the title for having the clean AA competition. I actually think Vika and Gabby were judged reasonably on vault, it was Aly that got a HUGE gift on that piece. Vault is the only piece I've been through thoroughly so far, I do plan to turn my judges eye to the others too, but that was my impression from watch the competition overall.
I absolutely love Komova and would have been very happy had she won yesterday, but I don't understand comparing her floor routine to the ballet. Neither she nor Gabby connect to their music or dance particularly well - Komova's choreography and dance is certainly not up there with, for instance, the masterful floor routines of Boguinskaya, Omelianchik, Strazheva, etc.
ReplyDeleteSimply having a lean body, long legs and great toe-point is not enough.
I disagree with your article. I feel both of these gymnasts are TOP of their sport and I do agree with another comment on here regarding the types of dance. You can't compare hip hop to salsa to russian ballet to the mambo. In that sense each had their own style and has to be considered independently. Komova has a breathtaking lightness to her dance and pulled a brilliant floor routine, and while that routine deserved the score she got it did not deserve a 15.3 that she needed to overtake Douglas. Floor is one of the most stringently judged events and rarely have we seen a 15.3 on floor at this olympic games so why now is it "rightfully deserved" just to boost one individual? It's funny how you claim every other gymnast is overscored but the one you so willingly root for is tremendously underscored when they were not. If you want to compare overscores then Komova deserves the same criticism (her team finals vault for one!!).
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you on this. Komova performed brilliantly, but she was scored fairly. Gabby Douglas was scored just as fairly in my opinion. She put up the routines of her life. Floor was definitely a fair score for Komova. She scored very high on this event. She got a 9.100 for her execution. No one else has gotten this, yet. As for bars, she is phenomenal, but she did have errors there. For anyone to suggest she didn't is incorrect. Gabby had errors too, but overall on this day, her execution was better. As far as dance goes, I agree. There are different types of dance and they can not be judged in accordance to each other. They are too different for comparison. That does not make one better than the other. On beam Viktoria did have more balance checks than Gabby did. And her start value was one tenth lower, so in comparison they score them fairly. Gabby Douglas has just as beautiful lines as Viktoria on this event. But there are always going to be opinions as to who was better...but that's a matter of preference, which everyone has theirs. Does not change the results, but it should not take credit away where credit is due.
Deletejust feel so sad for komova, the gold should be hers
ReplyDeletethe olympics is not a fair game anymore...
no subjectively judged sport is fair anymore but it is what it is. Gymnasts like every other athlete come to a competition asking partially for the OPINION of the judges so they need to be prepared for both positive and negative responses to the routines they perform. In a sport that is decided by the slimmest of margins (tenths of points) there is bound to be disagreement between every person watching and judging as to whether a score is 100% justified.
DeleteThe problem is that you get high scores on vault if you perform well, and comparatively low scores on floor with an excellent routine. So how could Vika catch up with her "low" result on vault? Did the competition end after vault? It seems it did for the judges!!! Not for Komova who fought all-over.
ReplyDeleteAlejandro
After re-watching the competition I do feel Douglas was overscored all 3 days actually on her beam routine including this all around night but I do not feel that Komova was underscored by any means. I could see the points being made to to perhaps a close call in points that could have been swayed her way if Douglas wasn't overscored on beam, but it certainly was NOT from Komova being underscored. The scores she received for her performances were fair. In no way should she have received higher for the 15's score she received on floor. Any score in the 15's on floor is considered excellent in the Olympic games and a score that would push a mid to high 15 (which no one seems to be able to obtain regardless of country) it would take a difficulty score beyond what anyone this year is able to put up. I think the judging on that apparatus was fair in those regards.
ReplyDeleteAccording to you, if Douglas was overscored, who should have won?
DeleteBOTH Douglas and Komova have been overscored in all 3 phases of this competition so far. And while I feel Douglas was overscored in the A/A it was not by enough to have made a difference in the standings I don't think. I think we are talking a matter of a few tenths here not a half point difference that would have pushed Komova up and above Douglas. I repeat...Komova was NOT UNDERscored in any event regardless of if Douglas was OVERscored. Although I personally would like to have seen Mustafina win...if she hadn't fallen on beam she might have had more of a fighting chance...what a great comeback that would have been. Especially for a gymnast that is not only fighting injury but has grown so much she has had to relearn so many skills in a different manner to get the same quality of execution. She deserved her bars score and it really was better than Komovas.
DeleteWhy is everyone acting as if Viktoria should have scored a 10 on floor. She did have visible errors. She did not give away much, but there were errors. Even in her stuck piked double back dismount, her chest was low enough to cause a deduction. Why can't people just say what they mean. It's ok to prefer Viktoria Komova over Gabby Douglas, but is shameful to try to take away from someone else's incredible performance just because YOU think someone else should have won. And then say the "American" received favor from the judges? Sounds like there are a bunch of sore losers here and I'm not referring to Viktoria Komova. She won her silver medal, which is what she EARNED this particular night. Sorry if you don't like the fact, but that is the fact of the matter.
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ReplyDeleteI think she deserved what she got in Tokyo, but it was mainly due to her injury. She was obviously robbed in the Olympics, though.
ReplyDelete