Friday, August 15, 2008
Nastia, Shawn, and Yang
Last night I watched an actual woman, lithe & graceful Nastia Liukin, win the gold in all-around women's gymnastics, beatiing the prepubescent Chinese. But it was Shawn Johnson who astonished. She was a small cat leaping to the top of a refrigerator. For all their skill, discipline, & power, the gymnasts still remind me of circus acts. I half expect they'll be followed by poodles riding ponies.
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I was watching the Olympic repeats late because I had an achy joint in my leg, probably a touch of the bursitis that used to almost cripple me in hips & shoulders when I was in my 20's & mysteriously eased thereafter but for occasional unpredictable confluences of stress & humidity & for all I know barometric pressure & moon phase. A couple of aspirin usually takes care of it but in the meantime I have to find a nonpainful position & stay in it for awhile, & sleep is out of the question. That & seeing the world's greatest athletes reminded me that I need to get my little bike back on the road because just toodlin' to the library or supermarket on it a few times each week strengthens exactly the muscles that take the pressure off the joints.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Nastia Liukin's father and coach, Valeri Liukin, said the international gymnastics federation would be wise to eliminate the age rule that requires gymnastics athletes to be at least 16 or turn 16 during the year they compete in the Olympics and world championships.That would be a coach's view. The Chinese cull their gymnasts from the general populace around the age of 3 & send them on a special track. But as long as the gymnastic world insists that artistic as well as athletic qualities count, it ought to acknowledge that the older & taller female gymnasts (over 5') are generally more "artistic" than the rubber tumblers the size of a fire hydrant. Nastia is a dancer. Shawn & Yang are not. But while Shawn understands it's about weight distribution & center of gravity, concedes that to Nastia in the floor event & works around it in her routine, Yang's "dancing" was a means to end in the doll-like poses one sees at any local dance school recital. Which may be how she blew the simple move that cost her the silver medal. Shawn is such a superb athlete that even at a diminutive 4'9" one easily imagines her excelling at nearly any sport, including basketball. & absolutely, I see her playing second base & batting .400.
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I was watching the Olympic repeats late because I had an achy joint in my leg, probably a touch of the bursitis that used to almost cripple me in hips & shoulders when I was in my 20's & mysteriously eased thereafter but for occasional unpredictable confluences of stress & humidity & for all I know barometric pressure & moon phase. A couple of aspirin usually takes care of it but in the meantime I have to find a nonpainful position & stay in it for awhile, & sleep is out of the question. That & seeing the world's greatest athletes reminded me that I need to get my little bike back on the road because just toodlin' to the library or supermarket on it a few times each week strengthens exactly the muscles that take the pressure off the joints.
Labels: sports
