Saturday, September 4, 2010
Useless Speculation Time
Unless they get injured, Rebecca Bross, Alicia Sacramone, and Mattie Larson are virtually locks. Bross should compete on bars, beam and floor in the team final. She is usable on vault, but I think she has one of the sloppier DTYs on the National Team. Sacramone should compete on beam and vault in the team final and Larson is usable on floor, vault and bars.
I would be surprised at this point if Aly Raisman didn't make the team. Though she did not look as good at Classics and Nationals as she did during the spring season, she is still very usable on beam, floor and vault in the team finals. If she actually manages to get her Amanar down, that would also be quite helpful.
A healthy Bridget Sloan should also make the team. While she's the defending World All-Around Champion and a fantastic vaulter, maybe a better strategy for her would be focusing on bars and floor. She would probably be in the team finals line-up in both of those events. While her DTY would score well, so should Larson's and Raisman's.
Macko Caquatto and Cassie Whitcomb have been mentioned extensively as "bar specialists" for the last spot on the team and both have good shots at that role. Caquatto has a higher start value and therefore higher scoring potential, but has been a "headcase" in the past. As good as her routine can be, I'm not convinced she can hit in a team final. Though Whitcomb has a lower start value, she has room to upgrade and tends to consistently hit her routine. However, her Gienger is wonky and she had recently been injured. I'm really not sold on either of them currently.
I actually kind of prefer Chelsea Davis for that "bar specialist" spot. She currently has the same start value as Whitcomb and also has room to upgrade. I think she tends to have cleaner form and that her miss on her Jaeger on day two of Nationals was more of a fluke than anything.
Kytra Hunter also still probably has an outside shot. She is a great tumbler and maybe could get an Amanar, which boasts team start values a ton. I doubt Amanda Jetter, Morgan Smith, or Sami Shapiro will make the team. Honestly, sometimes I'm just sad that Vanessa Zamarripa is no longer in contention and that Kyla Ross, Katelyn Ohashi, McKayla Maroney and Gabrielle Douglas are not age eligible.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Gymnastics Nationals
In other news, Maria Sharapova looked the best I had seen her in a while tonight. Now, if only she'd stop double faulting.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Olympics 101: Ice Hockey
Canada was a leader in the debate on professionalism and the Olympics. The country withdrew from international ice hockey competition in 1969 because it objected to having to play professionals from Communist countries. The issue on what made a hockey player a professional was a fairly complicated one. The IOC said that any hockey player who had signed a professional contract was a professional while the International Ice Hockey Federation said that a player had to play in a professional game before being considered a professional. Furthermore, these definitions applied only to the NHL; minor league players and players in European leagues were considered eligible. Athletes on Communist national teams received paychecks from their governments as opposed to privately-owned clubs and were therefore still eligible. Sweden joined in this boycott in 1976 and both countries returned to international competition in 1980.
One has to wonder how much these "definitions" had to do with the USSR's dominance in hockey. Would more of their players have defected or refused to play if they weren't receiving paychecks? If Canada and the US had been allowed to use paid players, would they have been more of a factor in the international hockey scene?
The 1928 Canadian team, comprised of players from the 1926 Toronto University team, was so good that Olympic officials advanced them to the medal round after seeing them practice. The team went on to beat Sweden 11-0, Great Britain 14-0, and Switzerland 13-0 in the medal round, justifying the decision.
Canada also produced the first male black gold medalist at the Winter Olympics when Jarome Iginla won a gold medal with the 2002 Canadian hockey team.
Perhaps the most impressive feat of the Soviet Union in ice hockey was not their record, but their ability to bounce back from tragedy. A plane crash killed all but one member of the national team in 1950. The government kept the crash quiet and went on to win the 1954 World Championships with a completely new squad as well as the country's first ice hockey gold medal in 1956.
After losing to the USA in the medal round in 1960, Nikolai Sologubov, the captain of the USSR team, actually helped the American team defeat Czechoslovakia for a gold medal. Down 4-3 after two periods, Sologubov came into the locker room and said that the American players should take some oxygen. The US went on to win 9-4. That never would have happened in 1980!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
I'm Back
The CoverGirl Classic was last weekend and the US's juniors showed much more promise than the seniors (though neither Sloan nor Bross competed the All-Around). As of right now, I would say that Bridget Sloan, Rebecca Bross, Alicia Sacramone, Aly Raisman, Mattie Larson, and Mackenzie Caquatto are the front-runners for the World team (though, let's be honest, this could change about a million times between now and then). With this team, Sacramone would be off bars and floor (obviously), Caquatto would be off beam, and either Larson or Caquatto would be off vault in the prelims. In the finals, I would probably put Sloan, Raisman, and Sacramone on vault; Caquatto, Sloan, and Bross on bars; Raisman, Bross, and Sacramone on beam; and anyone but Caquatto on floor (that's training).
Assuming Larson stays healthy, I'd assume Macko's spot is the least secure because she will be heading to the NCAA in January will probably not factor into the international scene for the rest of the quad. Though I would love to see Cassie Whitcomb get the "bars" spot over Macko, she really did not look particularly great at Classics. Bridgette Caquatto could also very much be in the mix depending on how she looks at Nationals. Honestly, if she looks good on bars, I think she will get the sixth spot on the team as she will probably be around for the rest of the quad. Kytra Hunter, Amanda Jetter, and Chelsea Davis are also probably still in the mix. I would love to see Sami Shapiro and Vanessa Zamarripa be major factors, but the former will probably be too injured and the latter really needs to upgrade to have a serious shot.
I love the budding Contador/Schleck rivalry. Not related to Olympic sports news, but get ready for the union of T.O. and Ochocinco. The Bengals will be the most entertaining team in the NFL this year.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wimbledon
I'm not terribly surprised that Federer lost and thought that Venus losing was much more surprising. I really think Murray is playing the best out of those left; we'll see if he can handle the pressure and bring the Wimbledon title back to the UK. I would love to see a Murray-Berdych final.
Check out John Isner reading the Top 10 list on Letterman.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Isner Wins
In other Wimbledon news, according to an article written by Kamakshi Tandon, leggy blonds are more likely to play Centre Court matches than Serena Williams and Dinara Safina. Many seemed perplexed that third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was scheduled to play on Centre Court today for the Queen over Williams. While they both seem equally deserving this time around, if the most attractive players on the tour are really given court preference, the All-England Club might want to encourage their spokespeople not to mention it.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
What a Day
I don't know if I have anything particularly insightful to add, but what a day. First Landon Donovan scores in the 91ST MINUTE off of a Clint Dempsey, allowing the US to advance to the knock-out round of the World Cup. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are tied at 59-ALL in the fifth set at Wimbledon. The match has lasted 10 hours total; the fifth set has gone on for 7:06 alone. The second longest match in tennis history was only 6:33. And I think the guys only took one bathroom break today.
I'm excited. I'm exhausted. And I didn't participate in any form of international sport today. Let's hope tomorrow is just as fun.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
International Skill Level
Those routines, along with the floor routines performed by gymnasts from Sri Lanka at the 2003 World Championships, help to facilitate an interesting discussion in the gymnastics world: Should their be a skill-level cut-off? Compulsories (which I really do miss) used to take care of this question. While the elimination of those exercises might have expanded the number of countries that can compete internationally, when is the skill level just too low? Are these girls benefiting from representing their countries and competing on a large international stage (which is undeniably a huge honor)? Or do they feel embarrassed to be competing at this skill level when their routines are being compared to those of gymnasts such as He Kexin?
This issue affects other Olympic sports as well, most famously, Eddie the Eagle and Eric the Eel. Though Eric the Eel was undeniably inspiring, should the Olympics be the showcase for these types of performances? Or should they only show the best in the sport?
Personally, I think it is great to see athletes from non-traditional countries compete internationally. I do question at times if the World Championships and Olympics are the right place to showcase these routines. However, if competing in those events is what motivates the athletes, then I support it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue, so please comment below!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
ESPN for 2014
I live in the Mountain Time Zone. Games are broadcast live at 5:00am, 7:00am, and 12:00pm. They are then re-broadcast at 4:00pm, 6:00pm, and 1:00am. Everything is also online. This gives die-hard fans the opportunity to see everything live while allowing those of us the prefer to sleep a chance to see the games as well.
ESPN has seven TV stations to work with as well as internet broadcasting. Even if they decide against re-broadcasting events, they could still easily show everything live, put everything on the internet, package something easily digestible for prime-time, and sell lots of advertising. This is how I want to experience the Olympics. NBC needs to wake up and realize that people know what happens in the sports world before they tell us what happens.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Death of the All-Around Gymnast
Let's take a look at the routines of the lovely Mighty Mo (yes, I know that she never pulled it together enough to dominate competitions, but I still love her, her routines, and her potential).
She could do everything and do it well.
I know that changes in the sport have facilitated the demise of All-Around gymnasts beyond what the gymnasts can control. The 6-6-5 format has not been around since 1992. The fact that not everyone has to compete on every event has led to the specialist movement. While this is advantageous for gymnasts with a particularly glaring weakness, it hurts the heart of the sport, the All-Around.
The last time a gymnast was really a threat to make every event final was in 2000. Jiang Yuyuan probably had the most potential to do this in 2008. Let's make everyone train two vaults again. Let's have a code that encourages looking awesome while preforming, as opposed to throwing the hardest skills you can kind of do. The winner of the team final should truly be the best, most well-rounded team instead of the team that messes up the least. Let's go back to 7-6-5 or 6-5-4 instead of 6-3-3 or 5-3-3. I want to see more gymnasts that can do it all and look clean and confident while doing it.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Stress Management
World Cup Tidbits
This is the official song and music video for the FIFA World Cup 2010. K'naan is a Somalian singer/songwriter; he has quickly become the leading voice for the World Cup.
Team USA officially arrived in South Africa yesterday in order to acclimate to their surroundings and hopefully perform at their best. England has had roughly a 66% winning average in international play. Fabio Capello announced his 23 man roster yesterday and we have a good shot at beating England. Yes, I just said we could beat England. My fingers are crossed and I'm nervous, but we can do it.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/football/05/31/football.world.cup.terror/index.html?hpt=Sbin
South Africa is playing down the latest World Cup terrorist threat. Plus they absolutely smashed Guatemala 5-0. Well done Bafana!
The stunning visuals inside rolling leopards sent shivers down my spine in this World Cup commercial. 8 more days!!
England's final 23 man roster was announced yesterday. Surprisingly Theo Walcott was NOT included, not surprisingly David Beckham WASN'T included, and VERY surprisingly Emile Heskey was included. England's squad is similar to ours in that they have core players like Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, Rooney, Wright-Phillips, Ferdinand, and Crouch. Yet their defense lacks on the wings other than Ashley Cole. Ferdinand is like Onyewu in terms of international performance (though Ferdinand is more consistent and has more sparked when compared to Onyewu). The difference between our two squads is that even though Landon Donovan can be deadly, Rooney, Crouch, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Barry, Carrick (my FAVORITE player of all time), AND Defoe can all score their little butts off from ALL over the pitch. The midfield could border on the surreal even with Joe Cole fairly off form this past season at Chelsea. The keeper David James has experience, but he's not as good as Tim Howard.
Now this isn't an impossible squad to beat. In fact, the experience of England at the World Cup is one where almost all of the players are outstanding on their own, but asked to play on a team together, things get very interesting. It will be a good first group stage match on June 12th. Go USA!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
History of the World Cup trophy and the ball
USA 2-1 vs. Turkey!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Quick Update
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
World Cup Overload!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
World Cup 2010 Groups & Mascots
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Weekend Update
The London Olympic mascots were unveiled earlier this week. According to Seb Coe, they are meant to be a kid-friendly creation made by drops of steel from the girders of Olympic Stadium and are based on a story by Michael Morpurgo. The singular eye represents a camera lens. They are named Wenlock, for the town of Much Wenlock, who's Games inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin to found the modern Olympics and Mandeville, for Stroke Mandeville, where the Paralympics were founded. I'm really not sure how I feel about their appearance, but I do really enjoy the names and what they represent. Share your thoughts in the comments section.
WADA lost an appeal that would have left breast stroker Jessica Hardy banned for two years instead of one. The world record holder tested positive for clenbuterol at the 2008 Olympic Trials. The steroid was mistakenly put in a nutritional supplement she regularly took, contaminating that batch, and received a one-year ban instead of the standard two-year ban because of this manufacturing mistake. She voluntarily withdrew from Beijing and her status for the 2012 Olympics is uncertain.
The Queen is going to Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years. Beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh gave birth to a second son, less than a year after her first son was born. The French Open starts today. Get excited!
Friday, May 21, 2010
World Cup History...and Nike attempts to beat Adidas via a commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLG6jh23yE&feature=player_embedded
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Go Bruins
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Slovakia! Slovakia! Slovakia? It feels like the very first time.
For more information on Slovakia click here:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1212824/index.html#slovakia+nothing+like+first+time
Sports Illustrated's World Cup preview edition hits newsstands today. Some of the more optimistic writers are now putting the United States higher in the rankings. In the World Cup anything's possible.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/toc/11423/index.htm
Next time: A breakdown of group stages and the list of past winners to give background to this amazing sporting event.
Carol "Lefty" Johnston
News and Notes
Top swimmers recently competed in the Charlotte UltraSwim, the first long-course race of the season. In the upset of the meet, Nick Thoman beat Micheal Phelps in the 100m back. I am a huge Thoman fan and am always excited to see him win. I hope that he is able to make the major world or Olympic team that has always eluded him. Peter Vanderkaay won two individual races and captured the overall Grand Prix series title. Rebecca Soni and Chloe Sutton also captured individual titles to secured second and third place finishes in the overall Grand Prix standings respectively. Another personal favorite, Dagny Knutson, also took home two individual titles. Her short course swimming is generally better than her long course swimming, but I expect that to change once she begins college in the fall and has access to better training facilities. Other winners from the weekend included Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Elizabeth Beisel, Eric Shanteau, Emily Brunemann, Missy Franklin, and Ryan Lochte.
Lindsey Vonn was named the US Ski and Snowboard Association Athlete of the Year, while Nordic Combined Coach Dave Jarrett was named the coach of the year. Other athletes recognized include Alana Nichols (adaptive athlete), Kikkan Randall (cross country), Hannah Kearney (freestyle), Johnny Spillane (Nordic combined), Sarah Hendrickson (ski jumping), and Seth Wescott (snowboarding).
Tyson Gay set a world record of 19.41 seconds on a 200m straight track.
Bobsled gold medalist Curt Tomasevicz got to play on stage with Pearl Jam at concert in Kansas City.
Pairs skaters Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski officially retired.
A friend of mine will be guest blogging about the World Cup. Get excited!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
News and Notes
Bob Bradley announced the 30-man roster for the US's World Cup Team. Standout forward Charlie Davies is not on the roster following an October car crash.
Pacman Jones signed with the Bengals. He'll fit right in...
2008 judo Olympic gold medalist Tong Wen tested positive for Clenbuterol and has been suspended for two years. The IOC will decide if she will keep her medal.
Ice dancers Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre officially retired.
Michelle Kwan, aka my favorite figure skater since she was a 14-year-old in 1994, gave a commencement address at Southern Vermont College. Videos can be found below.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Weekend Update
Veronica Campbell-Brown won the 100 meter sprint at the Osaka Grand Prix track meet. Michael Rogers won the men's 200, Ginnie Powell won the 100 meter hurdles, and Joanne Cuddihy won the women's 400.
Lena Schoneborn won the modern pentathlon Budapest World Cup.
Brady Ellison won two gold medals at the archery world cup stage one finals.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
TGIF
Greg Louganis is going to mentor American divers. I have a ton of respect for him and hope he enjoys that role.
2008 Olympian Mary Wineberg received an elite development from USA Track and Field. We went to the same high school and she recently had her first child, so I am excited to see her get back into the groove.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Olympic Controversy
Countries will only be allowed to enter one racer in each event in track cycling in the 2012 Olympics. This decision is meant to encourage more track cycling development throughout the world, but I think it seems like another attempt to short-change a sport that was already forced to drop five events following Beijing.
Check out the third issue of the Couch Gymnast's magazine here.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
News and Notes
The New York Times published a great story on Kevin Pearce's return home following his traumatic brain injury suffered in December. It can be found here along with a video clip of Pearce's appearance on the Today Show. He has made an impressive recovery and intends to snowboard again. For the record, his dad is also a super talented glass artist.
Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova will play doubles together in a Legends match at Wimbledon. Since when did Anna Kournikova become a tennis legend? She's attractive, but was not a particularly remarkable tennis player.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Iran's Women's Soccer Team Will Play in Youth Olympics
FIFA's other argument for banning hijabs is that they do not allow any religious symbols on the field. This argument has more bearing in my mind, but it is more important to allow teams to play than to ban them over clothing. I am glad that a compromise could be reached.
Weekend Update
Justin Gatlin will return to competition July 24th following a four year doping suspension. The sprinter is a former world record holder in the 100m. In other track and field news, sprinter LaShawn Merritt accepted a provisional suspension following a positive drug after. He used an over-the-counter male enhancement product that contained a banned stimulant. Some people need to learn how to read labels...
The Bryan brothers won their 60th ATP tour title this weekend. With two more titles, they will hold the all-time tour record. Justine Henin won her first WTA tour title since un-retiring, winning the Porsche Grand Prix while playing with a broken finger.
Ian Thorpe is considering making a comeback to competitive swimming. I love the Thorpedo.
Sidney Crosby fails at growing a play-off beard. The joys of being a 22-year-old star...
Mark Grimmette was named Sports Program Director for USA Luge, a nice way to begin retirement for the five-time Olympian.
Jordyn Wieber's much talked about new floor exercise from Pacific Rims:
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
China Stripped of Olympic Bronze
I am more or less against age limits in sports. While I understand the concern of keeping young athletes healthy, there are already junior gymnasts doing Amanars and gymnasts not even age eligible for London doing full-in beam dismounts. Setting an age limit for senior international competition does not stop young gymnasts from doing really difficult skills, making them still injury-prone, more or less defying the point of an age limit rule.
That being said, China did break a rule and is being punished for it. Why is this not being enforced across the board? In 2002, Alexandra Marinescu, a member of Romania's 1996 Olympic team, admitted to being underage. Nothing has been done to punish the Romanians. Is racism at work? If the FIG wants to keep a silly rule in place, the consequences should at least be enforced unilaterally.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Catching Up With Jessica Jerome
How did you first get into ski jumping?
I got into jumping when I was 7. The local club in Park City came to my school and handed out brochures. I started in a 1 day a week program.
When did you realize you could be an elite ski jumper?
Probably when I was 12. My mom sat me down and said you can do this and try to be good at it and take it seriously or just do it as a hobby. When I at the Junior Olympic age, my biggest goal was trying to qualify for Junior Olympics. I was training more frequently and competing in more domestic competitions. I competed overseas for the first time at 14.
What is competing on the Continental Cup circuit like?
I have been doing it for long time and want to see it improve. We have been coming to same hills for 10 years. They are too small and too outdated. It is the only international competition we have. It needs to be given a little bit of makeover, more up to date venues and bigger hills. Lots of the hills we jump in winter the guys don't compete on anymore, which is not good. There are three levels of competition for men and one circuit for women, meaning that it is one size fits all. It is hard for lots of girls to get better when jumping with the best in world. If there was another competition aimed at less advanced girls, they could improve and come onto higher level circuit once ready. Sometimes we get to jump hills that are great. However, lots of the hills don't even have clubs that jump at them. The hills are only prepared the one weekend the girls are there. If they don't use them ever, why are they used for us?
Is there a women's Nordic Combined scene in the USA or internationally?
No, though when we were growing up and joined a [Nordic] club, we, and everyone else, did Nordic Combined. We messed around and played games. When we got older, we dropped cross country because we liked jumping more. Maybe there is a Nordic Combined scene at a club level, but jumping has to be developed internationally before there can be international Nordic Combined.
It will for sure happen eventually because cross country for women is really far along and developed internationally. Jumping is there as well but not recognized. Nordic Combined will happen eventually; it will be something kids grow up doing. They won't take ski jumpers and teach them how to cross country ski.
How do you balance school with competing in Europe?
I am on the 10-year plan with school. I take spring semesters off and take classes in the summer and fall in the US. In other places, for example in Lillehammar, they have a school in the same town as the ski jump. When I go to Europe, I stay in Europe for 3 weeks while the Norwegians can go in and out of countries for the weekend. It is impossible to go to school full time in the winter [for American athletes].
What do you think is the future of women's ski jumping?
I think it will go in the direction of all winter sports. It will be in the Olympics at some point, participation will rise, there will be a World Cup circuit. It will happen in time.
Do you think the sport will be included in the 2014 Olympics? Why?
I have no idea honestly. I hope it is, it is more than ready to be [in the Olympics]. Only positive things will come [from having women's ski jumping in the Olympics]. I am not the person that makes those decisions. I don't know yet.
Do you think that the fact that boxing for women will finally be added to the Olympics in 2012 will help women's ski jumping be included or do you think it is a completely independent thing?
Both, they are completely separate because boxing is part of the Summer Olympics, but it could help though because the IOC wants to make men's participation levels more even. It is a step in right direction.
Do you think the IOC needs new leadership to give women's sports more equitable treatment?
There needs to be more women in the organization. It is lacking there. The leadership they have has been success on some issues but not others. New leaders would not necessarily be a bad thing but it won't happen anytime soon.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Update Time
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, and Armenia are scratching from the men's European Gymnastics Championships due to travel difficulties following the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Since these countries are not members of the European Union, securing visas to travel across Europe by car or train was too costly. Russia is making every effort to send its women's team to Birmingham as the competition begins later.
The South African government will be issuing free visas to any foreigners holding World Cup tickets. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Ryan Miller signed 139 pucks to commemorate the number of saves he made during the Olympics. President Obama will get one of them.
I am heading out of town again and will probably not be able to post again for a bit. Until then,
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
News and Notes
Michigan won the men's NCAA gymnastics title while Wolverines Chris Cameron won the All-Around and Ryan McCarthy won high bar. Oklahoma's Steve Legendre won floor and Alex Naddour won pommel horse, Stanford's Eddie Penev won vault and Ryan Lieberman won parallel bars, and Ohio State's Brandon Wynn won rings. Pommel horse standout Daniel Ribiero failed to qualify for event finals.
Wayne Odesnik accepted a voluntary provisional suspension after pleading guilty to importing human growth hormone to Australia.
Misty May-Treanor and Nicole Branagh won their first beach volleyball tournament playing together. The past weekend's tournament marked May-Treanor's return to competition after tearing her Achilles and a calf muscle on Dancing with the Stars.
Undefeated Venezuelan boxer Edwin Valero committed suicide in jail after admitting to killing his wife.
Kevin McDowell and Kelly Whitley will represent the US in Triathlon at the Youth Olympics.
Contrary to popular belief, Shawn Johnson is not the only Olympic level athlete to attend normal school. Weighlifter Sara Cowles is a full time student at Northern Michigan University.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Gender and the Olympic Games
Semenya is not the athlete to have her gender heavily scrutinized and tested. That honor most likely belongs to Spanish hurdler Maria Patiño. According to Anne Fausto-Sterling's bookSexing the Body, Patiño, member of Spain's 1988 Olympic team, failed a gender test just before the competition began. It was later discovered that she had androgen insensitivity, meaning that, although she had testes and a Y chromosome, her body could not process testosterone. Therefore, the estrogen produced by her testes (which were hidden behind her labia) at puberty, allowed her to develop external female features such as breasts. Initially banned from competition, she was reinstated after fighting the ruling for two and a half years.
There have been other cases of gender ambiguity in Olympic competition as well, though none as high profile. Stanislawa Walasiewicz, better known as Stella Walsh, competed as a sprinter for Poland in the 1930s. Walsh was killed in 1980 during a robbery at a Cleveland shopping mall. Her autopsy revealed signs of mosaicism, namely male and female chromosomes and male genitalia. Brazilian Judoka Edinanci Silva was born with male and female sex organs and surgery in the mid-1990s to allow her to compete as uncontroversially as possible, going on to enter three Olympic tournaments.1964 Olympic track and field medalist Ewa Klobukowska of Poland was banned from competition in 1967 after failing a gender test.
Formal gender testing first began at the Olympics in 1968 after Capitalist countries began speculating that Communist nations were disguising men as women to win more medals (in reality, it was later discovered that many of these competitors were women that had taken large amounts of steroids). Before this, women had to stand naked in front of a board of examiners to confirm that they did in fact have breasts and vaginas.
Why do women have to go through such extremes to prove gender? Is it because men are considered to be faster and stronger? Would anyone care if a male competitor was found to be biologically a woman? (I have never heard of this occurring but would be interested to learn more if any of you have).
Androgen insensitivity gives competitors no advantage. Lying about gender has also pretty much been a non-issue in Olympic competition; the only documented case occurred in 1936 when Hermann "Dora" Ratjen, a member of Hitler Youth, competed in the women's high jump. For the record, he finished fourth behind three "certifiably" female opponents.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Today's News
A broken ring is causing havoc at the NCAA men's gymnastics championships. Follow the action live here.
Misty May-Treanor will publish an autobiography in June. It details her childhood, growing up with two alcoholic parents, and her life as an elite beach volleyball player. She also talks passionately about wanting to be a mother but does not mention wanting to make a comeback for 2012.
Love this mount sequence:
Thursday, April 15, 2010
News and Notes
Amy Palmiero-Winters, an amputee ultra marathon runner, won the 2009 Sullivan Award. On New Year's Eve, she beat all able-bodied men and women competing the Race to the Future, a 130.04 mile event. Read about her impressive accomplishments here.
China will be sending Zhou Qiaohong, Zeng Siqi, Tan Sixin, Huang Qiushuang, He Ning, and Jiang Tong to Pacific Rims. The US's nominative team is Bridget Sloan, Rebecca Bross, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber, and Sabrina Vega. That team is rather meaningless though because the selection camp has not been held. I hope that Aly Raisman is not sent to three major international competitions in a row.
Russia is sending to Aliya Mustafina, Tatiana Nabieva, Ekaterina Kurbatova, Anna Myzdrikova, and Ksenia Semenova to Euros. Their junior team will include Viktoria Komova, Violetta Malikova, Anastasia Grishina, Anastasia Sidorova, and Maria Paseka. Their Pacific Rim team includes Anna Rodionova, Kristina Sidorova, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Ekaterina Kramarenko, Yuliya Belokobylskaya, and Ramilya Musina. Zamo will be a judge at PRC.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
An Overdue Update
Piotr Nurowski, the head of Poland's Olympic Committee, was among those killed in Saturday's tragic plane crash.
UCLA looked great at regionals while Georgia failed to advance to nationals for the first time in 26 years. Missouri advanced for the first time since women's gymnastics became an NCAA sport. Vanessa Zamarripa is interested in trying elite gymnastics.
Nordic Combined athletes Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick, and Brett Camerota are visiting troops in the Middle East.
Yelena Isinbayeva, the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist in women's pole vaulting, has decided to take an indefinite break. She has, however, vowed to return for the 2012 Games.
Canada won the men's curling world title, defeating Norway and their famed pants in the championship match.
In an effort to find the best synchronized diving pairs for the 2012 Olympics, American divers can now compete with more than one partner. This led to David Boudia and Nick McCrory finishing first, Boudia and Thomas Finchum finishing second, and Finchum and McCrory finishing third at the USA Diving World Cup Synchronized Trials.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Andre Inducts Steffi into Hall of Fame
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
News and Notes
Caster Semenya's lawyers told South African press that gender test results have shown that she can compete as a woman. A more contextualized look at this is also coming.
The official investigation into Nodar Kumaritashvili's death concluded that there was no one cause.
Send good thoughts to tennis great Martina Navratilova who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Routine of the Day:
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Gymnasts Update
The Australian team will be:
Georgia Wheeler
Emily Little
Larrissa Miller
Amelia McGrath
Georgia Rose-Brown
Emma Collister
The rumored Chinese team is:
Huang Qiushuang
Wu Liufang
Jiang Tong
Tan Sixin
Zhou Qiaohong
Zeng Siqi
The US's provisional team is:
Rebecca Bross
Bridgette Caquatto
Kayla Williams
Lexie Priessman
Jordyn Wieber
Sabrina Vega
However, this is pretty meaningless, as Marta will just choose whomever she wants a couple of days before the meet.
Caster Semenya has agreed not to run until the results of her gender test come back. Her first meet should be in Zaragoza June 24th. This is getting ridiculous. Let the girl run!
Finally, just because we all need humor in our lives: