Biles bails at the Olympics
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@jolly said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
But, greatness is not only how physically talented you are, but also how mentally tough you can be.
It's just sports, greatness is overrated. It's not like lives are at stake. Just do your best without hurting yourself, have fun, and call it a day. If you get hurt doing sports or playing games or doing any leisurely activity, just take a break, recover, and have fun another day.
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@axtremus said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
@jolly said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
But, greatness is not only how physically talented you are, but also how mentally tough you can be.
It's just sports, greatness is overrated. It's not like lives are at stake. Just do your best without hurting yourself, have fun, and call it a day. If you get hurt doing sports or playing games or doing any leisurely activity, just take a break, recover, and have fun another day.
Say Ax, is there a way to block moderators on the forum?
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@axtremus said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
@jolly said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
But, greatness is not only how physically talented you are, but also how mentally tough you can be.
It's just sports, greatness is overrated. It's not like lives are at stake. Just do your best without hurting yourself, have fun, and call it a day. If you get hurt doing sports or playing games or doing any leisurely activity, just take a break, recover, and have fun another day.
An acceptance of one's own mediocrity is very zen, but probably not typical of world class athletes.
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My pastor weighed in on this issue...Thought his take was interesting. In his youth, he never made the Olympics, but he did finish in the top five NCAA pole vaulters a couple of times.
He thought she should have competed. The time to step aside was before the Olympics started. Let the alternate gymnast get her mind in the right place for competition. Once you commit, you commit for the team. He referenced Kerri Strug, who couldn't hardly walk, but still completed her vault to help her team.
Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
I'm waiting to hear what Donald Trump has to say about this whole business before coming to a conclusion.
Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@doctor-phibes said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
I'm waiting to hear what Donald Trump has to say about this whole business before coming to a conclusion.
We can only hope
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/07/right-rooting-against-americas-olympic-athletes
THE RIGHT IS NOW ROOTING AGAINST AMERICA’S OLYMPIC ATHLETES
Star Olympian Simone Biles was branded a public enemy by conservative talkers for dropping out of her role in the gymnastics team finals.
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@copper said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
@doctor-phibes said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
I'm waiting to hear what Donald Trump has to say about this whole business before coming to a conclusion.
We can only hope
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/07/right-rooting-against-americas-olympic-athletes
THE RIGHT IS NOW ROOTING AGAINST AMERICA’S OLYMPIC ATHLETES
Star Olympian Simone Biles was branded a public enemy by conservative talkers for dropping out of her role in the gymnastics team finals.
Not by anyone I know.
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Here's a list of those conservative right-wing 'talkers':
Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
Piers Morgan
Amber Athey
John Daniel Davidson
Charlie KirkThese peoples' remarks are truly horrendous. One of them -- don't ask me which one, I can't stand the idea of going back and looking for it -- said Biles brought 'shame to America'. No, you atrocious little insect, it's not Biles bringing shame to America, it's you and your spirit of vileness.
Go here for the deets if you can stand it: https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-wing-media-attacks-weak-simone-biles-selfish-sociopath
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Education is extremely important.
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@jolly said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
My pastor weighed in on this issue...Thought his take was interesting. In his youth, he never made the Olympics, but he did finish in the top five NCAA pole vaulters a couple of times.
He thought she should have competed. The time to step aside was before the Olympics started. Let the alternate gymnast get her mind in the right place for competition. Once you commit, you commit for the team. He referenced Kerri Strug, who couldn't hardly walk, but still completed her vault to help her team.
"While the world cheered her on for her perseverance, many fellow gymnasts who endured the rigors of coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi’s ranch believed Strug was conditioned to push through her pain under an abusive environment where girls were afraid to challenge authority."
Gymnastics has changed since '96 in a lot of ways, with some really significant changes still so recent. The confronting of Larry Nassar by over 100 of the girls he sexually abused only just happened in 2018. Many of those girls had reported him and been ignored.
Bela and Marta Karolyi transformed US gymnastics, but are now being called out for their years of verbal and mental abuse. Maggie Haney (coach of Olympic and world champions) was accused of verbal and emotional abuse in 2016, but did not get investigated until a few years later (she's now serving time).
I don't miss the days of delayed-pubescent teenage girls being intimidated by their coaches to compete moves they are not comfortable with, and a lot of those former elite gymnasts don't miss those days, either.
Kind of shocking to see so many people doubt that Biles--a veteran national, world, and Olympic champion, who won some of those with broken toes and kidney stones--would not know her own limits.
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You want winners or just competitors? Karolyi's methods may have been harsh, but for the time and the place, he took a laughing-stock of a program and transformed it into one of the very best in the world. The USMC used some methods that bordered on the sadistic during WW2, as did the German SS, which created two of the finest combat forces ever seen in modern times. I have no doubt in my mind, if WW2 were fought today, we would lose. We simply do not have the fortitude and the ability to suffer, in order to reach a worthwhile goal.
Now...
The sexual abuse of girls was horrible and even whispers of it should not have been down-played, but what does that have to do with Biles decision to withdraw?
Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
I must confess I have no opinion about Ms Biles.
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Education is extremely important.
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@horace said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
It seems parsimonious, explanatory, non judgmental, and in keeping with Ms Biles own words, to chalk it up to a mental breakdown. What more needs to be said?
Yup. She was prominently featured in numerous advertisements and oodles of people taking hyperbole to a new level regarding her skills.
While she seemed to do well in that rare air in the past, something happened this time. Because of the nature of what is done, she made the right decision to withdraw.
I suspect if she thought this was a likely event, she would never have even tried to compete. Unlike throwing a football or running a race, there's a very good chance for significant injury doing those flips and twists in the air.
Why did this happen? What was different this time? Hard to know. Sometimes life hits us with a freight train, and we can brush it off. Next time, it seems like something minor - but it knocks us down. Wish her well. It's crap to let people down - and with the whole world watching - but it happens.
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@jolly said in Biles bails at the Olympics:
You want winners or just competitors? Karolyi's methods may have been harsh, but for the time and the place, he took a laughing-stock of a program and transformed it into one of the very best in the world. The USMC used some methods that bordered on the sadistic during WW2, as did the German SS, which created two of the finest combat forces ever seen in modern times. I have no doubt in my mind, if WW2 were fought today, we would lose. We simply do not have the fortitude and the ability to suffer, in order to reach a worthwhile goal.
Now...
The sexual abuse of girls was horrible and even whispers of it should not have been down-played, but what does that have to do with Biles decision to withdraw?
I just bring it up to point out what feels like a general shift in the culture of elite gymnastics, from girls being dominated by their coaches and basically being washed up by the age of 18 or 19, to women who are finding their voices and training in healthier environments that helps allow their careers to extend into their 20s.
As to the Karolyis. . .yes, their methods produced a lot of champions, and even some of their older athletes admit they could not have gotten as far without the type of training they provided. But the culture of US gymnastics was rotten during their times, and I'm glad it seems we've moved away from that.
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True, and the "into their 20s" elite competitors are definitely more the exception. But they give old gymnasts like me hope
Actually, I stopped going to my adult gymnastics class right before the pandemic, and unfortunately it looks like the gym I went to no longer offers adult classes (Kelli Hill's gym, which trained Dominique Dawes).A few months ago I started getting videos in my Facebook feed for Chellsie Memmel, who years after retiring and now a mother of 2 has decided to start training and competing again. Her training videos are really great to watch. So impressive to see a return to that level of fitness after many years away, and now in her 30s.
