2008Olympics: English forum

[ioanavol]

Hello everybody,

Because we now have our own section on the Olympic Games forum, we invite you to discuss everything related to the Olympics here, in this thread.

Enjoy!

[maximus3ad]

Thank you for opening this thread in english as I have trouble writing in romanian

[MartinaE]

Oh that is awesome - thank you so much for opening another English forum here also - I will definately visit and post. :)

[maximus3ad]

Romania wins gymnastics competition in Germany, without Nistor and Izbasa
published in issue 4225 page 10 at 2008-07-16

The Romanian women’s national gymnastics team has won the competition in Schwaebisch Gmuend, near Stuttgart (Germany), despite the fact that the team did not include star gymnasts Steliana Nistor and Sandra Izbasa.

Romania won the trilateral competition with a total of 231,250 points, ahead of Germany which registered 230,150 points and France, which registered 225,800 points. In the individual competition France’s Marine Petit registered the highest score (58,600), followed by Gabriela Dragoi with 58,500 and Andreea Acatrinei with 57,850 points. The rest of Romania’s points were won by Daniela Druncea – 41,900 points, Andreea Grigore – 57,550 points, Madalina Gutu – 42,950 points and Anamaria Tamirjan – 27,950 points.

by Nine oClock

[mikeyy]

So...our olympic teams were decided!

WAG team:
1.Steliana Nistor
2.Sandra Izbasa
3.Anamaria Tamarjan
4.Gabriela Dragoi
5.Andreea Grigore
6.Andreea Acatrinei
alternate: Daniela Druncea

MAG team:
1.Razvan Selariu
2.Marian Dragulescu
3.Flavius Koczi
4.Daniel Popescu
5.Adrian Bucur
6.Robert Stanecu
alternate:Ovidiu Buidoso

Any prediction?:D

[MartinaE]

So nothing changed for the WAG team.......this means Patrascu really is not ready which is a shame. But it is good they are resting her. I just hope she`s not all too disappointed and will go on.
I will keep my fingers crossed for the girls possibly winning the team bronze, and I am hoping for either Stela or Sandra being able to win an AA medal and some individual medals too. I would love to see Sandra win floor.

[crisloregym]

Hey, Martina, we all hope Cerasela won't be too affected and that she will maintain her motivation for 2009 and 2010 at least. I hope her leg is ok and won't hurt anymore. I'm sory for Druncea too, but I really hope our girls will be healthy and in a very good form and they will win a medal in the team competition. Whatever the result will be, I believe it will also be thanks to Cerasela and Dana, as they really helped our team qualify to this fase (especially Druncea, in 2006 and 2007).

[maximus3ad]

In women team competition USA already dreams gold, the media and everyone here in USA has build tremedous pressure on the women team to win gold and I believe this will not be good for them. In Athens USA collapsed under pressure, I believe that Romania will perform much better under pressure. Individual race I think will be between Shawn Johnson & Nastia Liukin from USA and Steliana Nistor & Sandra Izbasa from Romania. I expect that the Romanian girls will win 5 medals, 2 of gold.

[maximus3ad]

http://www.intlgymnast.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94 - this forum really underestimates the romanian team

[rob_din]

Stupid predictions

[maximus3ad]

I agree, they are based on wishful thinking not on reality, I believe that the Romanian team will do better than many expect

[rob_din]

But it isn't out of the question the possibility we'll have bad results this time. It could be good, but it could be bad also

[maximus3ad]

Our hope is good for the romanian team bad for the others :)

[Tess_AN]

Thank you for opening this thread in english as I have trouble writing in romanian
... and I have trouble writing in English :evil: But I guess we still speak gymnastics so we can talk! :)

Just FYI (for your information): It is a English Forum also under
OnlineForum->Alte Sporturi->Gimnastica->EnglishForum the link to it:

http://www.onlinesport.ro/forum/showthread.php?t=235472

Actually it is one thread of the main Gymnastics (Gimnastica) subforum. Check it out and yuo are welcome to join us in both Enlish and Romanian. Welcome to gymnastics fans!

This one is just temorary for the OG. (someone please correct me if I am wrong).

We are looking forward to seeing you also there...

[maximus3ad]

Thank you Tess for the info, I will stay in this part of the forum because I'm interested in the Olympics games, so I will be here to talk about what happens in gymnastics at Beijing.

[maximus3ad]

Documents surface contradicting age of third Chinese gymnast
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/gymnastics/news/story?id=3517542

This is crazy, the gymnastics federation won't even consider this issue unless there is written proof and the chinese presented them with the passaports which in the federation's view they are ok, I can't believe how naive the federation is, why don't they really go into a full investigation because this is cheating

[mikeyy]

FIG doesn`t want to investigate this problem.....from my point of view there is more than clear that those gymnasts are not eligible to compete in Beijing

[maximus3ad]

China stumble while U.S. impress
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080807/sp_nm/olympics_gymnastics_training_dc_1

US reports that the chinese were falling all over the place I hope they will continue throughout the competition :) they don't deserve to take medals because they are cheating

[Tess_AN]

China stumble while U.S. impress
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080807/sp_nm/olympics_gymnastics_training_dc_1

US reports that the chinese were falling all over the place I hope they will continue throughout the competition :) they don't deserve to take medals because they are cheating
I agree. Olympic Spirit is based on fair play more than any other competitions.

On the other hand, falling during the training means nothing... everything resumes on the competition.

[maximus3ad]

I know, I was just kidding about the training, I don't even care what they do in the competition, I care what the romanian girls will do and I hope they will perform very well but with Sandra and Steliana sustaining injuries it might be more difficult

[Tess_AN]

Sandra has a good focus in competitions and Steliana wants way too much to do "the time of her life" in this Olympics... so I wish them (and us) the best of luck!

If they perform with no falls - as someone said... as a quote: " never count out Romanians in a Olympic year!"

[maximus3ad]

I wish them good luck too and I hope they win medals because they deserve, they worked hard for so long and I want the medals to be a comfort to their pain

[rob_din]

US is cheating too so i can't chose between those two teams. Hope they'll fail a lot.

[ioanavol]

from wwgym forum:

http://www.figolympic.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,5195-190995-19728-45454-287987-18302-5241-layout190-208218-news-item,00.html

A dual in sight
Title-holding world and vice world champions America and China gave impressive performances Thursday at podium training, unveiling nearly flawless high-level programmes.

Romania on the other hand, third in Stuttgart last September, was not quite up to par with Steliana Nistor, 2007 vice world champion, who was bandaged above the hips. 'It's not too serious' Romanian coach Nicolae Forminte was quick to reassure. "As with many gymnasts using bandages to support their ankles or wrists, Steliana is using it to protect her back. Steliana Nistor had a number of small setbacks, nothing serious, but she isn't at her best today."

Steliana's compatriot Sandra Izabas added, "We're confident. We worked hard today. Our team has just been renewed, and I spend time helping and advising the newer, less experienced gymnasts. We're not daunted by other countries, only by the size of the hall." If there is a team Romania should fear as they fight for a place on the podium, albeit third place, what with China and the United States virtually untouchable, it's their long-time rival, Russia.

Relegated to eighth place in the world championships of Stuttgart as a result of the zero young Ekaterina Kramarenko took in vault (she refused her vault), Russia was clear-cut, collected and precise; proof of its hope to return to Mount Olympus after a paltry fourth place at the Games of Athens.

Having placed at the foot of the world championships podium in 2007, Italy will have to make do with a weakened 2006 world champion at these Olympic Games. Injured multiple times since the beginning of the year, Vanessa Ferrari took up training a mere two months ago. Podium training revealed that Vanessa is in top condition at the beam and parallel bars, but the little Italian wonder was clearly having a hard time of it on floor and vault, falling as she did a number of times on her hands and knees. "I'm not pleased with how training went at these two apparatus" admitted the ambitious gymnast. "I've been having trouble with my ankle and wasn't able to train very much. But these are my first Olympic Games, and it was important that I test myself at the four apparatus today."

Smiling as she exited the National Indoor Stadium, British Beth Tweddle was psyched about training again. Having sustained a rib injury during pre-Olympic training in Doha, the 2006 world champion at parallel bars shined at both the parallel bars and on floor. "I'm satisfied with the way training went today" confided Beth. "My injury is healing, but I'm wearing the corset for protection."

Likely, Stuttgart's Bronze medallist on floor Cassy Vericel would have enjoyed feeling such a level of satisfaction. But the Frenchwoman, who injured her left ankle mid-July and resumed training at her signature apparatus a mere week ago, was on the bench Thursday evening watching the performances of her team-mates and the Brazilian gymnasts. "I injured myself at vault in the warm-up hall and couldn't run" explained a dejected Cassy as she left the hall. She'll have to wait for the medical staff to give her the go-ahead tomorrow or Saturday; only time will tell if Cassy will be participating in her first Olympic Games.

[21mai]

The freedom to fail
Shawn Johnson's coach permits mistakes, leading to success



Shawn Johnson candidly acknowledges that she can feel nervous when the spotlight turns to her at major gymnastics events.

As she says, who wouldn't feel nerves when everyone's watching?

But you wouldn't know it watching the 16-year-old from West Des Moines, Iowa, who is widely considered a favorite to win the women's individual all-around competition at the Beijing Games.

And here's why:

Shawn has the express permission of her coach, Liang Chow, to make mistakes.

And, in one of those great twists, it's precisely because she feels the freedom to make mistakes that she rarely makes big ones.

Before the U.S. Olympic Trials, in June in Philadelphia, for instance, Chow told Shawn, as her mother, Teri recalled, just two things:

Perform like a champion.

And don't be afraid to make a mistake.

After which Shawn went out and, just as she did at the 2007 world championships in the individual all-around, came out on top -- finishing with the best overall score at the 2008 U.S. Trials.

"I remember him telling me that," Shawn said. "It is almost just a relief. You're just trying to please the person who has taught you eveyrthing; you want to show them that you can be just as perfect as they've trained you to be. You're afraid to make mistakes. You're afraid to let them down -- even though you wouldn't.

"For him to have told me that, that as long as I went out there and did my best and he knew I had done my best, no matter what happened, he would have been happy -- it made me have a lot more confidence in myself because I knew if I went out there and made mistakes it wouldn't be the end of the world."
Videos

* Johnson: Trials
Johnson: Trials

Shawn's day one highlights from U.S. Olympic Trials.
* Trials: Day 2 vault
* Interview
* Beijing training

Photos

* Chow's: Clean up
Chow's: Clean up

The recovery efforts at Chow's after the Iowa floods

Related Stories

* Bio
* 8 things you didn't know about Shawn Johnson

"I think that is so helpful to her, that he gives her permission to be imperfect, to be human," Shawn's mother, Teri Johnson, said, adding, "It's as simple as, 'Go do your best.' And, truthfully, that's all anybody can do."

In high-level sport, the mental edge often can -- and does -- make the difference.

Only the bounds of human ingenuity limit the ways in which coaches, trainers and others in the camp of an elite athlete seek that edge.

Chow's way is refreshingly simple.

It is based, he says, on a humanistic approach to the sport and to his athletes.

It is based, he says, on the idea of love.

Love? In gymnastics, perhaps the most rigorous of all competitive sports?

Growing up in China -- his return to the Beijing Games marks one of the most enchanting stories of the 2008 Olympics -- Chow said, "I had a very loving environment." So, at the gym that he and his wife, Liwen Zhuang, run in West Des Moines, they are committed to what he called a "fun, loving and supportive environment."

He said, "As many times as I talk to the girls -- I have eight or 10 girls in my group -- I tell them, 'You are all like sisters.'

Which means, he said: "It's not necessarily that I like you more than I like her, or whatever. And [one of the girls] might like, or might not like, sister one better than sister two. But we all have to help each other and enjoy each other."

That sort of approach resonates deeply with Shawn, who is -- for 16 -- keenly aware of her emotional environment. During the Trials, when she wasn't practicing or competing, she was reading; she read at least three books cover to cover during the Trials, noting her affinity for works by Dan Millman, perhaps best known for the best-seller first published in 1980, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior."

"In competition," Chow said of Shawn, "she knows I care about her seeking perfection. I care about how she hits her routines beautifully. But there is no pressure if she is making mistakes, from me or Li.

"We are just there to help prepare her so she can perform beautiful routines. She's a human being -- we have to realize that."

It is in the vault, in particular, that this approach is most easily seen for those who don't have a technical eye for gymnastics.

Shawn performs an extraordinarily difficult vault called a Yurchenko 2 1/2; she is the only American woman who even attempts it. Instead of sticking the landing, it's not uncommon to see her take a little step.

On purpose.

Better, Chow reasons, that Shawn should give in and allow that small step, if she feels she needs to, than obsess over the perfection of sticking it.

"She absolutely is allowed to make some mistakes," he said, adding, "She has a great personality ... she enjoys herself on the floor -- and in the gym, also. I can't say enough words, enough great things, about this kid. She is a loving person and very respectful.

"She is the world champion, the all-around champion. She is a huge star. But she is also like a normal kid, helping the younger kids, moving the mats, just like all the little things the other kids are doing. There are no exceptions for her.

"I'm very proud of what she does on the floor," he said. "But I am also very proud of her for who she is, as a real person."

[Sri Ea]

Hello everyone,
I have just come back from my holidays yesterday...
I'm very disheartened at the girls results. Sure, they made some mistakes but I think some scores were too harsh (especially on FX and relatively on BB) and it's surely due to the fact that they were in the 1st subdivision and as I expected they suffered from the direct comparison with the Chinese.
Well I'll still be watching these Olympics anyway... and cheer for my favorite team of course!

Oh and I just wanted to add that I do think that it is NOT right at all that girls falling in qualifications can qualify to EF even if they have a bigger difficulty score.
Well luckily maybe all gold medalists will have falls at these Olympics and people will think about changing this absurd CoP.

[vlad001]

Yeah, it is not right to place so high with a fall. And what bothers me is that this isn't only about the A score anymore who can cover a fall. A gymnast with normal execution and small mistakes can have almost 2 points deduction in execution while one with a fall will only have 1 point in total. It makes me feel like a bent arm it is more costly than a fall. (I know it's not, but that's how I feel when I see gymnasts with the same A score, one falling and one with with minor mistakes, and the one with the fall still wins)
I'm so glad this code will change from the next year and I'm so sorry for this generation of gymnasts who had to deal with it.

[MartinaE]

Hello everyone - awww man I am sorry I did not post here for quite a while......but of course I am following the Olympics closely. :)
I agree with SriEa that some Romanian scores were really low on beam and floor. It seems the judges started to pick on things all of a sudden.......I felt very sorry for Stela`s beam score in qualifications and floor......it is so sad she was not able to win any individual medals. :(
On the other hand I can`t tell how happy I am about Sandra winning floor. This was so much deserved. She hit everything when it counted. :) I also was so touched when she comforted Cheng Fei......it just warms your heart to see scenes like that. :)
And of course - never count out the Romanian team - they indeed won the bronze many people thought they couldn`t win. Though Russia helped this a great deal with the mistakes they had. Consistancy just is a very strong point of the Romanian team. I was sad to not see any routines of Anamaria in the team final - from her scores one could see she did really well also!

I kind of feld sorry for Russia though - they end up leaving Beijing without any medal. :( I am especially sad for Anna Pavlova here who imo also was underscored a few times.

Regarding the IG forum - yes, there are many people who totally stand behind the US gymnasts and defend them against everything. But as the board is American as well as the magazine this is normal. There also are quite some people supporting international gymnasts also.

I have read someone on here wished the Americans to fail which imo is really rude und uncalled for. No one should wish anything bad to any gymnast regardless of if it are your favorites or not. Don`t you think?

[Tess_AN]

Hi Martina.

Talking to you, Congrats for Oksana and Fabian medals!

I agree with your comments, no excuses ... everyone speaks for himself/herself....

Soon we are going to move "back home" - under "Gimnastica" thread - you know it you posted there before OG.
I already start writing there. When Mihaela and Irina are back from Beijing, we'll post their comments/photos there -of course in English forum as well - as we did with Junior Nationals and girls return from CE.

Looking forward to see your posts there!

[ioanavol]

Martina, this is a part of the forum where everybody joins (especially now, during the Olympics).
So, regardless on what we do, there will always be another tone than we are used to. The whole conversations are more "free" just because we have to adapt also to the new people, who don't know us, the way we normally talk...it's, after all, an all sports forum and we cannot do anything about this. Especially during big competitions all kind of things are said, but everybody has the right to an opinion, so...
Don't worry, the nice people you know didn't change...and I hope that, once we "move" back, such kind of comments will filter out by itsself.


For the rest, I would like to congratulate you with the 2 medals! It seems that this Olympics wasn't too good for the European gymnastics, but I hope in London we can hear our national anthems more;)

[rtxp]

Hello everyone - awww man I am sorry I did not post here for quite a while......but of course I am following the Olympics closely. :)
I agree with SriEa that some Romanian scores were really low on beam and floor. It seems the judges started to pick on things all of a sudden.......I felt very sorry for Stela`s beam score in qualifications and floor......it is so sad she was not able to win any individual medals. :(
On the other hand I can`t tell how happy I am about Sandra winning floor. This was so much deserved. She hit everything when it counted. :) I also was so touched when she comforted Cheng Fei......it just warms your heart to see scenes like that. :)
And of course - never count out the Romanian team - they indeed won the bronze many people thought they couldn`t win. Though Russia helped this a great deal with the mistakes they had. Consistancy just is a very strong point of the Romanian team. I was sad to not see any routines of Anamaria in the team final - from her scores one could see she did really well also!

I kind of feld sorry for Russia though - they end up leaving Beijing without any medal. :( I am especially sad for Anna Pavlova here who imo also was underscored a few times.

Regarding the IG forum - yes, there are many people who totally stand behind the US gymnasts and defend them against everything. But as the board is American as well as the magazine this is normal. There also are quite some people supporting international gymnasts also.

I have read someone on here wished the Americans to fail which imo is really rude und uncalled for. No one should wish anything bad to any gymnast regardless of if it are your favorites or not. Don`t you think?


Hmmm..let me guess! Here,in this forum ,your fav team is Romania..there to intlgymnast forum ..your fav team is USA! How convenient!
As I saw you taked a "good care" about romanian users there ,where you are "super moderator"! Now you are here and you are very welcome!
Nice!
I have a question : do you dare to write about romanian team to intlgymnast forum so nice as you write HERE?

[ioanavol]

Hmmm..let me guess! Here,in this forum ,your fav team is Romania..there to intlgymnast forum ..your fav team is USA! How convenient!
As I saw you taked a "good care" about romanian users there ,where you are "super moderator"! Now you are here and you are very welcome!
Nice!
I have a question : do you dare to write about romanian team to intlgymnast forum so nice as you write HERE?

That's what I meant, Martina...

rtxp, please stop with this accusations...Martina is an admirer of Romanian gymnasts, on all forums.
if you don't know her, better shut up...or at least think more before you write such things.

[rtxp]

That's what I meant, Martina...

rtxp, please stop with this accusations...Martina is an admirer of Romanian gymnasts, on all forums.
if you don't know her, better shut up...or at least think more before you write such things.

I know her!

[rob_din]

Hello everyone - awww man I am sorry I did not post here for quite a while......but of course I am following the Olympics closely. :)
I agree with SriEa that some Romanian scores were really low on beam and floor. It seems the judges started to pick on things all of a sudden.......I felt very sorry for Stela`s beam score in qualifications and floor......it is so sad she was not able to win any individual medals. :(
On the other hand I can`t tell how happy I am about Sandra winning floor. This was so much deserved. She hit everything when it counted. :) I also was so touched when she comforted Cheng Fei......it just warms your heart to see scenes like that. :)
And of course - never count out the Romanian team - they indeed won the bronze many people thought they couldn`t win. Though Russia helped this a great deal with the mistakes they had. Consistancy just is a very strong point of the Romanian team. I was sad to not see any routines of Anamaria in the team final - from her scores one could see she did really well also!

I kind of feld sorry for Russia though - they end up leaving Beijing without any medal. :( I am especially sad for Anna Pavlova here who imo also was underscored a few times.

Regarding the IG forum - yes, there are many people who totally stand behind the US gymnasts and defend them against everything. But as the board is American as well as the magazine this is normal. There also are quite some people supporting international gymnasts also.

I have read someone on here wished the Americans to fail which imo is really rude und uncalled for. No one should wish anything bad to any gymnast regardless of if it are your favorites or not. Don`t you think?


Trust me, whoever is saying it didn't want the americans to fail is lying. I'm talking about romanian people. And it's not rude at all, it would be rude if the wish would be to fail and break a leg. Of course i wanted the americans and whoever is competing agianst the romanian girls to faile, I'm not hypocritical about it

[Tess_AN]

Trust me, whoever is saying it didn't want the americans to fail is lying. I'm talking about romanian people. And it's not rude at all, it would be rude if the wish would be to fail and break a leg. Of course i wanted the americans and whoever is competing agianst the romanian girls to faile, I'm not hypocritical about it
Rob, I don't want to argue... I am not in a forum to argue... but as I said in my previous post, everyone can speak up just for himself/herself.

In a personal note... I don't believe you.... you did not say that in Romanian during the competition... there were others doing it.... you say it now here just to show off, just to continue the conversation.... for the love of conversation... Olympics are done and we need something to talk about....:)

[rtxp]

I totally agree ,rob!

[rob_din]

Rob, I don't want to argue... I am not in a forum to argue... but as I said in my previous post, everyone can speak up just for himself/herself.

In a personal note... I don't believe you.... you did not say that in Romanian during the competition... there were others doing it.... you say it now here just to show off, just to continue the conversation.... for the love of conversation... Olympics are done and we need something to talk about....:)

No i'm just saying beacause i'm accused of being rude. I have the right to fdefend myself. And i've said the same thing on the romanian forum also, you missed it i suppose.

[Tess_AN]

No i'm just saying beacause i'm accused of being rude. I have the right to defend myself. And i've said the same thing on the romanian forum also, you missed it i suppose.
Martina did not address to you or me personally....
I do not remember you having bad posts in the Romanian forum during the competition. There are others that made bad wishes.

I read the posts and I admit, you supported your favorites (not Romanian gymnasts) a lot in a very personal way but not making bad wishes for the opponents.

So, don't take Martina's post personally. I don't. I consider it is address to just a few... for sure not including you. This is what I've got out of the message.... Martina and you can continue the conversation, I am out of it.

[MartinaE]

Oh I am out of it as well - it´s just too silly and immature over here and I gladly return to "our" corner instead like you suggested Tess. :)

Though it`s really amusing over here.

[MartinaE]

Oh and just to add regarding the failure wish thing - in my post I said that in my opinion it is rude to say this cause I personally never wish anyone to fail.
rob_din - I did not say you personally would be rude. You have a different opinion and I am ok with this.

rtxp - it seems you really have a wrong picture of me and you don`t know me at all. When did we ever meet in person?
Just because I am a moderator on the IG forum does not mean that I am pro USA or biased in their direction. I have a job to do over there. Romania has been my favorite team ever since 1993.