Olympic Reflections...

I'm not much of an Olympic watcher. I usually catch some of the more popular events if by chance I have turned on the television or if David happens to be watching them. Not that I am not impressed or inspired by these athletes and their tremendous accomplishments, it is just that I don't really find it all that entertaining and my mind starts to wander to things I should be doing instead.
That said, I have caught a few events this year of the Summer Olympics and found myself pondering a few things long after I tuned out.
Women's Gymnastics


It is incredible how much this sport has evolved from when I used to watch the long and lean gymnasts of the past who pranced and bounced more than they vaulted and bounded thunderously across the floor to nail a three and half twist/jump/somersault or something or other. These ladies have got some serious quadricep action going on and they look barely taller than my seven year old nephew. As I sat watching the women's all-around final while willing myself to go to sleep as it was nearly midnight, I found myself contemplating their behavior immediately following every event and finding it to be extremely peculiar. Whether it be the vault, the floor, the beam and whether they hailed from China, Russia or the USA, they all exemplified the same strategy following their own performances.
After completing a routine that they have rehearsed and agonized over for countless hours and countless years that has all come down to one minute and forty seconds of the most important performance of their life....they walk off briskly and busy themselves in their gym bags like they could freakin care less about the score that is going to mean the answer to their prayers or the loss of their dreams. Sure they give a brief and obviously cold hug to their coach and teammates but nothing seems more important to them in that moment than shuffling through the contents of their gym bag and wrapping and unwrapping their hands. When the score posts it appears as if they barely look up. Why do they do this? Do they think they are actually fooling us or any of their competitors with this nervous behavior? We, as well as they Chinese gymnast sitting inches from them, know very well that their veins are pumping fiercely with adrenaline, that they are rehashing every mistake or triumph in their minds, that their head feels like it is going to burst in anticipation waiting for the all-important marks...why is it so important that they behave as if they just took a quick twirl on the monkey bars and now they need to move on to more important matters? Ladies...you spend nearly 24 hours of every day of your life eating, breathing and sleeping gymnastics to get to this point, let's all agree that is okay to show a little emotion and live in the moment. I want to see screams of joy at a nailed landing or tears of frustration at a missed one. Let's get real here okay?
Speaking of getting real, what's up with this freak of nature (and I mean that in a good way)...

Why does anyone else even bother getting in the water? And to that note, why doesn't he compete in every race? It's obvious he is going to smoke the competition whether he is freestyling or breast-stroking. I suppose he is giving others a shot at something by leaving some of the races open. Which brings me to the point, why do swimmers get so many opportunities for Gold medals? Hey, if you missed out and totally blew the 100m, don't worry you still have the 200m, 300m, and several team relays to have another shot to get on the medal stand. Whereas in sports such as ice skating, you get one shot and that's it. One opportunity to show what you've got and land a medal or see you again in four years. You don't see ice skaters walking around with 8 Gold medals or they would have been doing triple lutzes well into their fifties. I'm thinking it's a little unfair if you ask me.
And on one final note, I feel really bad for some of these swimmers. Their faces and bodies plastered all over television for millions and millions of viewers to see and they look like they are suffocating in those airtight goggles, painfully tight swimmer caps and bodies lacquered with Speedo. Then as they finally get a chance at their close up, they end up looking like this:

Not one of their better looking moments I'm sure...But I suppose all the accolades and recognition makes it worth a few humiliating shots on international television, right?