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Post by bennyskid on Jul 26, 2021 10:08:30 GMT -8
There is a story behind Jade's path to the Olympics - one that shows the total ineptitude of the USAG. Roughly a year ago, the USAG refuse to answer a simple question: what are the criteria for picking the team?
- Will they pick the four gymnasts that will provide the highest overall score? Or will they just take the top four all-around?
The latter choice is "safer", in that if you lose someone to injury the impact won't be as great. But the first choice is more likely to win gold against tough competition.
- Will they base the decision on previous international results, or just on the results in the Trials?
Here the choice is more subtle - how much do you worry about "nerves" when the gymnasts reach the highest state. But it was more complicated in Jade's case - Skinner, another vault/floor monster, was prepping for the Trials after four years of NCAA gymnastics. If the criterion was simply which girl was better at one particular meet, then just a little bad luck could easily knock Jade out.
As simple as these questions are, the USAG couldn't answer them. With so much uncertainty, Jade took the path that guaranteed her shot at the Olympics. She dominated the World Cup - I think she won every vault and floor event she competed in - and made herself invulnerable to the USAG's incompetence.
And good thing for her. The USAG ended up taking four all-arounders, only two of which were proven winners. The coach said that he didn't think that it wasn't worth worrying about "a few tenths of a point", and he needed to respect the "integrity of the process". But how much "integrity" can there be a process that was never articulated in the first place!
The USAG should have put forward their criteria a year ago. They didn't, and Jade did what she had to do to guarantee a place in Tokyo.
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Post by grayman on Jul 26, 2021 12:58:05 GMT -8
Carey has known for quite some time that her early qualification for the Olympics did not earn her a place on the "team" even though she is part of Team USA for all practical purposes.
She is enrolled at OSU and has been taking classes. Winning an Olympic medal or two, particularly gold, could very well change her immediate plans. No doubt there would be opportunities.
Even so, I wouldn't worry too much about it. She's been planning on competing for the Beavers for years now.
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Post by jefframp on Jul 27, 2021 6:51:57 GMT -8
Simone Biles was injured on a vault and is out of the Team Event and possibly the rest of the Olympics. Russia won the team competition. Ugh.
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Post by bennyskid on Jul 27, 2021 9:36:45 GMT -8
If Simone drops out entirely, Jade replaces her in the All-Around competition. Jade finished 7th in the qualifiers, but was bumped by the (INSIPID) two-per-country limit on all the individual finals. Skinner would replace Simone on vault, IIRC, and would have a very good chance of medaling.
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Post by sparty on Jul 27, 2021 9:44:19 GMT -8
Simone Biles was injured on a vault and is out of the Team Event and possibly the rest of the Olympics. Russia won the team competition. Ugh. Mentally injured |
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Post by bvrbooster on Jul 27, 2021 10:30:23 GMT -8
Depending on how this plays out, this could put this tour that the Glove showed us in jeopardy, thus freeing up Jade to compete here after all.
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Post by Werebeaver on Jul 27, 2021 13:51:30 GMT -8
Simone Biles was injured on a vault and is out of the Team Event and possibly the rest of the Olympics. Russia won the team competition. Ugh. Mentally injured Quite a development. It’s a shame that this will inevitably tarnish her previously unparalleled competitive reputation in the eyes of many. I was really hoping a gold medal team performance would help to conclude the abusive legacy of Larry Nassar, Tim Penny and the Karolyi’s. That said, the team silver is a great accomplishment and well-earned. |
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Post by believeinthebeavs on Jul 27, 2021 14:18:38 GMT -8
I can't even imagine the pressure an athlete at the Olympics must feel, especially in a marquee event like Gymnastics, and neither can anyone else that hasn't been there. It must be immense.
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Post by Werebeaver on Jul 27, 2021 14:32:41 GMT -8
I can't even imagine the pressure an athlete at the Olympics must feel, especially in a marquee event like Gymnastics, and neither can anyone else that hasn't been there. It must be immense. On one hand I’m as old school as it gets. You’re on a team and when your name is called you damn well better be ready to give it everything you’ve got. No excuses. On the other hand sports like gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, golf, track and field, are in essence individual sports. There is no teamwork in the actual performance. It’s you against either the field, the clock, your opponent or the judges. In some sports (gymnastics especially) there is an element of danger that demands ones complete, undistracted focus to compete safely. If Simone didn’t feel, for whatever reason, that she could bring that mental focus then she made the right decision to pull out. It is just baffling to me that someone as experienced and accomplished as Biles could not summon the mental wherewithal to compete on the day when her team needed her the most. I suppose the analogy would be like a starting pitcher who knows in warmups he just doesn’t have his best stuff today. Does he tell his coach and teammates he’s good and ready to go even though he knows otherwise? |
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Post by Judge Smails on Jul 27, 2021 14:52:04 GMT -8
I can't even imagine the pressure an athlete at the Olympics must feel, especially in a marquee event like Gymnastics, and neither can anyone else that hasn't been there. It must be immense. On one hand I’m as old school as it gets. You’re on a team and when your name is called you damn well better be ready to give it everythingy you’ve got. No excuses. On the other hand sports like wrestling, boxing, golf, track and field, are in essence individual sports. There is no teamwork in the actual performance. It’s you against either the field, the clock, your opponent or the judges. In some sports (gymnastics especially) there is an element of danger that demands ones complete, undistracted focus to compete safely. If Simone didn’t feel, for whatever reason, that she couldn’t bring that mental focus then she made the right decision to pull out. It is just baffling to me that someone as experienced and accomplished as Biles could not summon the mental wherewithal to compete on the day when her team needed her the most. I suppose the analogy would be like a starting pitcher who knows in warmups he just doesn’t have his best stuff today. Does he tell his coach and teammates he’s good and ready to go even though he knows otherwise? Was the starting pitcher sexual assaulted by someone in the organization since he was a little kid? That's the big difference in Biles case. She's competing for an organization that has let her and numerous other girls/women down. Adding that into the pressure that she already has on her as being the greatest gymnast of all time......that is a lot to deal with. |
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Post by beaverstever on Jul 27, 2021 15:32:32 GMT -8
On one hand I’m as old school as it gets. You’re on a team and when your name is called you damn well better be ready to give it everythingy you’ve got. No excuses. On the other hand sports like wrestling, boxing, golf, track and field, are in essence individual sports. There is no teamwork in the actual performance. It’s you against either the field, the clock, your opponent or the judges. In some sports (gymnastics especially) there is an element of danger that demands ones complete, undistracted focus to compete safely. If Simone didn’t feel, for whatever reason, that she couldn’t bring that mental focus then she made the right decision to pull out. It is just baffling to me that someone as experienced and accomplished as Biles could not summon the mental wherewithal to compete on the day when her team needed her the most. I suppose the analogy would be like a starting pitcher who knows in warmups he just doesn’t have his best stuff today. Does he tell his coach and teammates he’s good and ready to go even though he knows otherwise? Was the starting pitcher sexual assaulted by someone in the organization since he was a little kid? That's the big difference in Biles case. She's competing for an organization that has let her and numerous other girls/women down. Adding that into the pressure that she already has on her as being the greatest gymnast of all time......that is a lot to deal with. I understood Biles wanted to keep going to as a way to shine a light on the survivors, but yea, it just adds to the pressure. The analogy that makes more sense to me is that it's like feeling pressure in golf and shanking a shot off the tee, except when you shank a routine of Bile's caliber, you might never walk again. The only sport I've experiences this kind of risk to any real degree is slalom waterskiing, where if I'm not mentally ready, I'm far more likely to really hurt myself. I can hardly imagine the level that Biles deals with. |
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Post by beavs6 on Jul 28, 2021 4:57:57 GMT -8
Well it looks like Biles has withdrawn from the individual overall competition. As I understand it, Jade is the next gymnast up. If so, a heartedly “Good Luck” from all of Beaver Nation!
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Post by bvrbooster on Jul 28, 2021 15:11:58 GMT -8
I don't know how to transfer it to this board, but the OSU Athletic Department just put out (this very minute) a promo announcing that Jade was going to the all around finals, and buy tickets now to see her at Gill.
So they're planning on her being here!
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Post by Werebeaver on Jul 28, 2021 15:36:15 GMT -8
Qualifying for the Olympic All-around finals in addition to individual finals in Vault and Floor is impressive even if she doesn’t medal. |
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Post by bvrbooster on Jul 28, 2021 16:23:39 GMT -8
link, sink, dink, fink, kink... I still don't know how to do it. |
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