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telarynMost of you probably don't know this, but my younger sister and I were competitive swimmers for pretty much the totality of our childhoods. I was *good* - my big achievement was winning MVP all four years in high school (don't get too excited...you would have to see the competition to understand why this only made me "good").
Amy? Was great. Broke her first state record at the age of 8, her first national record at the age of 13. Her 8 & U 25 yard freestyle record stood for so long in the state of Florida that they eventually retired it. Four years All American in high school, countless state championships to her credit, school and club records that still stand even today.
Qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1984 and 1988 - swam in 1988, and if it weren't for the fact that she dislocated her shoulder on the turn in the 100m backstroke, might have made the team.
Great.
Through Amy, I got to see legends of swimming up close. Tracy Caulkins, Mary Meaghr, Kim Linehan, Janet Evans, Nancy Hogshead, Carrie Steinseiffer, Matt Biondi, Dara Torres...heck, Amy had a personally autographed photo of Mark Spitz when we were growing up.
And I don't remember *any* of them capturing the country's interest like Michael Phelps has.
Okay, the washboard abs help, true, but he's hardly the first male swimmer to have such a gorgeous bod.
The medal race? Sure - it's a longstanding record he's going for, and if the past several nights are any indication he has the first real shot of anyone at breaking it.
More than that, though, I think he's captured our attention so thoroughly because he's genuinely having a good time with this. He's not all dour and focused and intense about it - he's open and smiling, supporting his team as enthusiastically as he goes after his own goals. He's happy when he wins, and you know when he's standing in that medal ceremony this truly is his dream realized.
There's a kind of magic to that people can't help responding to. It's why we took Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton into our hearts.
Which is partly my lame way of transitioning into the growing Women's Gymnastics controversy.
Having lived through the East German steroid freaks of 70's women's swimming and the rampant eating disorders of 80's women's swimming, I'm finding it hard to get excited because the Chinese government falsified documents on these girls. With Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin now having gone 1-2 in the individual all-around, people are starting to look seriously petty by continuing to harp on this.
Does anyone even for a second believe that these girls understand that they violated the rules by competing? Do you think they were told that there is an age limit?
I don't.
The problem is at the level of their coaches and the government who agreed to whatever happened. It needs to be addressed - but there is time to address it after the games are over, because the flaw is in the system that allowed this to happen - not with the individual athletes.
I am all for pulling medals from athletes that knowingly participated in dishonest behavior. Take steroids when you know it's against the rules? *boot*
I just think we're in a really problematic area here, talking about yanking medals from children who in all likelihood only know that they succeeded in doing everything their coaches, their parents and their country asked them to do.
Besides...if some of the stories NBC is starting to put out about the lives of post-days of glory Chinese athletes, these girls are going to have enough of the deck stacked against them once the lights go dim on these games.
In the words of Dennis Miller: "That's just my opinion...I could be wrong."
Amy? Was great. Broke her first state record at the age of 8, her first national record at the age of 13. Her 8 & U 25 yard freestyle record stood for so long in the state of Florida that they eventually retired it. Four years All American in high school, countless state championships to her credit, school and club records that still stand even today.
Qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1984 and 1988 - swam in 1988, and if it weren't for the fact that she dislocated her shoulder on the turn in the 100m backstroke, might have made the team.
Great.
Through Amy, I got to see legends of swimming up close. Tracy Caulkins, Mary Meaghr, Kim Linehan, Janet Evans, Nancy Hogshead, Carrie Steinseiffer, Matt Biondi, Dara Torres...heck, Amy had a personally autographed photo of Mark Spitz when we were growing up.
And I don't remember *any* of them capturing the country's interest like Michael Phelps has.
Okay, the washboard abs help, true, but he's hardly the first male swimmer to have such a gorgeous bod.
The medal race? Sure - it's a longstanding record he's going for, and if the past several nights are any indication he has the first real shot of anyone at breaking it.
More than that, though, I think he's captured our attention so thoroughly because he's genuinely having a good time with this. He's not all dour and focused and intense about it - he's open and smiling, supporting his team as enthusiastically as he goes after his own goals. He's happy when he wins, and you know when he's standing in that medal ceremony this truly is his dream realized.
There's a kind of magic to that people can't help responding to. It's why we took Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton into our hearts.
Which is partly my lame way of transitioning into the growing Women's Gymnastics controversy.
Having lived through the East German steroid freaks of 70's women's swimming and the rampant eating disorders of 80's women's swimming, I'm finding it hard to get excited because the Chinese government falsified documents on these girls. With Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin now having gone 1-2 in the individual all-around, people are starting to look seriously petty by continuing to harp on this.
Does anyone even for a second believe that these girls understand that they violated the rules by competing? Do you think they were told that there is an age limit?
I don't.
The problem is at the level of their coaches and the government who agreed to whatever happened. It needs to be addressed - but there is time to address it after the games are over, because the flaw is in the system that allowed this to happen - not with the individual athletes.
I am all for pulling medals from athletes that knowingly participated in dishonest behavior. Take steroids when you know it's against the rules? *boot*
I just think we're in a really problematic area here, talking about yanking medals from children who in all likelihood only know that they succeeded in doing everything their coaches, their parents and their country asked them to do.
Besides...if some of the stories NBC is starting to put out about the lives of post-days of glory Chinese athletes, these girls are going to have enough of the deck stacked against them once the lights go dim on these games.
In the words of Dennis Miller: "That's just my opinion...I could be wrong."
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(no subject)
15/8/08 12:40 (UTC)I think their coaches need to be booted out, and the government roundly castigated. Those girls were NOT having fun, and look at their bodies - they don't look like well-trained athletes. They look like they're starving. :(
Personally, I don't think children should be subjected to the pressures of international competition - if I had my druthers, the minimum age for any Olympic competition would be 17. Not only because of the physical stresses (hell, my cousin didn't start having periods till she was 19 because of her competitive gymnastics), but because of the emotional problems it can cause.
Wasn't it nice to see the one grown-up Romanian woman competing? She was strong and well-muscled and did *great*. They should all be like that.
(no subject)
15/8/08 12:50 (UTC)And you get no argument from me about this being an issue that needs to be addressed and addressed thoroughly. Right now, while the games are going on, is not the time - because then you *add* to the emotional damage by telling nine and ten year olds (okay, *maybe* twelve and thirteen year olds) that - well, we know you did everything the grown-ups in your life ever asked you to, but we're still going to take away your victory.
You can't carbon date live children, and on paper, at least, the rules were followed. It's more complicated than a yes/no, right/wrong situation - it's not like steroid abuse by any stretch of the imagination.
I do disagree with you that the gymnasts looked like they were starving. I've *seen* eating disorders on legs in these competitions - and that wasn't it.
Are they courting all sorts of muscle and bone issues in the future? Of course. I just don't think their body mass index is the critical problem.
I was pleased to see Nastia Liukin take the individual gold. She and Shawn Johnson look healthier than I've seen gymnasts look in forever - and Nastia's height alone smashed the myth of pixie-child being the way to go.
(no subject)
15/8/08 14:14 (UTC)I agree with this 100% - I think you really captured it here: he is a NICE guy and he's winning - what's not to love?
Still processing the gymnastics thing...
(no subject)
15/8/08 19:38 (UTC)I agree with this, but there IS another reason (at least for me). It doesn't hurt that during the 4x100 relay, I had some seriously long exposure to his hip bones. Damn.... I think I need a drink.