Simone Biles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though I sort of miss the more artistic and ballet oriented routines of the past (Romanian/Russian style), I like every single thing about Simone. Her personality, incredible talent, life story/family, always pure grace under pressure. She's a star like no other.

I used to feel this way, but those girls suffered so much physical and emotional abuse and look so frightened and malnourished compared to gymnasts of today. I love that this generation of gymnasts look like athletes and are no longer considered over the hill at 19.

Will someone please explain to me how you all have come to believe that gymnasts cannot be balletic and graceful once they become powerful and muscular? I love that they are allowed to look like athletes, but if you think that means they suddenly cannot be graceful, professional dancers would like a word.

You can be both, people. No one wants to bring back the treatment of gymnast from the 70s. Good Lord.

The ability to build those kind of muscles is genetics. Gymnasts from China and Japan, for example, are just as strong but don’t have bulging muscles. You don’t need hulking muscles to be an athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know suni lee got all around gold in Tokyo and bikes dropped out? Wouldn’t know it from the ads or coverage.

Yeah, but Simone's scores and difficulty are always above Suni. Suni never beats Simone. Unless something goes wrong and Simone drops out or makes a huge mistake, Suni is competing for the Silver or Bronze in AA. She just doesn't have the difficulty level.

Are we counting the time Simone quit?

I am 100% okay with an athlete putting their health over a medal. They shouldn't have to vault on a broken leg, or risk a broken neck because they have the twisties (my DD is a very mediocre diver, and it's something that affects them as well). Good for her taking care of herself.

Absolutely

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Simone is fantastic, but it’s boring watching competitions for second and third. I felt the same way about Usain Bolt. You can’t fault some athletes for being true phenoms, good for them, but as a viewer it’s kinda meh.

It was thrilling watching Suni fight for the bronze in her final rotation. Her floor routine was anything but boring!

Agreed. I expected to be a little bored because it felt like a foregone conclusion that Simone would win. But then I though the competition between Andrade and Lee and D'Amato was very compelling. The way the floor routines unfolded was awesome because first Suni nailed her routine (and totally knew it -- she was grinning through the whole thing because you could tell she felt great and knew she was hitting everything) and then Andrade came out and topped that and then Simone came out and did her thing. And they were all so supportive of each other and cheering for each other -- you can tell they enjoy watching one another compete and actually want the others to do well and even feed off one another's success.

Also they dynamic there is interesting because after Simone dropped out in Tokyo Andrade was favored to win the all around but then Suni came in and won gold and it was something of a surprise -- she'd been in Simone's shadow and while she was expected to be competitive I don't think many would have put her above Andrade. So then for Andrade to beat Suni for the silver this time with them both performing at the top of their gam.e just shows how much equity there is among the top gymnasts (behind Simone). And D'Amato was incredibly consistent across all four apparatus putting up very clean routines -- if she ups her difficulty a bit she will be right in the mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the issue is that there is so much gymnastics in our face, but so much talk about it on TV (the gymnast are interviewed over and over and over again and we see human interest stories on them over and over and over again) but that same time there are some out there that are finding women's gymnatics less intriguing. Yes, the rules now call for a diffrent sport than we are used to, so maybe this means it is not as TV friendly as it used to be. Maybe they should not show hours of it every night, because it is not conducive to that anymore.

I think if there were other events that market research determined would draw more viewers in prime time, they would air them instead. Your opinion is the minority or the broadcast would adjust to reflect different interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know suni lee got all around gold in Tokyo and bikes dropped out? Wouldn’t know it from the ads or coverage.

And?

Women’s Waterpolo has gotten gold 3 Olympics in a row and they work 3 jobs to pay for it until flavor flav funded them.

Simone has a pr team.

All women’s sports needs more marketing … all of them.

The rapper? From Flavor of Love? Wow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know suni lee got all around gold in Tokyo and bikes dropped out? Wouldn’t know it from the ads or coverage.

??????

Every bit of coverage on NBC has been hyping "two all around gold medalists" in the team final and all around final. They've done a couple of pieces on Lee's health problems. She's getting a good bit of coverage. Not Biles level coverage, but nobody is shorting her. It's just that Biles is the GOAT. You don't see talent like that very often and she's got a comeback narrative that you can't beat.

The lead gymnast from Brazil (Rebecca Andrade) is also getting a lot of praise and attention. She's also amazing. It's just that she's not Biles level of amazing.

It's wild that Biles gets so much criticism. She is objectively speaking the best female gymnast ever. Why do people pick her apart so much?

And yes, if someone doesn't know that Suni got all around gold and Biles dropped out, they have paid zero attention to women's gymnastics in the last four years.

1. Because she's Black

Gotta play that card. Predictable.

When she was a kid, she spent a whole year defending her hairstyle choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love watching the gymnastics and follow it during the year. I love the Olympics most of all. I am a huge Simone Biles fan.

But I am wondering what everybody else feels about the big fake eyelashes? (Track and field women wear them too). It just looks stupid to me.......... but am getting use to it.

What do you think?

I hate false lashes on everyone. In general. But Simone can do no wrong. Let her shine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't watched gymnastics in years and so was momentarily surprised by seeing Simone so grown up. I love how these gymnasts are mature now. I always worried those really young girls of the previous era were going to suffer long-term damage to their bodies. Can anyone with expertise weigh in on that?

Mary Lou Retton had double hip replacements at age 46 or 47. It's not unusual for elite gymnasts to need that or knee replacements in their 30's or 40's, and I've read they have the bone density in their 20's and 30's of women in their 70's and 80's. Former gymnasts in their 30's get diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Probably the older skinny girls. Simone is little but she is built solid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is amazing but looks like she could kick my ass (and honestly could). Dominique Moceanu, on the other hand, could likely kick my ass even when she was competing/medaling at 14, but looked like a tiny angel.

And, honestly, good for her (SB). She showed the world that you don’t have to look like a tiny angel to be a great gymnast. She looks like an athlete.

Do the people who do the shooting events look like athletes? How about equestrian?

Not at all. Since they aren’t athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know suni lee got all around gold in Tokyo and bikes dropped out? Wouldn’t know it from the ads or coverage.

Yeah, but Simone's scores and difficulty are always above Suni. Suni never beats Simone. Unless something goes wrong and Simone drops out or makes a huge mistake, Suni is competing for the Silver or Bronze in AA. She just doesn't have the difficulty level.

Are we counting the time Simone quit?

I am 100% okay with an athlete putting their health over a medal. They shouldn't have to vault on a broken leg, or risk a broken neck because they have the twisties (my DD is a very mediocre diver, and it's something that affects them as well). Good for her taking care of herself.

The fact she was able to come BACK from that - and perform even better than before - is truly astonishing. Who else could do that?!

I think what has Biles has done to come back is incredible, but I would say that Suni Lee’s comeback from two kidney diseases is equally astonishing.

These girls have grit!

I'm always amazed at how people are always trying to pit women against women like you have to choose 1 as your favorite. Brittany vs Christina, it's insane actually.

How was I pitting them against each other? I said they were both great!

Plus, you know who was pitting them against each other? THE OLYMPICS. These women were literally just in a worldwide contest to be chosen as the best by qualified judges. So that post is kind of funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love watching the gymnastics and follow it during the year. I love the Olympics most of all. I am a huge Simone Biles fan.

But I am wondering what everybody else feels about the big fake eyelashes? (Track and field women wear them too). It just looks stupid to me.......... but am getting use to it.

What do you think?

I think you don't understand people different than you have different cultures and dress and style differently than you. You don't have to like every style every culture has.

Oh. (Looking you up and down)

Which culture are the Kardashian lashes from? and don’t try to say Armenian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though I sort of miss the more artistic and ballet oriented routines of the past (Romanian/Russian style), I like every single thing about Simone. Her personality, incredible talent, life story/family, always pure grace under pressure. She's a star like no other.

I used to feel this way, but those girls suffered so much physical and emotional abuse and look so frightened and malnourished compared to gymnasts of today. I love that this generation of gymnasts look like athletes and are no longer considered over the hill at 19.

Will someone please explain to me how you all have come to believe that gymnasts cannot be balletic and graceful once they become powerful and muscular? I love that they are allowed to look like athletes, but if you think that means they suddenly cannot be graceful, professional dancers would like a word.

You can be both, people. No one wants to bring back the treatment of gymnast from the 70s. Good Lord.

The ability to build those kind of muscles is genetics. Gymnasts from China and Japan, for example, are just as strong but don’t have bulging muscles. You don’t need hulking muscles to be an athlete.

Not the case. East Asian swimmers are usually very built

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even though I sort of miss the more artistic and ballet oriented routines of the past (Romanian/Russian style), I like every single thing about Simone. Her personality, incredible talent, life story/family, always pure grace under pressure. She's a star like no other.

I used to feel this way, but those girls suffered so much physical and emotional abuse and look so frightened and malnourished compared to gymnasts of today. I love that this generation of gymnasts look like athletes and are no longer considered over the hill at 19.

Will someone please explain to me how you all have come to believe that gymnasts cannot be balletic and graceful once they become powerful and muscular? I love that they are allowed to look like athletes, but if you think that means they suddenly cannot be graceful, professional dancers would like a word.

You can be both, people. No one wants to bring back the treatment of gymnast from the 70s. Good Lord.

If you know of this paragon who is as powerful as Biles and as balletic as the gymnasts of old, bring her forward. She'll do well.

But meanwhile, we only have the women who are here competing. And I enjoyed seeing the moves regardless of perceived lack of grace. Crazy that people can do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love watching the gymnastics and follow it during the year. I love the Olympics most of all. I am a huge Simone Biles fan.

But I am wondering what everybody else feels about the big fake eyelashes? (Track and field women wear them too). It just looks stupid to me.......... but am getting use to it.

What do you think?

I think you don't understand people different than you have different cultures and dress and style differently than you. You don't have to like every style every culture has.

Oh. (Looking you up and down)

Which culture are the Kardashian lashes from? and don’t try to say Armenian.

I’m confused. Aren’t our Olympic athletes quite literally representing… the United States of America? Isn’t that our culture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is amazing but looks like she could kick my ass (and honestly could). Dominique Moceanu, on the other hand, could likely kick my ass even when she was competing/medaling at 14, but looked like a tiny angel.

And, honestly, good for her (SB). She showed the world that you don’t have to look like a tiny angel to be a great gymnast. She looks like an athlete.

What does "an athlete" look like?