I cried during last night’s all-around competition; big ole alligator tears. I was so proud of both Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. (In case you weren't watching, Nastia won gold, Shawn silver). I wish they could have shared the gold medal - but I also feel Nastia deserved to win. Her style of gymnastics is just so beautiful and artistic, and the international judges seemed to relate more to her flexibility and ballerina-esque routines. I felt Shawn was underscored on both balance beam and uneven bars (which; of course my opinion doesn’t count but when the announcers – who have competed in the Olympics themselves – start to reiterate the same points, that’s got to say something). Regardless, both women pulled out four amazing performances and should be able to walk away with zero regret. Last night was an example of truly incredible Olympic competition. It was the kind of night that kept me up until 1:00am, glued to the television screen, wide awake and watching in awe. From Nastia’s stuck landing on the vault to Shawn’s incredibly challenging and risky floor routine, last night was something to remember.
I’ll be on vacation for the majority of the remainder of the Olympic competition, but don’t worry – I’ve already mapped out the important events. Here’s a preview of the upcoming broadcast schedule, and our team’s final chances to show what they’re made of.
Friday (tonight) – No gymnastics, but Michael Phelps swims in the 100m fly for a chance to win his seventh gold medal of the games (tying the record).
Saturday – Again, no gymnastics, but if Phelps succeeds Friday he’ll have his last gold medal opportunity here in the 4x100 relay - to set Olympic history with an astonishing eight gold medals. Also, watch out for Dara Torres in the women’s 50. She had the third fastest time in the qualifying heats and swims in the semi-finals tonight for placement in this final race.
Sunday – Finally! Gymnastics again! Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin go head-to head again on the floor exercise. They qualified third and fourth respectively, but I’m hoping Shawn gets a chance to take home the gold. She’ll have to overtake China’s Fei Cheng, however, who scored the highest in the preliminaries. Alicia Sacramone has a chance at some redemption; she’ll be competing on vault. She scored third in the preliminaries, but has gold medal potential if she sticks her landing.
Monday – Only one women’s event final – the uneven bars. Nastia is the only US team member in this event (due to Chellsie Memmel's uncharacteristic fall in the preliminaries. By the way, did you know Chellsie actually had a broken ankle when she peformed? Amazing). Nastia scored fifth in the preliminaries, but I am hoping she is buoyed from her all-around gold medal win and has the set of her life to win the gold.
Tuesday – The final day of women’s artistic gymnastics in these Olympics. The US will be sending three women to compete on the balance beam. Will they be able to sweep the event? It would be just amazing if they did – but don’t count China out. The Chinese women have been scored generously on beam; Shanshan Li scored a 16.1 in the preliminaries (with the Americans not far behind with scores right at 15.975). I don't know if any of the event finals can compare to last night's competition, but I can't wait to find out!