http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=08...;show_article=1
US team blame stadium official for gymnastics loss

Aug 13 07:06 AM US/Eastern

The US women's gymnastics team blamed stadium officials Wednesday for distracting one of their athletes who went on to make crucial mistakes that destroyed their gold medal hopes.
China won its showdown with the United States after Alicia Sacramone fell off the balance beam then slipped over during the floor exercise, opening the way for the home team to post a narrow 2.375 point victory.

US team coordinator Martha Karolyi said officials at Beijing's National Indoor Stadium had disrupted Sacramone's preparations for the beam.

"First they called her name up, then they did not even put her name up even though the Chinese had finished ... (it was) totally unusual holding," she said.

"She was mentally prepared and then she had a mental break, then after not doing the job, the beam, on the floor exercise her concentration was bothered."

Karolyi insisted the world champion US team would have won gold if Sacramone had not become unsettled.

But while she was unhappy with stadium officials, she also questioned Sacramone's temperament, suggesting the gymnast was emotionally vulnerable.

"We developed her into a good competitor but originally she was not necessarily extremely easily focussed and aggressive," she said.

A distraught Sacramone was in tears as she recounted her Olympic nightmare.

"I think everybody knows there'll be good days and bad days, I just wish this was a good day for me," she said.

The 20-year-old said she was trying to perform a backward jumping mount onto the beam when she realised the manoeuvre had gone wrong.


"I tried to adjust in the air but I really couldn't save it, she said. "I tried to step back and there was just nothing."

Sacramone said the mistake on the beam in the third round affected her performance on the fourth and final exercise, the floor routine.

"I guess it was just a little bit too hard to get out of that funk, it affected me on floor a little bit," she said.

Sacramone added that she lost concentration because of the delay leading into her beam performance.

"I was just really eager to do my routine and get the show on the road but they did hold me for quite some time and I guess I lost my nerve a little bit," she said.

Asked how long she could maintain focus while waiting to perform her routines, she repled: "Apparently not long enough."


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It is interesting to have such a justification, however I believe it to be valid.

Certain competition has to take you to a level of mental preparedness that such focus must not be broken, otherwise it would have disastrous results. Stating that, even if such a thing were to happen, an unusual hold, that should not have broken her concentration, since it did, it ruined her chances, this is not an excuse, it was just what happened. However, it is still very fair as that lapse was on her. I am sure she will do better given the chance.

She is no sore loser, emotions run high so tears are understandable.

I don't care what you say Graham, but my two kids are both fascinated by the Olympics, which I think is wonderful. For one thing, this is the first time in a while that I have seen them interested in something on TV other than Disney, Cartoon Network and Nikilodean.

The highest level of mental concentration would not allow those "outside conditions" to interfere with a performance. I can understand how she could have been distracted but the "gold" goes to those who are able to have a peak performance in spite of any distractions.She's fabulously talented and I imagine she'll learn from this experience.

Exactly.

I don't think this kind of complaint is anything new. But unless the distraction was just egregious, as this did not seem to be, it is hard to see any merit in it.

Egregious distraction like the loud speaking blaring during a performance...or something like that.

I guess I should have said "egregious and atypical distraction", as opposed to the usual sort that can be processed as background noise.

Actually our teams should have an advantage over the Chinese in that, because our people don't understand Chinese.

On a more positive note has anyone noted how gracious the Chinese fans are, being good sports in cheering whoever does well?

winners SHINE
loses WHINE

Every team has the same exact problems
You don't hear the winners whining

Used to be one lost, they congratulated the winner
The Americans SUCKED. They were as graceful as a 300 pound gorilla, they looked like they thought they were ENTITLED
The Chinese girls looked like ballerinas or swans

when Tiger Woods wins, the people yelling out are met with smiles

When Tiger loses, he blames the same people

As graceful as a 300 pound gorilla....have you ever seen a 300 pound gorilla do on a balance beam?

What time is it if you see a 300 pound gorilla on a balance beam?
why of course
it's time to get a new balance beam (groan)

Geez G4A, go soak you head for a while. Say about fifteen minutes totally immensed in a bucket ought to do the trick.

from the person who thinks waterboarding is an olympic sport

I hate it when G4 gets off a good one. But that qualifies.

Pretty funny, however I can understand Marine's reaction.
I don't understand why one would attribute the worst in Americans and justifying the worst in others. I play devil's advocate quite often but denigrating hard working athletes is in bad taste.
Hopefully it is not a case of self-hate.

I dislike American overbearing attitudes and the entitlement aspect, which is one reason I could not respect someone such as Bobby Flay, however, one must try to be fair with their assessments. I would not call those Olympians whiners or losers. In being able to go to the olympics, one already shows that they are the cream of the crop of a particular country, which is as far as a loser as one can get.

Besides, in saying her concentration broke, that is pretty much a mea culpa in her part.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if China did it on purpose. If they can lie about the ages of their gymnasts, what would keep them from trying to sabotage someone in their own favor?
They have girls presumed to be 12-13 yrs old competing as 16 yr olds and it isnt questioned because all that is required is a passport saying that is their age. I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt. The olympic committee should demand proof of birth...although they would probably fake that too. The only apparatus last night that they outscored us as a team on was the floor...I feel certain had Alicia and Nastia not been freaked out about what had happened on vault, they wouldnt have stepped out of bounds on routines they know like the back of their hands. That being said, unless it can be proved, we have to take what was given. If it could be proved that they are lying about the girls ages,...we would have the gold.

BTW Graham, you werent there and you dont know the circumstances, so to automatically indict these girls, 2/3 of whom are world champions as being sore losers is BS.

So its alright to call the beautiful people of other nations liars and cheaters

Heaven help anyone call Americans for what they are- whiners and thinking they are entitled.

Roger Clemens, Lance Armstrong,Rosie Ruiz, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Pete Rose, Don Imus, John Edwards... the list is endless...

Give me Carlos and Smith back anyday.

I've often whether it's really fair to have the floor exercises at the same time as other gymnasts are performing on another apparatus. It seems like the music could thow off timing.

Anyway, I'm getting burnt out on women's gymnastics----There so much tension and drama that it's not fun to watch. I get the sense that it is more of a grinding ordeal than a "flow" experience for the athletes.

Instead of women's gymnastics maybe we should refer to it organized and televised child abuse!

The risk of very serious injury on the balance beam is about as great as playing professional football without pads and helmet. What is it going to take---some kid crushing her skull like a cantalope on international TV?

A barely pubescent teenager gets to show her nearly bare a$$ on global TV (providing her physical development and training diet allows her to have one).

Her "career" as a world class athlete pretty much ends when she grows boobs large enough to throw off her center of gravity.

In many countries these kids go into training during pre-school and gymnastics takes priorty over everything else in their childhood.

A few win the gold but most end up losing their childhood.

If the shoe fits...I wouldn't call the Chinese government "beautiful", LOL. But you keep thinking that...and they never committed human rights violations either so of course they would never stoop so low as to try and sabotage anyone's chances.


I guess they don't lie....much




China accused of putting forward Olympic gymnasts who are too young to compete


China's gymnasts are too young to compete in the Games, rivals claimed yesterday.

The host nation faced accusations of putting forward competitors under the minimum age requirement of 16.

They appear to have been caught out by their own official documentation which has been tracked down by US media.


Medal hope: Documents list varying birthdates for Jiang Yuyuan

Former U.S. team coach Bela Karolyi called for an investigation.

'This is a joke,' she said. 'We are people who have had children of our own so we know what a 16-year-old should look like.

'They should not look like they are seven and maybe still in diapers.'


China hotly denies any wrongdoing. Its gold medal favourite, He Kexin, is listed as being 16.

But documents uncovered by the New York Times show her birthdate as January 1, 1994 in a sports registration list of gymnasts. That would make He only 14.

There are similar discrepancies concerning Jiang Yuyuan.

In a list of competitors at a provincial Chinese competition last year her birthdate is October 1, 1993. That would make her 15.

The Chinese Gymnastics Association insists all of its gymnasts are old enough to compete in Beijing.

Athletes must have turned 16 in 2008 to take part.

They have produced passports and ID cards to verify the ages of their team, but it was unclear when the documents had been issued.

He's birth date is listed as January 1, 1992, while Jiang's is November 1, 1991.

The international gymnastics federation and the International Olympic Committee believe this is proof enough.







This guy didnt think they were so beautiful:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gl3910J...3Oc10gD92HDGKO0

8 activists detained after Olympics protest

By AUDRA ANG – 5 hours ago

BEIJING (AP) — A British journalist, apparently mistaken by police for a protester, was wrestled to the ground and briefly detained Wednesday while trying to film a pro-Tibet demonstration by eight activists arrested near the main Olympics venue.

Seven of the detainees were Americans; the eighth was a half-Tibetan woman with Japanese citizenship, said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, the group that organized the protest.

John Ray of London-based ITV News said he was rushing to enter the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park, south of the National Stadium, where two protesters were unfurling a "Free Tibet" banner on a park bridge.

Another five activists blocked the entrance of the park, which prominently features a Tibet-related exhibit, and handcuffed themselves to each other and to bicycles around them. A sixth protester explained the reason for the demonstration, Tethong said.

The group says it has not heard from the eight protesters since.

Ray, 44, said he was stopped by an officer and a small struggle ensued before things got more violent when more police arrived.

"They bundled me out of the park. They forced me to the floor, dragged me, manhandled me into a restaurant next door," said Ray, who said he repeatedly told police he was a journalist but was not displaying his official Olympics media accreditation.

Later dragged to the back of a nearby van, a woman asked in English what his views were on Tibet and he repeated that he was a journalist, he said.

"Only at this stage am I able to reach in my pocket and show them my Olympic credential," Ray said. "The van door opened and I just got out and walked."

An official from the spokesman's office of the Beijing Public Security Bureau said officers mistook him for an activist.

"At the time, he was among the protesters," said the official, who gave only his surname, Zhang. "The police did not understand his identity. So they took him away to check his identity. After that, they let him go."

At a regular briefing Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang issued a stern warning.

"No matter Chinese citizens or foreigners, in China if you want to have processions or demonstrations, you should abide by Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said.

Beijing has promised foreign journalists complete freedom to report the games.

International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said officials were checking reports that a British journalist "was allegedly assaulted" Wednesday.

"The IOC's position is clear: the media must be free to report on the Olympic Games," she said in a statement. "We are endeavoring to discover the full facts of this incident and, if necessary, will raise our concerns with the appropriate authority."

Chinese authorities have been extra sensitive about Tibet since bloody anti-government protests in March in the region's capital and surrounding provinces.

Wednesday's incident was the largest in a string of brief demonstrations — mostly by foreigners hoping to use the Olympics to draw attention to their causes — in Beijing since the games started last week. Most have had less than five people and foreign activists have been deported.

Also Wednesday, a rights group said Chinese activist Ji Sizun was taken away by security agents after applying for permission to protest against corruption during the Olympics.

Ji wanted to use one of three protest zones Beijing has designated for the games to call for "greater participation of Chinese citizens in the political processes, and denounce rampant official corruption and abuses of power," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

He applied at the Deshengmenwai police station on Aug. 8, the day the Olympics began, it said. When he returned three days later to check on his application, witnesses saw Ji being escorted from the building and put into an unmarked car by several men.

Ji's cell phone was turned off Wednesday. A man who answered the phone at the police station said no one had been arrested or taken away.

In July, China said protests would be allowed during the Olympics in three public parks far away from the main venues. Applications must be filed five days in advance and a response would come 48 hours before the requested rally time, officials said.

The protests must not harm "national, social and collective interests," he said in comments posted on organizing committee's Web site.

No protests have been reported in the zones.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday that police started security checks at the city's park gates.

Activists were rounded up in the days before the Olympics, and more have been taken away since the games began.

I hope you don't forget the little girl who really sang at the opening.. They didn't consider her beautiful enough so they got another little girl to lip sync..

I already mentioned all the lipsynchers the USA has had over the years

including Audrey Hepburn and Celine Dion and Britney McCain Spears...

I notice the articles that any activists in the USA will be caged during the 2 conventions

I would say we have worse rights than they do, and they have more money than we do.

Our rights have gone downhill thanks to the Bush administration and the Repub & Dem enablers, however,
there is no way to compare the rights we have with the rights the Chinese people have. That is a ludicrous statement.
When we become so frightened that the thought of having an additional child leads to murdering that child so that the government doesnt find out, then you can compare. I dont think we have reached the point of Eugenics and extermination our own population yet..at least not in any tangible sense associated with what China does, nor do we expect people to live on $2 a day. However, since you see to think China is so much more superior, I'm surprised you haven't started shopping for a condo in Beijing. As for the lip sync thing...do two wrongs make a right?

I would beg to differ
Katrina was an ethnic/racial type cleansing IMHO (and others too) not on an ultra large scale, but laid the groundwork for future events and politically
altered a region

Even if it were, it does not compare to centuries of ongoing human rights violations. Your analogy doesn't work.

tell that to the black people who were brought over here in chains
and tell that to the Native Americans who were masacred
tell that to the Japanese

One doesn't have to be "as bad" worse" or almost as bad
as you said, two wrongs don't make a right
And lately there is a lot of wrongs right here in the USA (like those tortured and beaten in prison)
While they may have it worse, we have a lot to clean up right here.

Hrm,
Why does it have to be one or the other?

Of course it is, much like it is alright to call people here liars and cheaters if they indeed are. What is being mentioned is to be fair. Being too judgemental about own compatriots is not right either.

Yes, I think quite a few Americans are whiners and think they are entitled with quite a few things, however you can also attribute that to others outside the country.

It is like calling our kettle black, while ignoring their tar. Just need some balance.

Graham, I am not even going to belabor the point I was trying to make. China's treatment of their citizens is well documented. To call them "sweet" is ridiculous. The people may be sweet or they may be just like everyone else...good and bad. The one who stabbed one of the coach's mom and dad was not very "sweet".

The bottom line is that your statement is not necessarily true as far as sore losers. Most of our athletes are gracious. It was the coach who made the accusation, not the gymnasts..yet you want to make a mountain out of a molehill as usual.

Caged is a bit of a misnomer Graham. The pictures looked more like dog kennels.