SPOILER ALERT!...Bela Karolyi Thinks We Made a Mistake?

[JBS]

Bela Karolyi thinks we should have put Jordyn Wieber up last on floor and that this could have cost her the AA spot. What do you think?...below is the article...

Key to U.S. women's gymnastics gold lies with Jordyn Wieber

 

[cbone]

My daughter was in denial when I read the results (Jordyn is her favorite). She told me, "Your phone is epically wrong!"

I just think she had a few minor bobbles when the pressure was on. I don't know if the order would have mattered.

 

[gymgal]

My daughter was in denial when I read the results (Jordyn is her favorite). She told me, "Your phone is epically wrong!"

I just think she had a few minor bobbles when the pressure was on. I don't know if the order would have mattered.

Cbone, that is too cute! I love it when little ones use $5 words...

I couldn't resist looking at this post, even though I haven't seen the results yet or watched. but in general, so many things can affect the scores, including order. But to second guess after the fact does no one any good. Bela should know better and keep it in his head... at least not discuss it with the media...

 

[JessLW]

Man I can't stand Bela. Floor is Ali's thing. Her scores have consistently been some of the highest the USA can bring in on floor. She's the national champ on the event and she won trials on FX. Everyone this year has been going on and on about the team, well the lineup was obviously done with the good of the team in mind, not in order to get any one specific gymnast on the AA podium.

I think if anything, not winning trials shook Jordan's confidence a bit. The media has been all about Gabby since trials and maybe Jordan started to believe the hype. She did not give her best performance. She was good -- others were better.

Plus, Bela's wife was probably largely responsible for the lineup. Does he really want to go there?

 

[ginnymac]

I am with you Jess. I think Bela should keep quiet. Don't take away from Aly's moment. Jordan wasn't the best today. That's it. That's part of what makes the Olympics exciting!

 

[ivyagogo]

I also think that all the talk about Jordyn not making it takes away from the achievements of Aly and Gabby. They got it done today. Jordyn came in 5th place today - something to be proud of.

 

[bogwoppit]

He is such a plonker, he needs to stay quiet. The girls who had their best meet get to move forward. He just sounds mean spirited.

 

[txgymfan]

I like the word plonker, the words I was thinking are not appropriate for this site.

 

[wandrewsjr]

He is such a plonker, he needs to stay quiet. The girls who had their best meet get to move forward. He just sounds mean spirited.

Love that word, too. So perfectly British sounding

My respect for Marta has grown throughout this Olympic year, and her ability to put up with that man is amazing.

Marta clearly designed the lineup to showcase the best the US has to offer on each event, as it should be. And Bela has to open his big mouth and say that?! How she stifles the desire to strangle that man on a daily basis is beyond me.

 

[bogwoppit]

The word filter is American and doesn't know it is a rude word!

 

[d0nut_l0ver]

My mom is STILL mad that Jordan didn't make it to AA. She can't stop saying, "She did WAY better than everyone else! WHY DIDN'T SHE MAKE IT?"

For once, the adult complaining. I remained quiet. xD

 

[kong6998]

Ally's routine was overall harder than Jordan's routine.

 

[cbone]

The rule is so silly. People who scored 7 points lower will be in and Jordyn will not. I also feel bad for the 9th place Russian girl who won't get to compete. The rule needs to be changed.

That said, they knew the rule in advance and have to live with it. I'm sure when this is over, Jordyn will be saying, "If I'd only stayed in bounds..." not, "If I'd only gone last on floor..."

 

[bogwoppit]

But Gabby also went hugely out of bounds. If nobody had gone out of bounds, Gabby would have ended first and Aly second. Jordy still would have been third for the US. Gabby's OOB incurred a huge deduction, but her other three apparatus were really amazing, therefore she did better.

Playing this head game is not good for the team, and it certainly takes the fun out of the Olympics.

The rules were known ahead of time, the judging was fair, and equally tough across the board. The girls that had their best meets came in first. Some girls are very sad. In the Olympics your history doesn't matter as much as your meet on the day.

 

[bogwoppit]

I also think this talk is unfair to Aly, who had the meet of her life. She stepped up her game, upgraded and came first for the US, when Jordy and Gabby have repeatedly beaten her and she has not been able to cry her face off.

They are all kids, they all work hard, nobody deserves it more than anyone else. But the results are the results.

 

[wallinbl]

I'm always disappointed in sports coverage that focuses on the fact that person X lost and largely ignores person Y that actually won. Golf is especially bad at this - the reporting is often that Tiger lost and barely mentions who won. We have two gymnasts who performed well and are going to the AA final. Congratulations to Aly and Gabby for your great performances and your opportunity to compete in the AA final!

 

[taylortumbles]

I'm going to take the unpopular opinion and say I agree with Bela and I said it myself to several of my friends prior to him coming out and saying it.

I hope this lights a fire under Jordyn's butt and she kills it in Team Finals. You all know that Tim Dagget will be keeping track of it even though it will not count for the AA. I hope she comes out on Top in Team Finals and then brings home a Gold on Floor. I hope this motivates her in a way she has never experienced before and she kills it out there these next few days.

With that being said, I am very happy for Gabby and Aly and I wish them all the best in the AA. I hope they represent our country well and do a good job.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Going last on floor would not have made up for the 5 tenths Jordon was behind Aly in difficulty (same on beam, where her D score was 4 tenths lower). Their execution scores were virtually identical on these events, so I really don't get the Jordon was underscored arguement. Aly upgraded, executed, and was rewarded.

 

[bogwoppit]

This ^^^^^.

Scoring seemed to be very good overall. We use FIG all year around in Quebec, it takes some getting used to, but it really seemed fair.

Aly and Gabby have big difficulty scores and Jordy's coach was told in podium training (by judges) that some of her skills and connections would not be credited. He noted this in his blog and yet did nothing about it. Also this has been discussed on the internet for some time, it was common knowledge, why didn't Marta and Geddert fix the issues?

Gabby and Aly had some big upgrades and Aly was much cleaner, skill wise, for this meet. Jordy did not have upgrades and was up against girls who had.

More than that the USA is notorious for over scoring their elite athletes in US based meets, this is a big joke on the online gym community. It is hard on the girls as they get credited with skills and connections that just won't fly on the world stage. In the past the girls have received some "gift" scores at home. It can be a shock when international judging hits.

Check out the judging panels, they are made up from judges from the whole world, they all do the same training, they watch countless hours of elite competitions and they even out scores that stand way out.

Enough with the underscore, people should ask Geddert why he didn't fix Jordy's beam and floor issues.

 

[JessLW]

I agree with Bog.

Aly was way cleaner than I've ever seen her. Her vault was actually straight. The girl has always been nailed for her form, but she cleaned it up bigtime. She's never going to be a Gabby or a Kyla Ross in that respect, but she made improvements.

Jordyn (I keep typing Jordan, my hands rebel against the y!) had some pre-existing issues that weren't addressed, plus she made some mistakes. The connections. That "front handspring" (which Bog called as a front walkover at trials) was not credited. She had a big form break on bars, big step on vault. She didn't have the meet of her life. Aly did. Maybe Jordyn peaked too soon? Still, I don't think Jordyn was robbed, or that she was setup to fail. If anything it was the opposite. Gabby didn't anchor on any event except bars and she still would most likely have been first without that OOB.

The 2 from each country rule is not something new either. It isn't just that they knew it in advance, they knew it years in advance. Geddert put up a new facebook post where he's talking about the "entitlement" of this generation thinking they deserve a spot in the AA when they didn't earn it (meaning smaller countries), which is a crock, it has nothing to do with this generation -- the rule started in 2003, so nearly 10 years ago, and before that it was a 3 per country rule. If we didn't have these rules the smaller countries wouldn't even bother participating in gymnastics because they'd be shut out of competition. Plus, there are American girls who didn't even make the team who can post some of the highest scores in the world on certain events -- pretty much all of the US alternates, for instance -- but the Olympics is not a free-for-all, and the competition has rules that are designed to keep smaller countries from being completely shut out. As it is the same few countries usually dominate even with the rules in place. I agree that the rules could perhaps be revised -- maybe make the top 10 an automatic qualify, or go back to the 3 per country rule, but there's nothing inherently unfair (or entilted) about there being rules to govern how many athletes from each country get to qualify to AA. Yes, it is too bad that certain athletes get punished for coming from countries with deep fields, but that's just how it goes. The FIG wants to encourage broader international participation in the sport, and it is clear that this has been a major push of theirs in the past 10 or so years. They're not going to change their whole philosophy because one American didn't qualify to AA.