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212: Rio WAG Olympic Prelims

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IN THE NEWS

In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer, Stefane and Jessica chat about:

  • Please take this super short survey. It helps our podcast host find advertisers to fit your every desire.
  • How to watch live on BBC, CBC or NBC (details here).
  • Injury updates, rumors and coaches who don’t know basic first aid procedures:
    • Samir Ait Said (FRA) suffered compound fracture of his leg, he wasn’t splinted before he was moved and then the Rio medical staff dropped him.  
    • Ellis O’Reilly coaches did not have her checked by medical staff immediately following this crash on her beam dismount. Maybe she was checked after the rotation, either way, absolutely unconscionable. 
    • Martha Karolyi says injury played role in keeping Laurie Hernandez out of the all-around. 
  • Yesterday’s guest, Houry Gerbisian got her her skill named after her! See it here.
  • Results, finals qualifiers, upsets and shockers, plus individual highlights from the fan favorites. Hint: CHUSO DID IT WITHOUT THE PROD!
    • Tutya Yilmaz, Larissa Miler, Vasiliki Millousi, Catalina Ponor, Ana Derek (vault blooper),Dipa Karmakar
      Jessica Lopez, Hong Un Jong, Marissa Dick, Giulia Steingruber, Zsofia Kovacs
  • Vault Issues, got clarification from men’s head coach, Mark Williams on what equipment the men actually have. “This is new Speith vault top. OTC has older version + Speith PH, PB & HB.” Alex has Speith PH. OU does not have Speith equip.”
  • Our favorite non-gymnastics moments; The Judge Cheryl Hamilton Cam
  • Worst moment: Al Trautwig tweets about Simone’s biological grandparents who adopted her when she was a toddler,”They may be mom and dad, but they are NOT her parents.”

GYMTERNET NEWS

Round-up of the latest news from Rio includes:

  • NBC has streaming covering and a daily online gymnastics recap show called the Daily Dismount. We are obsessed with how good they are! Jim Watson, Courtney Kupets and Jonathan Horton #Jhortney  4 eva!
  • Sex Abuse Cover Up Allegations update: 
    • “Four U.S. senators wrote a letter to USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny on Friday, expressing “deep concern” about the organization’s handling of sex abuse allegations about coaches” – IndyStar
    • USA Today has an excellent explanation about this issue in the article titled: Sexual Predators Left Off the Banned List
  • In happy news, Alicia Sacramone had her baby!

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al trautwig NBC Olympic sportscaster tweets Simone Biles mother and father not her parents

CONTEST: A winner every other podcast in August!

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What: The Bronze Movie Watch Party Kits (gym bag with goodies and the movie), “The End of the Perfect 10” book, a U.S. Olympic Trials T-shirt, or GRAND PRIZE*: A Bronze Movie gym bag filled with real props used in the film and a one-of-a-kind Aliya Mustafina, handmade cross-stitch by Spanny Tampson.

How: Tweet, Instagram, Voicemail or Tumblr tag us and use the hashtag #BronzeContest to tell us which retired gymnast you would want to coach you, The Bronze style, to Olympic glory and why?

Winners Announced: On every other podcast for the entire month of August! Starting with the women’s podium training podcast. 

Grand Prize Deadline: August 21st at midnight. Open to Club Gym Nerd members only*

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here.
  • Buy one of our awesome gym nerdy gifts and goodies here.

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Comments

  1. You guys are amazing!
    Woke up this morning after a night session to watch the last subdivision to see if the dutch team (I am dutch) would make it into the finals. Still eyes half closed I sat outside in the sun to wake up, while listening to your recap and halfway my boyfriend came to bring me homemade latte. So, a very happy gymnastics fan here!

    Keep up your fantastic work , because I am sure that besides me many gymnastic fans look forward for it to be Wednesday every week :-).

    Reply

  2. Aly may have been overscored on bars but so was gabby so I think it balanced out. Gabby maybe should of scored a little higher on beam but it would not have been enough to make up the difference!! Aly still would have won and it\’s because of her amanar which is much improved and her high score on floor . So please stop hating on her she did a great job and I\’m really happy for her!!! Gabby did a good job too but it just wasn\’t enough! Someone was gonna lose out e knew that!

    Reply

    • Bars aside (and Gabby def had one of the BEST executions in the qualifications), Gabby scores on beam/floor/vault are a little debatable but it doesn\’t even matter because they ALL did soooo great and I\’m so happy for them. Kudos to Gabby though for how much class she showed.

      Reply

  3. Thanks for this podcast, I will mention my thoughts about Aly and Gabby scoring at prelims. Honestly, Aly had an awesome vault which really helped her all around. Aly had a much better routine now floor. Bars is Gabbys, hands down. Beam, well, Aly DID have higher amplitude last night on everything. Gabby had lower jumps as well as incomplete leaps. Please go back and look at tapes. You will see what I am talking about. I see the night as belonging to Aly. She had a big break on beam. I\’ll give you that. However, the rest of her routine was aggressive and hit. Gabby is an amazing gymnast. I\’m happy for her and I will be cheering her on for bars event finals. These are my thoughts and opinions! Again, thanks for your podcast. I enjoy it.

    Reply

  4. Gabbys beam dismount was literally 3 inches from the beam. That\’s where she got hit on execution. Aly had a pretty great routine other than that one check. Also, aly and gabby were both overscored on bars but they were scored fine relative to each other (1 point apart).

    Reply

  5. Super excited to listen to this episode this morning and fuel my continued non-stop obsession with reading recaps from yesterday, so I really appreciate all the work put in to bring this out right away! I will say I wish you guys had given Aly some credit for qualifying to two AA Olympic finals in a row! Gabby was amazing yesterday, but so was Aly, and while some specific scores might have been questionable I think their overall ranking and the difference in their scores was fair, so the assumption that Gabby was robbed by the judges rubbed me the wrong way. She is robbed by the two-per-country rule for sure, and I think it\’s ridiculous that she doesn\’t get to compete for a medal after a stellar performance yesterday, but I do think Aly fairly beat her. Even if Aly\’s BB score was high, I don\’t think they could have deducted her enough to lose considering that she had a solid routine otherwise. (And the UB score was high obviously, but so was everyone\’s!) So, I just wish she had been celebrated a bit too!

    Reply

    • I\’ve realized this podcast never celebrates Aly at all – it\’s always \”aly is overscored relative to everyone else\”. They fail to realize she\’s amazing on floor, gets great high and distance on vault despite her leg break, has greatly improved on bars (her swing looks so much better), and is a rock on beam. Literally only had the one mistake last night. Nearly stuck patterson dismount. I tried to give it another chance, but as an Aly fan, I can\’t listen anymore.

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    • I agree, I was a bit shocked that no one touched on the fact that the Gabby and Maddie were both overscored on bars as well. Yes, Aly\’s score was high but Gabby\’s was also about half a point too high. They both had outstanding competitions, but in the end, the right person advanced. Aly\’s massive advantage on floor (and that was one of the best floor routines of her comeback)+ the Amanar ended up being enough to make up for her lower score on bars.

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    • I agree with this and with what others have said I love Gymnastic but I\’m really disappointed in the coverage of Aly. All this looked like was nastiness and bitterness. It really turns me off which is a shame because I love the podcast. They both were awesome! While, I agree they should not have received the same score on beam, Aly still would\’ve beaten her. She won fairly. Gabby was robbed by the 2 per country rule, not by Aly.

      They never mentioned her amanar, or her floor routine? She did great on all her routines, other than the one mistake on beam. She\’s better than 2012. Can\’t you guys celebrate her performance rather than belittling her?

      Reply

  6. Literally the only think you said about Aly was that she didn’t deserve her scores and that she qualified to AA, all while implying that Gabby should have gotten that spot. Gabby is not her 2012 self! yes she did great last night, but so did Aly. Aly’s floor is so much better. Her vault is better. Bars went to Gabby, fairly with 1 point higher than Aly. Both had beam issues – Gabby’s scary low dismount and Aly’s balance check. Overall Aly deserved it. I hate this podcast for their nastiness towards Aly. Taking away all of Aly’s joy. guess what?! – you guys were such a b**** to Aly.

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  7. I think the only place this podcast could improve is some celebration for Aly’s hard work and accomplishments. She just qualified to TWO Olympic all around finals! considering the depth america has that’s HUGE! Why no kudos to Aly?

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  8. So happy for Aly!!!

    Interesting that Aly qualified for her 2nd Olympic AA and did it by finishing 2nd…same place as she did 4 years ago! Gabby finished 3rd, which is where she finished 4 years too.

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  9. I wish y\’all would stop alluding to the fact that Gabby was robbed. All scores were inflated but the rank was right. Gabby doesn\’t have the difficulty to beat Aly when Aly is on, which she was last night. All sorts of gifts were given on bars so that was a moot. Aly completely outclasses her on three of four events this quad. be a wee bit more objective in the future as this right now is a turn off.

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    • How much would the deduction for Aly’s form break be? She didn’t touch the beam, so less than .5?

      Even if you assume Gabby and Aly’s beam scores should have been equal aside from Aly’s form break (which, uh, is assuming a lot), Aly should still have won overall.

      Reply

      • Yes less than .5 or right at .5 since she still had the massive bend. I think it’s 2 separate deductions so she avoided the additional one. She only really missed one split. No wobbles anywhere else. Bear stick dismount. Even if take away a coupe more tenths from beam, she still wins.

        Reply

      • It should be about a o.5 for that balance check as it was a really big balance check and a feet movement in the lending. If she would have grab the beam there would have been a deduction for the balance check and an additional 0.5 deduction for just touching the beam, so about 1 point total of this mistake.

        Reply

      • yep less than .5. The deduction for the bend at hips is separate from the deduction had she touched the beam – one is body position, one is a flat deduction. If we assume Aly lost .3-5 for her mistake, then we also have to assume Gabby lost about the same for her scary low landing on her dismount. She landed about 3 inches from the beam. The rest of their routines were very good. It was a fair result.

        Reply

  10. I love all the girls on the US team. I would love for every one to be in the all-around final. I get that you are sad. I disagree that Aly did not win. I think they both had great performances. I wish, dream, hope that you could spend a little bit more time being pumped for Aly for the remarkable achievement in this. Her performance was phenomenal, not for her, not for a 22 year old. Phenomenal by all measure. It is very disappointing that so often there is more mourning than congratulations. This is my frustration with some OU coverage, and very much my thoughts about Aly right now. Why not spend more than 15 seconds on the fact that she was amazing when there are many minutes on how sad we are for Gabby. The amanar was essentially the difference and I applaud Aly for competing that and fighting to master it again.

    Reply

    • And Aly had worked so freaking hard on that amanar. It’s light years beyond where it was in 2012. That’s incredible and she deserves to be celebrated.

      I’ll keep listening because I love gymnastics and it’s not like I have other options. But all of the anti-aly – when she and her gymnastics don’t deserve it – is really troublesome.

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  11. The comments about judging are really upsetting. None of us are professional judges, and I do not endorse conspiracy theories. There is no question Aly deserved to qualify over Gabby. I think their beam scores were fair. Aly had one big error on her side aerial and Gabby had several smaller errors, including her dismount which was scary.

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  12. Long time listener….. but no longer.

    Scoring aside, Aly beat out Gabby for the spot. How about this…congratulate her for the spot? Why do you need to tell us how Gabby was taking the decision vs. Weiber or Raisman?

    Both are amazing gymnasts! Both should be recognized as such. Frankly, you blame judges, mourn Gabby, and belittle Aly\’s accomplishments. Gabby and Aly are world class athletes, and both behaved and acted as such! I am proud to say they represent the USA!

    It wasn\’t so much a recap as a pity party for your staff who didn\’t have things play out the way they wanted. If I wanted that kind of petty drama, I would unmute NBC\’s abysmal coverage.

    Reply

  13. When Ellie Downy got injured, the commentator on the BBC said “They are carrying Ellie out to check on her. And GB has our own medical team, so she’ll be in good hands there.” And I was amazed by the fact that not only they sent the athlete, of course, they would treat them so well by sending Britain’s own medical team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they also sent along boxes and boxes of Evian water bottles, Harrods crumpets and teas. A major difference with France with Samir Ait Said. AND THEY DROPPED THE POOR GUY! As if he hasn’t got a bad enough day already. I wonder if team USA also has our own medic team and our own neuro surgeon and our own CAT-scan flown in from Seattle.

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  14. Stefan must not have seen Gabby\’s dismount which she got 2 inches of height and 1 inch of distance she landed practically under the beam. Anyway I\’m so happy Aly got in over Gabby! Which is the way it should have been :))). Thank you guys for your continuing great coverage!!

    Reply

  15. I love this podcast! And it’s fine not to be a fan of Aly, but she wasn’t the one scoring the meet and to put the disdain on her is saddening. Aly is making history by qualifying for her second Olympic AA! I’m surprised at reactions of the Gymcastic staff when Gabby & Aly have shown nothing but great character and support for each other all these years.

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  16. Love the podcast, but I\’m also really disappointed that you\’re not giving Aly credit for doing the best gymnastics of her life yesterday. She has improved vastly since London-a tremendous achievement. With her much higher difficulty, she beat Gabby fair and square yesterday-and it\’s unfair to suggest otherwise.

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  17. Aly and gabby were incredible lest night. Both did an amazing gob. Both deserve all the credited in the world for that. Aly did some of her best routines in her life, in addition to a difficulty advantage. She won that AA spot fair and square.

    As for the beam routines- both Aly and Gabby doesn’t always hit 180 split. It is incorrect to say that Gabby hits ALL of her splits- check the video again if you think otherwise. Gabby also lost some tenths for lots of balance checks in the lending of skills while Aly lost most of the tenths in that one big mistake and the rest was solid (aside from splits). Gabby lost a lot of tents for the dismount alone (super close to the beam, super low chest and 2 steps). So yes, they should have gotten a similar score +/- 0.1 or 0.2, and that is not surprising or a judging problem, which you so like to blame it on.

    It’s really pity that Gymcastic can’t do a cover in a more balanced way. It’s pity that you criticize one gymnast for something because you don’t like her and overlook the same errors for a gymnast that you do love. Everyone have their own favorite and that OK but that shouldn’t prevent you from saying something nice on a gymnast that by all means had a fantastic performance. It’s really shameful that you target a gymnast in such a negative way, much like the NBC trio that you complaining about ALL the time. You truly could not bring yourself to give Aly the tiniest praise for her magnificent performance (which would not have taking anything form Gabby good performance).

    You should change the podcast name to “Gabby’s FanCast, the number 1 Gabby’s fun podcast in the galaxy”, would be more fitting :-/

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  18. I must say it’s pretty hilarious to hear you guys going the conspiracy theory route of THE JUDGES WERE AGAINST GABBY!!!!!!!!!!!!! instead of Jessica having to admit that saying that Aly’s bars are a travesty and she shouldn’t be in the AA because of that twice was wrong and completely and totally biased. Gabby not doing the amanar and having a weaker floor put her at a disadvantage to Aly. End of story. But sure it was totes the judges. Even though Gabby got the best score on beam and bars internationally.

    Reply

    • They never said the judges were against Gabby, they just said Bars and Beam scoring was weird. In the next episode they explain that Aly’s comeback was more successful and she rightfully got that spot. I’m glad they realized their error and changed their tone.

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  19. Also, comparing Gabby to Jordyn in 2012 is absurd. Jordyn was the reigning World Champion. Gabby was not. Jordyn and Gabby had been the top 2 all arounders all year whereas this year, the 2nd person changed in almost every competition at Pac Rims, Nationals and Trials when Simone was competing. She knew she didn’t have the same amount of difficulty as Aly going in.

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  20. The tone of this podcast made me uncomfortable. I used to listen to this to get actual recaps and hear about things that I might have missed seeing. I also appreciated the humor. But this was just a whine fest for Gabby\’s scoring. Aly is the defending Olympic floor champion and had a great routine in quals. She is a past champion nationally on beam and just had the one hip bend last night. Her scores in both those events were on par with where she has been all summer. She did the best vault of her career in quals. She also did the best bars of her career in quals. Was the score high? Yes. But so was everyone. Gabby was a point ahead of her, as she rightfully should have been. You guys act like Aly is just crap everyone. But her record says otherwise. Gabby was just \’meh\’ on floor, fine on beam, and lacked the difficultly on vault. The outcome was not surprising. I wish you all would celebrate everyones\’ accomplishments instead of tear Aly down to raise Gabby up. And this is coming from someone who wanted Gabby on the team because I believed she would get it together. Do you think the girls went back to their rooms and pouted about scores?!? NO. Why can\’t we focus on the fact that everyone made event finals in their best event?!, something no other team can say. They all did so amazing. Aly has been top 3 all summer – she worked her butt off. She had an amazing night. I would have loved to hear an actual recap instead of this petty crap and complaining and underhanded comments.

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  21. I was really excited for this podcast. After reading these comments, I don’t even want to listen to it. What do you have against Aly? Congratulate a job well done, it’s not that difficult

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    • they address the tone of this podcast in the next episode, so they definitely heard the criticism and clarified what they thought about the qualifications. I’m glad they realized their error, as opposed to the NBC commentators who just ignore what the fans say 😛

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  23. Aly and gabby were incredible lest night. Both did an amazing gob. Both deserve all the credit in the world for that. Aly did some of her best routines and have the difficulty advantage. She won that AA spot fair and square.

    It’s really pity that Gymcastic can’t cover in a more balanced way. Everyone have their own favorite and that OK but that shouldn’t prevent you from saying something nice on a gymnast that by all means had a fantastic performance. You truly could not bring yourself to give Aly the tiniest praise for her magnificent performance (which would not have taking anything form Gabby good performance).

    As for the beam routines- both Aly and Gabby doesn’t always hit 180 split. It is incorrect to say that Gabby hits ALL of her splits- check the video again if you think otherwise. Gabby also lost some tenths for lots of balance checks in the lending of skills while Aly lost most of the tenths in that one big mistake and the rest was solid (aside from splits). Gabby lost a lot of tents for the dismount alone (super close to the beam, super low chest and 2 steps). So yes, they should have gotten a similar score +/- 0.1 or 0.2, and that is not surprising or a judging problem, which you so like to blame it on.

    You should change the podcast name to “Gabby’s FanCastic, the number 1 Gabby’s fans podcast in the galaxy”, would be more fitting :-/

    Reply

  24. Aly is 22 is fantastic for the sport period. Both her and Gabby have supported each other through this process and it is saddening to hear the Gymcastic reaction! I hope this is addressed in the next podcast.

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  25. I have to echo the sentiments of the above commenters… the tone of this podcast left a bad taste in my mouth. I thought it was unfortunate that some much emphasis was being placed on the jugding and how that supposedly harmed Gabby, and Aly\’s tremendous accomplishment (2 olympic AA finals in a row!!) was hardly mentioned. Yes, the bars scoring was wonky, but it was wonky for both Aly and Gabby. Gabby had a fantastic competition, but Gabby didn\’t have enough this time around, it\’s as simple as that. There\’s no need for catty bitterness.
    I was also really disappointed for the shots that were taken at Jordyn at the end of the podcast. The implication that Gabby is a better teammate now than Jordyn was in 2012 because Jordyn cried is really frustrating. First, people expected Jordyn to qualify in 2012, and I don\’t think anyone except the Gabby stans expected Gabby to qualify to AA over Aly or simone. Secondly, the margin between the top 3 AAers in 2012 was MUCH closer, which goes to my first point – Gabby and the rest of the team had to see the writing on the wall in training and in competetion long before Jordyn did. All the credit in the world to Gabby for smiling and encouraging her teammates in 2016 in the face of disappointment, but her disappointment is not the same as Jordyn\’s. It is apples and oranges. Gabby gets to carry the fact that she is an olympic all around champion always, and Jordyn knew in that moment in 2012 that she never would be. Jordyn crying in 2012 because of the shock and disappointment does not make her a bad teammate, as the panel seemed to imply. Gabby remaining composed yesterday does not make her a superior teammate to Jordyn, as the panel also seemed to imply. Jordyn pulled herself together in London in a way that epitomizes a true teammate. Gabby remaining supportive in the face of her personal defeat also makes her a fantastic teammate, but you have to admit that the situations are not equal, and blame should not be retrospectively placed on Jordyn for having the emotions that she did. Both deserve praise, not unfair comparisons. Both were 4 years younger in 2012. Who knows how Gabby would have reacted had the tables been turned? Afterall, she is the one who, four years ago, not so diplomatically said \”Everyone has to deal with disappointment.\” If you chalk that up to immaturity,etc, it is completely unfair to then chastize Jordyn for her actions in 2012. This podcast showed it\’s pro Gabby bias more than ever with this particular cast, and I was disappointed. Unsure if I will continue to listen.

    Reply

  26. Also – for your next trivia quiz.

    How many American gymnasts have competed in two Olympic all around finals?

    Three. Shannon Miller, Kimberly Chance, and Aly Raisman.

    It’s a big deal that deserves to be celebrated.

    Reply

  27. I woke up this morning so excited to listen to this – now I wish I hadn\’t. It ruined my day to hear such whining. You complain about the NBC team, but this was just as painful to listen to. I not going to spend time writing more because it isn\’t even worth it I will say – let\’s go TEAM USA. All the girls are amazing.

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  28. I’m so glad that others were upset about your coverage of Aly. I’m sorry, but bars and beam scoring were generous across the board, not just for Aly. Aly bent at the hips on beam, but Gabby likely lost about the same amount on her dismount with her low chest and steps on landing. Gabby doesn’t hit split in her switch half, and she definitely loses a lot on her switch ring. I also thought a 6.3 D score was generous for Gabby since several of her connections were quite slow. Bars scoring was crazy inflated for both Aly and Gabby. We haven’t seen international scores that high all quad.

    I appreciate you talking about Aly a bit at the end of the men’s team final recap, but you still didn’t really give Aly any praise. You just said the gap after floor and vault was too big to overcome. I would just like to hear some excitement over Aly for once in this podcast.

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  30. So sad to listen to all of you only focusing on Gabby. She is an amazing athlete but Aly was the best in qualifications. I love gymnastics but I really don´t appreciate such a biased view. Disrespectful for all the listeners. Not coming back

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  31. I have to agree with the sentiments above. I am so proud of all of the girls. What a great night. It\’s ok to have favorites, but not at the expense of good coverage. I think you guys did a disservice to yourselves. Sad because I love this podcast and greatly appreciate all of your work.

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  32. You could not bring yourselves to say even ONE SINGLE complimentary thing about Aly Raisman, a two-time Olympic AAer, a reigning gold medalist, our team captain, etc etc etc! To loosely quote you: \”Let\’s discuss AA. Simone is in first because Simone / amazing / lots of praise / etc etc. Aly is in second BECAUSE SHE COMPETED ALL-AROUND.\” …. And then on to Gabby. Seriously?? This is a woman who has put her LIFE into competing for Team USA in a second Olympics and you totally dismiss her! You guys sound like mean girls right now! For real! Serious bummer because you are normally so supportive to all the athletes. That\’s why I like listening to you. Sad that it feels like you can\’t extend that praise and support to one of our top gymnasts. 🙁 🙁

    Reply

      • …But you didn’t really. It was just Uncle Tim giving a half-hearted explanation how why Aly was able to possibly beat Gabby.

        One of the reasons why I initially loved this podcast is that you all are so happy and excited about gymnastics. Aly coming back and doing her best gymnastics at 22 is absolutely extraordinary and a testament to how hard she works. On this podcast and the next one, there wasn’t any celebration for Aly, just like “oh, yeah, she had a good day.” She deserves better.

        (and I’m curious as to if Jess still believes that Aly’s bars have no place in an AA final. And if she feels the same way about Shang’s vault.)

        Reply

  33. So, i definitely agree that a lot of the were.. interesting. Maybe they had a bonus system like department stores do for promotions. You know, scracth off to see if you get 10/15/30 percent off or 15/20/50 dollar.. maybe it was .2/.3/.5. Haha.
    However Aly does his splits. I don\’t think there is a way to post screen shots on here, but i snapped a few and she is in a split.

    Reply

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