The No. 1 Gymnastics Podcast in the Galaxy

219: Rio Olympic Event Finals Day 3, Gala, Houry Behind the Scenes Deets!

rax0suq

LISTEN HERE

IN THE NEWS

Day Three, Rio Olympic Event Finals: Women’s floor, high bar and parallel bars hosts SpencerHoury Gebeshian (27 year-old, first ever female Olympic qualifier for Armenia) and Jessica chat about:

  • Ukraine’s rhythmic group routine to Madonna’s Vogue was epic. (4:30)
  • Spencer recaps The Gala (5:50)
  • Listener Questions (17:00):
    • Are gymnasts in the military?
    • Race in Rio:
      • Why was Gabby Douglas a target of so much hate, and is her Miss American judging move hypocritical? 
      • Is it ok to move forward and forgive Arthur Nory Mariano since he has apologized? 
      • Which federation handled issues of race in an appropriate way?
  • Our favorite and least favorite not-gymnastics moments (13:00)
  • The Gymternet News (33:57):
    • Q&A with Houry about security, flooded rooms, medical care, brazilian fans, and the famous condom machines.
    • Grandi and his big mouth strike again. Gymnastics chief prefers Raisman style to Biles “acrobatics” and China are trapped in a robotic style of training.
    • Ponor went off on Tumblr, but Bea from The Couch Gymnast put it in perspective for us. 
    • NBC’s epic propaganda-filled fluff piece on Bela and Marta Karolyi :
    • #GymUnsafe news
      • Coach Jeff Bateman of California and Oregon sentenced to 25 years
      • Keith Callen, 45 of Pennsylvania will stand trial for charges of sexual assault
      • In the wake of an IndyStar investigation, Kellogg’s, a key USA Gymnastics sponsor, has added its voice to a chorus of state and federal lawmakers seeking assurances that the organization is doing enough to protect young gymnasts from sexual predators
  • Full recap of each event final details, scores, and moments we loved from:
    • Women’s Floor Final (1:02:00):
      • How was the Gymnova floor and carpet for Houry?
      • Simone locked down her place in history with another gold.
      • Aly Raisman vs. Simone Biles execution deductions explained.
    • High Bar Final (1:14:58):
      • Fabian Hambuchen finally won!! Hambiceps hugs for everyone!
      •  Manrique Larduet was a Kerri Strug-esque hero again with his triple twisting double layout!
      • Should inquiry’s now be conducted like they were in wrestling, by throwing plushy toys or like these Mongolian wrestling coaches by furiously stripping.
      • Houry watched Epke’s crash in person. As an A.T.C. and physician’s assistant, we asked her opinion of how his fall and Ellis O’Reilly’s beam crash were handled. (1:24:39)
    • P-Bars Final (1:31:04): The Oleg Vernaieve, Danell Leyva and Belyavsk party where Manrique Larduet was a Kerri Strug-esque hero!
  • Watch “The Gerbeshian” on bars here.

RELATED LINKS

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS

IMG_4545

Grand Prize TIED Winners: 

  1. @kayleighrichel – I would want Carly Patterson to coach me to glory so that anytime someone falls, we could both go “oh… that’s too bad.”
  2. @Euphrosyna – I wanna be coached by Nellie Kim, cos if I didn’t make a team, she’d just sort out citizenship for somewhere else.

Both win, props and wardrobe including leotards, team warmups used in the film, one will win the one-of-a-kind Aliya Mustafina, handmade cross-stitch by Spanny Tampson, pictured above.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here.
  • Please take this super shorsurvey. It helps our podcast host find advertisers to fit your every desire.
  • Buy one of our awesome gym nerdy gifts and goodies here.

Store_080316

RELATED EPISODES

Rio Olympic Games Coverage

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN 

GymCastic Itunes Icon stitcher-icon



"Creative

21 COMMENTS

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
21 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Vanessa
Vanessa
7 years ago

Spencer – confirmation bias is what you were getting at re: Gabby, Arthur Nory

Cfm
Cfm
7 years ago

2 thoughts on gabby
I think there were many people who were upset she was on the team so they were ready to jump on anything she did!!
A second thought is that somehow drama is always surrounding her they (her mother) seem to be looking for attention dropping hints of things to the media playing the race card ( which is not why she was picked on imo see first comment) and I don’t dislike her but it does seem way less classy compared to the other girls who don’t air things publicly at least. And just as a side point she did seem unhappy I wonder if she was pressured into this comeback to support her family ?

Desiree
Desiree
7 years ago
Reply to  Cfm

I watched Melnikova opening crying and unable hold back her tears in front of Aliya and Seda when she didn’t make AA final but no one complained. Aly has already said they all get along and Gabby personally congratulated both her and SImone.
I do agree that part of Gabby comeback could be that she has to support her grown-a$$ed siblings. Still, gymnastics is too hard a sport to train to just do it for someone else;s benefit so
I think she wanted to be there. I agree with Jessica that Gabby could do well to understand her position as a public figure. While, I have no problem with her judge a beauty contest I think she
needs to smarten up about how she’s perceived since she also benefits financially for being Olympic champion.

alexandra
alexandra
7 years ago

Yes Nory and Zanetti are both in military aeronautics, there’s a program for high performing athletes and 145 Brazilian athletes at the Olympics are militaries. The army doesn’t provide training facilities or anything, they just give the athletes a quick training when they enlist so they can receive funding, here’s a link in portuguese:

http://globoesporte.globo.com/olimpiadas/ginastica-artistica/noticia/2016/08/zanetti-presta-continencia-mas-tecnico-ataca-pegar-atleta-pronto-e-facil.html

I watched the italian Mtv show about gymnastics “Ginnaste: vite parallele”; Ferrari hardly appears in it, but it showed that Ferlito and Preziosa are also militaries

Jennifer Lambs
Jennifer Lambs
7 years ago

I do not think it’s hypocritical for Gabby to judge the pageant. I think it’s an honor for her because all of the hate she has received. To know that she can stand on the same podium with so many beautiful women is admirable. Kudos to her and her bright future.

Leniza
Leniza
7 years ago

I say this with no snark or shade intended….have you considered having an African American gymnast on the show when discussing race? (Or maybe you have, in which case please tell me which episode.) Because the few times I’ve heard you guys talk about it you’ve dropped the ball. You can’t talk about gymnasts who make racist comments and turn it into a complaint about how people are meaner to horrible people they like without actually addressing how horrible those racist athletes are. You can’t defend Gabby against her haters and then call her a hypocrite for judging people on their looks when the hate she gets is not about her looks but her race (and those are two different things before anyone tries to claim otherwise). And you REALLY can’t conflate the treatment Gabby gets to the treatment Nory and Skinner get as if they are in any way related. I just think there’s a lot of nuance in these issues that you are unaware of, and it makes for a super frustrating listen.

Nick
Nick
7 years ago
Reply to  Leniza

The biggest hate that Gabby received during the Olympics IMO has nothing to do with race…but rather her personal choices.
1) choosing not to place her hand over her heart during the National Anthem.
2) Choosing not to give a standing ovation for Aly…or was it Simone during the AA.

IMO that has nothing to do with her race.
That said, although she was no Jordyn Wieber during the AA, and did not express the same feeling that Jordyn did in the stands (I strongly remember Jordyn cheering for her), she does not have to.
I’m sure it was very hard for her to watch that competition.

Another side note…very interesting to say that Gabby has never been the smiling type (and she certainly hasn’t been since 2016 Nationals)…however her fluff during the 2012 Olympics was about her smiling all the time.

Faye
Faye
7 years ago
Reply to  Nick

For the love of all that’s holy there are countless memes of white American athletes at the games who also chose not to put their hands on their hearts during the National Anthem. The winners of the gold and silver medals in shot put are just two of many. Where is the outrage towards them? Nah, instead, let’s keep denying that race and gender combined with irrational hate for an athlete has absolutely nothing to do with it.

And it would be beneficial to have persons of color on this podcast when discussing issues of race. I too often listen thinking y’all are trying but almost always miss the mark.

Katie
Katie
7 years ago
Reply to  Leniza

Although he is not an elite/former elite gymnast, they do have Stefane on the show quite frequently. I don’t think he has spoken to any of the issues you have mentioned above but I remember that on a DFG recap, he did talk about the significance of Gabby choosing to wear her natural hair.

Erin
Erin
7 years ago
Reply to  Leniza

Kind of agree. I felt like race wasn’t addressed adequately at all in this episode. It was handled in such a drive by manner that It aupports the ability of ignorant people to use phrases like “playing the race card.” I was disappointed that the deeper issues weren’t explored.

Desiree
Desiree
7 years ago
Reply to  Leniza

Agree

Alicia
Alicia
7 years ago
Reply to  GymCasticCrew

that doesn\’t count. As someone said, if Gabby was being judged about gymnastics then it would be understandable. She\’s not being criticized for her gymnastics (mostly), she\’s being criticized for how she looks and her attitude when others get applauded for the same stuff. You definitely need a person who maybe can empathize and educate (Ms Cordelia?!?) and help you guys understand because you clearly don\’t. The biggest example of that is Maroney got applauded for her \”not impressed\” face… very few pegged her as an annoying brat who got upset she lost out on her gold medal. Also, can we also not forget that Simone in 2013 was not getting love/adoration, she was getting criticized as well. It wasn\’t until that gap became so big and so concrete that people stopped with the BS. Also, it helped that Simone\’s personality is sooooo lovely.

Also, Skinner\’s note was NOT an apology: didn\’t you guys even said that in the

boccalinotron
boccalinotron
7 years ago

Sophie Scheder of Germany also is in the German military (sport soldier).

phil
phil
7 years ago

Just wanted to point out that the people saying Lochte was just a kid was the IOC, who more than anything wanted everyone to stop talking about this scandal instead of the actual athletes still competing. The public opinion is that Lochte is trash. He lost 4 sponsors in the matter of one day and for a professional swimmer, that puts in jeopardy being able to train. He deserves it for being an idiot, but I don\’t think it\’s fair. to compare his treatment to Gabby\’s as in he got off easier because of the one IOC comment. The general public definitely doesn\’t think that and has been WAYYYY harsher on him over any other athlete in the games.

Erica
Erica
7 years ago

I have to disagree with Jess about Gabby\’s judjing of the Miss America pagent. I am VERY anti Miss America and the concept of beauty pagents in general, but the difference is the Miss America girls know what they are getting into – they are chooosing to be judged in a beauty contest. They are active participants in the judgement. Gabby was choosing to be judged in a gymnastic competition, and the ended up being judged for her looks, etc.
Do I wish Gabby wasn\’t judging Miss America? Sure I do. But, a girl\’s got to make a dollar, and I don\’t see Dancing With The Stars rumours about Miss Douglas.

Stephanie
Stephanie
7 years ago
Reply to  Erica

I agree with all of this! Also, do celebrity judges for Miss America actually judge, or do they basically just watch and offer bland, encouraging feedback like on certain judged reality shows?

Remmy
Remmy
7 years ago

I was hoping to hear more about the topic of \’The Karolyi Dynasty\’s Succession\’ (cool title, eh?)
I forgot about the other candidate apart from Valery Liukin whom I obviously recognize and support immediately. But that lady has known Bela for quite a while, it seems.
And I also curious about where would the Karolyi live after they retire. It\’s not like the Ranch would move, and it\’s not likely that you can take Bela out of chopping trees. Perhaps Marta would still hang around the gym as a silent observer??? But who are we kidding with… There\’s no way she can keep quiet when she sees something she doesn\’t agree with.

EmilyAnn
EmilyAnn
7 years ago

I have to be honest, whenever you get into race issues, I don’t think you fully understand what you’re getting into. Stefane is one person, no offense to him. On the podcast, long ago when you discussed NCAA coaches you made a comment about how more minorities in the sport would lead to more coaches. I almost fell out of my chair. African Americans have played D1 football and basketball in numbers higher than their percentage of the population in excess of 30 years. What percentage of head coaches are African American ? It’s the inherent racism in old structures that will not die, no matter how much diversity there is. My sister is actually the one who told me Dominique Dawes really had an issue with Gabbys “flying squirrel” nickname. Anyways race is very complicated and while I appreciate you bringing it up and attempting to understand, in the future I would recommend getting a few more diverse voices.

Andy
Andy
7 years ago

Gabby never mentions race. If she’s questioned in an interview, she’ll an honest answer and some [white] fans hold that against her. Someone like Simone on the other hand gets praised for doing her best to minimize race whenever it’s brought up, which makes white fans feel more comfortable.

Andy
Andy
7 years ago

The hypocrisy of Jessica defending Catalina for being childish over Larissa sending a good luck message at 29 while expecting exemplary behavior from Gabby at 20 is very telling. (Especially since bad behavior from Gabby was about her not smiling hard enough)

NCAA GymCastic Live Show in Fort Worth, TX April 19, 2024

Other episodes

Join the club!

Social Stream

21
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x