Summer Olympics London will be coming up soon !

London Olympics game is just around the corner ! 


Watching Olympics game is one of our favorite things every 4 years, both Summer and Winter.


It’s so exciting ! 


Because I think it’s a great motivation for our life to be inspired by world top athletes who have been working hard to do what they love and dream and challenge to be the world number one athletes.


I love living with passion to get to our goals, no matter the result. 


Another reason is we both love to see personalities through their performances. 


Every Olympics, we can find a few inspiring athletes who have their original style, have strong charisma. 


We are more interested to see their personality than who will win. 


For summer Olympics, both of our favorite Olympics sports are gymnastics, and track & field. 


Until 2004 Olympics, I didn’t realized that we can find someone who has interesting personality and originality in track & field, because unlike gymnastics and figure skating, track & field is only running. 


But I found personality from running style. 


For us, the runners who run very beautifully are Jeremy Wariner ( for men ) and also Allyson Felix ( women). 


Especially Jeremy Wariner who won the Gold at 2004 Olympics 400m and also relay, he was the silver medallist in 2008 Beijing Olympics, and also again won at relay, running as the anchor. 


He has been one of our favorite athletes. 


We both felt he was a big impact runner when we first time saw him running in 2004 Olympics. 


I’ve read that he had some injuries with his legs and sadly could not qualify the men’s 400 m for this UK Olympics, however we are so happy to know he will be in the 400 m relay ! 


 Here is the article about it below, 


http://www.blogger.com/Track%20and%20Field%20:%20Men's%204X400m%20Preview


 “ Track and Field:
Men's 4x400m preview In Beijing, the team of LaShawn Merritt, Angelo Taylor, David Neville and Jeremy Wariner continued the Americans' dominance of the event, securing a seventh consecutive gold medal.


 At the 2011 World Championships, the U.S. needed some late heroics from Merritt on anchor to hold off South Africa and Jamaica. Wariner was not a part of that relay but will be in London, which could make a huge difference….” 

 Athletics - Men's 4x400M Relay - Final - Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games

He was fantastic, super fast runner as an anchor in 400 m relay last Olympics ( Beijing ) . 


 Go Jeremy ! 


 In track and field, it’s hard to find someone who is very inspiring and has charisma like him. 


 We both really enjoyed the Team USA for the relay 400m in Beijing Olympics. It will be interesting who will get the gold medal this Olympics. 




 For other races, Usain Bolt looks always unbeatable. 


 I was shocked to see he broke world record which was kept long time by Michael Johnson, last Beijing Olympics .


I have no idea who will be able to beat a healthy Bolt. 


However, once, Tyson Gay beat Usain in one of the past races and it was a big surprise.

 TYSON GAY BEATS USAIN BOLT 100M DIAMOND LEAGUE AUG 6,2010

   

 Last Beijing Olympics was not Tyson Gay’s week, but hopefully he will have wonderful Olympics this time. 

 For ladies, I will root for Allyson Felix.

I like seeing her running and her running style because it’s beautiful. 

 Recently we were re-watching past Olympics Games competitions from 2004 for track & field and also gymnastics we have recorded. 

Gymnastics, For gymnastics, we have the recording tapes for women’s gymnastics of 1972, 1976, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2008. 

It’s actually fun to re-watch these past Olympics every Olympics season to compare the difference based on the generations. 

My top favorite woman gymnast is still Olga Korbut from 1972, 1976 Olympics.

Olga Korbut Uneven Bars with Korbut Flip slow motion replay (1972 Olympics)

   

Following Olga Korbut, my other favorite gymnasts were 

Nadia Comaneci from Romania ( 1976) 

Nellie Kim from Russia ( 1976, 1980 ) 

Yelena Davydova from Russia ( 1980 ) 

Teodora Ungureanu from Romania (1976) 

Many people always compare between Nadia Comaneci and Olga Korbut when we talk about that generation’s gymnatics.

But in the same event at Montreal Olympics 1976, Nellie Kim was also a wonderful gymnast who received perfect 10 for her floor exercise and also in vault. 

Besides Olga and Nadia, I thought Nellie Kim and also Teodra Ungureanu were also original who have full of personalities in their performances and I really loved their performances as well. 

In 1972, Olga Korbut’s was the only gymnast who was very interesting and was inspiring to me because she was very creative, doing her original moves, called Korbut flip or back ward flip (?), airplane pose in uneven bar, and her crazy flexible backward pose in the balance beam and floor exercise.

I’m not sure since when, but nowadays, all the gymnasts ’s moves in balance beam looks robotic, aggressive and no grace or class. 

No one looks imaginative, but fear. 

Technically, it may or may not be more difficult, but the moves look heavy and unstable. 

And why everyone’s hands movements are all the same ? 

They make their hands hard and stiff. 

Soft & graceful movements are hard to make on the balance beam ? 

Or it’s the rule to move their hands and arms like that ? 

Making artistic poses and the choreographies are good, but just everyone doing the same way is not original. 

I’ve read that Nadia Comaneci’s book “ Letter to a young gymnast “ the width of the present balance beam is actually a little wider than in Nadia’s generation . 

So the technical part looks more difficult until around 1980. 

Vault ’s technical part is really difficult nowadays, with putting mattress so that if something has happened it can protect from injury. 

And until around 1976 , there was no such a soft mattress, in vault and also in uneven bar.

And the floor exercise also, the floor looks like using bouncing floor for it ? 


While there was no such a floor a long time ago. 


 Good part of the new judging system may be they sorted difficulty and performance /execution. 


 I wish there was this kind of judging system in 1972 / 1976 / 1980, because Olga Korbut’s uneven bar’s original back flip looks extremely difficult. 

And also Nadia ‘s uneven bar she received perfect 10 in 1980 was not so inspiring because when she included one of the difficult moves, she fell and when she didn’t do it, and made it easier, she received 10. 


She did perfect but the really difficult move was not there. 

In 1980, I was very impressed by Yelena Davidova from Russia’s Floor exercise. She received perfect 10 with the performance. 

For me, it’s not about the score but the performance. 

 DAVIDOVA E. 1980 FX perfect 10

   

Artistry & originality always comes first. Yeleda Davidova was very rhythmic, musical and the music really fit her image. 

For technique, her first action which jumping with two turn then another turn on the ground was really amazing.

I’ve heard she got injury because of it in later performance. One of my favorite Floor exercise of all the gymnasts. 

 Also I really loved Nellie Kim’s Floor Exercise for both 1976 and 1980. 

           Nellie Kim - 1980 Olympics EF - Floor Exercise

   

Especially loved her 1980 Olympics Floor Exercise, because it was very artistic and elegant, and the music, choreography and her movements , expression were fantastic even though it was not perfect. 

For Nadia Comaneci, I loved her 1976’s balance beam, floor exercise and uneven bar performances. 

 Nadia Comaneci-Montreal AA BB 10.00

   

I watched them so many times, same as Olga Korbut’s performances. 

But in 1980’s Moscow Olympics, I wasn’t specially impressed by any of her performances.

I did understand her body changed after 1976 Olympics, and also it must be hard to handle the pressure from everyone’s expectation after getting such a huge success from 1976’s Olympics.

Just I wished her floor exercise’s music and the choreography in 1980 was more interesting. She could move artistically, beautifully, so it was shame for the routine. 

For after 2000, In 2004 Olympics , I liked Catalina Ponor from Romania’s floor exercise. 

 Also Carly Patterson. 

Nowadays, it looks to me many gymnasts ‘s style are very similar to Carly Patterson’s way of movements. 

 But I thought she showed her personality. 

 And Anna Pavlova from Russia. I enjoyed her performances both in 2004 and 2008. 

 She is original too, and always interesting to watch even though she didn’t perform perfectly in 2008.

In 2008 Olympics, Besides Anna Pavlova, I loved Jiang Yuyuan’s and Cheng Fei’s floor exercise from China. 

 Also liked Nastia Liukin’s some artistic poses. Her poses were artistic like a sculpture. 

Overall, I still love graceful, soft, beautiful movements which we could see around 1972 to 1980, and Olga Korbut is still my number one favorite because her movements were like water flowing, and were very imaginative and beautiful. 

 

 Olga Korbut - 1976 Olympic Balance Beam

   

 It may be difficult to find a gymnast like her nowadays, who creates one’s own moves and takes high risk to use it , since everyone want to win. 

But it’s always fun to find someone who has personality and I look forward to seeing it this Olympics.