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Gymnastics

Fool's gold
The real question to ask after Liukin and He's routines: Why can't there be a tie?
By Jennifer Sey August 19, 2008
Memo to NBC gymnastics commentators: Shut up!
Their overheated, U.S.-obsessed reaction to Monday night's uneven-bars final made America look like a banana republic.
By Gary Kamiya August 19, 2008
Gymnastics tiebreakers are nuts!
Crazy rules cost American Liukin a gold. Then again, all gymnastics rules are crazy, and sane ones wouldn't have helped her.
By King Kaufman August 19, 2008
33 and fabulous
The most astonishing event of the women's individual gymnastics event finals was turned in by a 33-year-old mom.
By Jennifer Sey August 18, 2008
Why we identify with Olympic athletes
Yes, their feats are unimaginable -- but they pull us up with them.
By Gary Kamiya August 15, 2008
Grace under pressure, and over power
It would have been great to see Shawn Johnson's explosive athleticism win the women's gymnastics gold.
By King Kaufman August 15, 2008
Watching Nastia's gold and Shawn's silver
As a former elite gymnast myself, it's hard to watch Olympic competition. But then Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson blew me away.
By Jennifer Sey August 15, 2008
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aren't gold
The two American gymnasts were bit players in the men's all-around finals. But NBC treated them like Hamlet.
By Gary Kamiya August 14, 2008
How did Team USA gymnastics get so good?
What happened since the mid-1970s that turned the women's gymnastics program into the tour de force it has become? The Karolyis happened.
By Jennifer Sey August 13, 2008
The beast
As a former elite athlete, I turn into a horrible, condescending jerk when I watch the Olympics with armchair fans like you.
By Jennifer Sey August 13, 2008
"No fear, no regret"
In the men's team gymnastics final, no one lost.
By Gary Kamiya August 12, 2008
Precision vs. power
The scrappy American women's gymnasts captured my heart, but I'm rooting for the Chinese -- they need some joy in their lives.
By Jennifer Sey August 11, 2008
Let 'em eat steroids
Plenty of legal and illegal things enhance performance. When I was a gymnast, I'd have taken any of either that would have made me better.
By Jennifer Sey August 10, 2008
The pressure cooker
In their different ways, the Olympic events on the dazzling first full day in Beijing showcased the ultimate athletic feat: Overcoming fear.
By Gary Kamiya August 10, 2008
Why watching the Olympics is torture for me
As a former top gymnast, I know what it feels like to stand on a 4-inch-wide plank, carrying the world on your 16-year-old shoulders.
By Jennifer Sey August 9, 2008
Why are gymnasts so young?
Half of the Chinese "women" may be under the minimum age of 16. Something's wrong when you have to be a kid to win.
By Jennifer Sey August 8, 2008

Recent posts

Scoring the Beijing Olympics
They get a 9 for pomp and spectacle, but only a 3 for furthering world understanding and a 2 for the fan experience.
Athletes are just people
The outrage over Usain Bolt's chest-pounding proves that we expect athletes to be heroes -- and when they're not, we turn on them.
What happened to the real Olympics?
By only showing snippets of classic events like the decathlon, high jump and pole vaulting, NBC is missing what makes the Olympics special.

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About the Authors

Gary Kamiya is Salon's writer at large. He covered the Olympics for the magazine in Nagano, Sydney and Athens.

King Kaufman is Salon's daily sports columnist.

John Krich has been covering China for 20 years, most recently as the Asian Wall Street Journal's main food/sports/culture writer. He's the author of "El Beisbol," "Won Ton Lust" and other literary travelogues.

Jennifer Sey is the author of "Chalked Up," her memoir about the ups and downs in internationally competitive gymnastics. She was the 1986 U.S. National Champion and a seven-time national team member.

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