Tag Archives: gymnastics

Thanks, Olympics!

For giving us a brief break from politics here in the US of A.

Congratulazioni, Italia for winning silver in the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around Competition. This is their first team medal in the sport in 96 years.

See Alice D’Amato’s floor exercise routine, which was a graceful and beautiful performance.

Kudos to Italia as well for debuting at the Milwaukee Air and Water Show with Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force’s three-colored arrows who graced our skies last weekend with their aerobatics and smoke trails echoing the red, white and green of the Italian Flag over Lake Michigan. Impressive, even though Sunday was cloudy and curtailed the show a bit.

Back to the Olympics, my kitchen is sporting a tea towel with the Eiffel Tower and J’aime Paris! Vive la France for hosting this year.

The summer Olympics are really more my thing, as I fell in love with Olga Korbut in 1972 and switched from ballet to gymnastics myself. Not that I could touch any of the tricks these athletes perform today. Simone Biles and Team America are truly GOATs!

I do look forward to seeing the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City once again. It’s always great to see the nations get together on a world stage and strut their stuff. What wonderful things our young people are capable of! Freedom! Arrivederci alla prossima! Dee

Stick It!

No, it’s not what you think. It’s what gymnasts yell to their team members to “stick” a landing on a vault, floor exercise, dismount. It means bend your knees, look as if you meant to do what you did, rise up and elevate your arms and look at the judges and wave to the crowd.

If you take a step you’ll be penalized but if you fall on your face or on your butt it’s better to take a step. So, stick it.

Next is stuck. I took our dog Zoe out this evening, re-filled her water bowl and headed out without her, keys still in the door and ran into neighbors at the elevator. I had recycling to take out and was going to a local market to buy my husband his favorite frozen pizza as he’s coming in shortly after a long flight home.

Seconds after I bid adieu to my neighbors I hit the number for recycling, the elevator doors closed and it lurched and its computer went down. Thirty minutes later it lurched again. My cell would not work and my husband was on a plane, anyway. I was in intermittent contact with the elevator phone people.

Forget the high school days of stick it! This was just an old lady stuck alone with her recycling in an elevator, for an hour before anyone came to rescue me. I was four feet down and ten feet from our home when Mr. Otis came and opened the doors.

The first thing he said was “I’m going to close these doors and bring you up.” I replied “No way anyone is going to close these doors on me again.” He jumped down to lift me and the staff member that found me, J, held out his hand. I put one leg up and J pulled me. Thanks!

After playing with our dog and our neighbor’s grandkids I went home and started shaking. I had told the elevator operator/phone support (no cell phone service in the elevators) that if the #4 elevator kept jumping up and down I wrote a draft will yesterday and to tell my husband it’s in Word, the most recent document.

Guess what? I stuck it. Through dropping up and down I kept my knees bent for shocks and never fell or even took a step forward. Later I called my brother-in-law and told him to ask our nephew, nearing teen years so we’ll lose him forever, what to do if he was stuck alone in an elevator.

God bless him, he said “sit down.” The operators had me doing so many things inside that I could not do so. My husband just took the dog out, on the only working elevator for 30 stories of folks. It turns out others have been stuck in this elevator over the past few days and it was supposed to be turned off today. It wasn’t and it was hot in there and I didn’t know that the other one is sketchy as well. We have a number of floors here.

We also have pregnant ladies, elderly and disabled residents who need an elevator. I’m sure they’ll fix them tomorrow as there will be one elevator for movers and another for people who live here. The movers are more important.

And as the late, great Walter Cronkite would have said, And that’s the way it is, date…. Dee

ps No longer stuck.

 

 

 

Injuries

While I understand more about the summer Olympics, I always enjoy watching young people at the top of their game in any season.

In 1972 I fell in love with Olga Korbut at the Summer, that fateful summer in Munich. I was trying to be a runner but took second leg (slowest) on a relay team and convinced the lady who spoke on the old loudspeakers in classrooms that we “came in second” even though there were only two teams.

I switched to gymnastics and didn’t have a place on our team. When we moved, within six weeks I was elected captain and had to train a team. Let it be said that I was a better captain than gymnast.

Back then Title IX was in its first stages. Our male and female gymnasts practiced separately, the guys with a gorgeous gym with a wood floor. We had linoleum tiles over concrete.

I ran for the vault multiple times, barefoot, over concrete and always had shin splints. To this day I remember how to dress them. When I went to college they promised gymnastics and a good “girls'” gym. They never did any of it. I lifted weights in the guy’s gym. The only thing on our side was one of those 1950’s band things that shimmies one’s behind.

At age 27 my knee swelled up. I was misdiagnosed for over 20 years until one doctor said I have rheumatoid arthritis. Many of today’s athletes have access to the best equipment, safety and otherwise, that technology can provide. We had wooden balance beams and concrete floors.

There was no way I was ever going to be an athlete, much less go for Olympic Gold. I do thank Olga and Nadia for what they inspired me to be.

When I did a trick on the rings in practice I had no mat. It was during the State finals and I went on anyway. I had a concussion but all the doctor asked is to repeat after him. He whispered 1, 2, 6 and I repeated it and he told my mother I was fine.

Today all my joints ache. I’ve worn golf bracelets for years so I can still type (magenetized to minimize arthritis) but my feet have hurt for years and I’ve edema so now need to wear compression socks.

Parents, we’ve heard so much about football head injuries and heart failures in that and other sports. I don’t know if we’re pushing our kids further or not protecting them enough.

I know that other injuries will come if childhood safety is not protected and enforced. Everyone cares about the NFL and boxing but no one is speaking up for the girls. Title IX should be enforced everywhere.

Stories, yes I’ve a ton of them but right now protect your kids. Let them play sports but make sure they’ve the right setting and equipment. Thanks, Dee