Tasha’s Epic Quadrennial Olympics Analysis

Day 3

  • All eyes were on the qualifying round for women’s artistic gymnastics, especially Team USA. Not surprisingly, Simon Biles did not disappoint. The level of difficulty of her routines is so high that she barely has to execute them to be in the lead. She is in a class by herself. She has five elements named after her (two on vault, one on balance beam, and two on floor exercise) and one pending on the uneven bars. To date, only 4 other gymnasts have completed any of these maneuvers, with Hillary Heron from Panama being the first to complete one in Olympic competition.
  • I think it’s unfair that there’s a two-athlete limit from each country in the individual apparatuses and all-around finals. The best, regardless of country, should be able to compete against each other.
  • My heart completely goes out to Team France, who had been heavily favored to reach the podium this Olympics. They just couldn’t regroup after some initial stumbles. Kudos to the French fans for keeping up the love and support throughout their rotations despite the disappointing outcome.
  • Women’s gymnastics has inspired me to incorporate illusion mesh and rhinestones in all my outfits.
  • I think Laurie Hernandez is just a complete cutie pie and has been killing it as a commentator.
  • I love how Snoop is integrating himself into everyone’s family. Last night, it was the Chiles Family. The night before, it was the Dressells. He even renamed Caleb Dressell’s son, August, to Auggie Doggy.
  • I’ve seen some criticism of Snoop being such a big part of the Olympics. In addition to being a former athlete and coach, he has made huge investments in community sports programs. He is a great example of putting your money and time where your mouth is and he’s earned his spot at the Olympics. Plus, I love that he wears a t-shirt with the face of his favorite Olympic athlete as he moves from venue to venue.
  • On to swimming…Leon Marchand is a great example of just going ahead and shooting your shot. He sent an unsolicited email to Bob Bowman (Michael Phelps’ coach) asking if he could be part of his team. And the rest, as they say, is history.
  • BUT, as I tell my students, shooting your shot only pays off if you’re ready for when that shot comes. Clearly, he’s ready. By my uneducated eye, it looked like he finished by three body lengths ahead of everyone else in the 400m individual medley.
  • As my boo, Lenny Kravitz says, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. The announcers were convinced throughout the whole race and literally up until she touched the wall that Torri Huske was destined for second or third place in the 100m butterfly. But she’s going home with the gold.
  • Bob the Cap Catcher is my new hero.
  • I had decided long ago that Jason was my favorite of the Kelce brothers, but I heart him even more after hearing he had basically adopted the women’s rugby team.
  • Female skateboarders are not only badasses, they’re unapologetic badasses. The swag!
  • What’s crazy is that 18 of the 22 women competing in street skating were 21 years old or younger. The gold, silver, and bronze medal winners were 14, 15, and 16, respectively.
  • I’m so close to figuring out surfing. I even picked up a couple of words in the surfing lingo.
  • Like skateboarding, only the female surfers wear helmets. Women’s life expectancy is 5 years longer than men’s. Coincidence…I think not.
  • How is it that Colin Jost has incurred more injuries than the actual athletes??
  • I know even less about fencing than I do surfing. As I was watching the recap of the women’s foil, I couldn’t help but wonder why the athletes have cables attached to them. I thought the cables might be leashes so that the athletes didn’t come at each other too hard. But apparently, it’s part of the electronic scoring system that determines a valid touch.
  • Did you know there was an arts competition in architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture as part of the Olympics from 1912 to 1948? That might’ve been my in. I’m pretty sure I could’ve qualified in one of those categories.
That’s it for now. I’m off to do the work that pays me (right after I watch my stories).
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