Let me start today’s post by confessing that I really wanted to come up with something clever to say about Team Türkiye’s silver medalist in the mixed team 10m air pistol shooting event, but I got nothin’.
Yesterday’s main event was happening in Bercy Arena where the women’s artistic gymnastics individual all-around event was taking place.
First off, let me commend NBC for staying the course and not preempting the coverage of this event with the presidential press conference which was happening at the same time.
I am pro Team USA all day, but it was Team Brazil that really won my heart. Rebeca Andrade is my new favorite gymnast. Her silver medal in the all-round gave Team Brazil its first ever medal in women’s artistic gymnastics and she only lost to Simone Biles by 1.199 points. If you want to be truly inspired, read up on her back story—from she and her brother walking 2 hours each way to get to the gym to train to coming back from not one, not two, but THREE ACL tears.
I also love the mutual respect and admiration Simone and Rebeca have for one another. You can tell from their interactions with each other that it’s genuine. Two great women doing great things.
Yesterday, Simone performed and nailed the Biles II (one of 5 moves named after her), which is regarded as the hardest and most dangerous vault moves and was almost banned by the IOC.
One of the reasons (there are so many) that I’d never be successful at artistic gymnastics is that it requires you to be in control of your entire body at all times. Even if I could get my limbs to cooperate, my cellulite would keep moving even after the rest of my body stopped.
Watching Jonathan Owens in the stands helped me realize what’s missing from my life—a dedicated husband who will take detailed notes while I work so that I can go back and analyze my performance.
At the ripe old age of 27, Simone is the oldest gymnast to win the women’s artistic gymnastics all-around since 1952.
In case you were wondering, Simone’s bedazzled goat necklace has 546 diamonds in it and is worth about $64,000.
Just an aside: it’s not bragging if it’s true.
Meanwhile, back at the Paris La Défense Arena, Katie Ledecky’s second place finish in the 4x200m freestyle relay earns her a 13th Olympic medal, making her the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time.
Lastly, kudos to Lauren Scruggs whose silver medal in individual foil fencing made her the first Black woman to win an individual fencing medal.