Jordan is Out and Aly is In

Aly Raisman qualifies to All Around finals as the #1 for USA.  Gabby Douglas qualifies #2. [Photo Source:  NBCOlympics.com]
It was obvious that Aly was in shock and disbelief to find that she was in the #1 spot for All Around rankings after Team USA's qualification round.  So was Jordan and so was everyone else.  It was expected that the team would qualify for Team finals #1 but it was not expected that Aly would qualify for All Around finals.  It was supposed to be Gabby and Jordan according to expectation but due to the two athlete per country rule Jordan got bumped out.  Never mind that she is the current reigning World Champion and finished 4th among all the athletes in qualifications.  Rules are rules and even though she has trained her whole life for this and is obviously one of the best of the best she will not get the chance to compete in the All Around Finals.  My heart breaks for her.  She's done everything right and she deserves to be there.  But of course, so do Aly and Gabby.  Jordan made some mistakes and the judges were really hard on her on beam but even as I watched the competition nothing seemed amiss.  It's not like she fell or anything obvious.  An arched back on bars, a big balance break on beam and out of bounds on floor.  Not perfect, but neither was anyone else.  I just figured that Aly would be odd man out and was preparing to feel really bad for her because she works so hard yet never comes out on top.  Instead, Aly's hard work finally did pay off.  She rocked beam and her last event, floor was amazing.  This day belonged to her and with just one slightly off day for Jordan her dream was crushed.  We'll only see her in Team Finals and individual event finals on Floor.  I'm very happy for Aly and Gabby.  Especially Aly because has been so consistent for so many years and has improved so much on her form.  It's just such a shame for Jordan.  She seemed dazed after she saw the score board.  I think she wanted to head right out of the arena but was corralled back into the media area along with the rest of the team.  She barely held the tears back as she was interviewed afterwards.  This did not go as planned but she still has to put her disappointment aside and step up tomorrow for the team. 

Jordan Wieber burst into tears when she saw her name drop to 3rd [Photo Source:  NBCOlympics.com]
She's not the first deserving gymnast to ever be a victim of the two per country rule and she won't be the last unless it changes.  It should be about the best of the best and not the best of the best minus some athletes if their team is really, really good.  I think if you are in the top 8 but got bumped out because of the two per country rule then you should be allowed into finals.  If they must cap it at 24 then whomever is at the bottom should get bumped out.  It seems kind of ridiculous that person #24 who has absolutely no chance for an AA medal will get to compete for it but Jordan won't.  A rule that's supposed to encourage diversity and make things "fair" sure doesn't seem so fair right now.

Another upset of the games so far is Michael Phelps getting 4th place (no medal) to Ryan Lochte's win in the 400 IM finals.  I don't follow swimming but from what I can piece together it seems that Michael intended 2008 where he won 8 Gold medals to be his last Olympics but then ended up going for 2012 anyways.  It seems that while Ryan was training his butt off for the last four years Michael came into the competition unprepared and maybe slightly overconfident if you asked me.  The commentators said that he didn't get as much training in.  During the interview afterwards he seemed really distracted.  He kept looking off to the side instead of talking directly to the camera and you could tell the last place he wanted to be was in front of the camera after his first Olympic loss since 2004.

This is just two examples just in the first few days of the Olympics of how anything can happen.  It doesn't matter how good you are or how many medals you have at home if you are not THE BEST on THE DAY it counts nothing else matters.

Next Up:  Team Finals

8 comments

  1. I dont follow/understand gymnastics rules so I'm confused by Jordan's emotional breakdown. Why is the all around such a big deal? Doesn't she also have the opportunity to compete for an individual medal? I'm not understanding the gravitas of the all-around and I'm coming up empty when I try to compare it to track & field, for example.
    On a different note - why they'd make her comment last night when it was clear she didnt want to talk to anyone?
    Thanks for your updates

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    1. The All Around is the big deal premier event in Gymnastics. Yes, Team gold is important but every little girl also dreams of winning the AA because it means you alone are the best. Nothing compares to winning that AA gold medal. She did qualify for Floor finals so she gets to compete for an individual event medal but it's not the All Around. She's devastated because she actually had a chance to win it and now she won't even get to compete for it. The media can be cruel. I think they just wanted to hear from her even though it had to be obvious that she wouldn't want to talk about what just happened so soon. I heard that afterwards she bypassed the post media sessions and I can't blame her. Her dream was just crushed and she needs some time to process it.

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  2. She tried to keep it together. I felt bad for her as well. I know that she worked hard to get to where she is. I think that everyone just expected her to be number 1. Like you said you need to expect the unexpected at the Olympics.

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    1. It was really rotten timing for her to finally have a "bad" meet at the Olympics. Poor thing.

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  3. It's really sad for her...to work so
    Long and hard for something and it doesn't come to fruition. A humbling experience for sure!

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    1. I know. I feel so bad for her. She wasn't the underdog and it wasn't a maybe. It was expected she'd qualify-which isn't a bad thing. She had proved herself over and over again so why not the Olympic AA? I hope she can come back strong for the team.

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  4. That made me so sad! I mean, they got to go to the Olympics, but to be sooo close!!

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  5. I could not believe when this happened!!! Jordyn Wieber was supposed to big star of that year's games, but Aly came out on top. How many Olympic Medals did Aly take home? 3?

    ~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
    acutelifestyle.blogspot.com

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