Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Olympics: Artistic Wrap-Up

What can we say, as the artistic portion comes to a close?

 Lauren Mitchell (5th, floor) and Josh Jefferis (19th, all-around) officially notched Australia's best ever individual Olympic finishes by a female and male gymnast respectively. Certainly nothing to sniff at.

 Like everyone else, I was cheering my telly at 1:30 in the morning, proud we'd seen a Netherlands gold and hoping the good vibe could keep going into the Australian camp. It was a pretty tense 90 seconds and none of us are her coach on the sidelines!

Image credit: Reuters


Lauren finished 5th thanks to some jump/leap errors, but managed to successfully stand up and keep in bounds all 4 tumbles, capitalising on mistakes by Wieber, Izbasa and Afanasyeva. She should be very proud of herself.

 Read media coverage about Lauren here and here. The Age has a photo gallery of Lauren here.

There were just four of the others who were better than me," she said, a metaphoric shoulder shrug. "I think it probably would have been more heartbreaking to finish equal, and then just because of execution come fourth. I'm happy where I am."
A post-competition interview with Lauren is here. Revisit the Australian footage of the routine here.


Now we turn our attention to rhythmic gymnastics, as Janine Murray flies the flag for Australia.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lauren Mitchell is a very talented yet humble athlete. I love her realistic quotes in those articles. She did everything she could but acknowledges there were better performances from other gymnasts in the FX final.

I have said all along that I don't mind where Lauren places as long as she hits. And she did hit. Sure, there were a couple of execution errors but wow, she was tumbling with torn stomach muscles. She never makes excuses - she just gets on with it.

Couldn't be prouder. It's not about the medals - it's about doing everything these athletes have been trained to do with the limited resources around them. And Lauren epitomises that.

Mez said...

A couple of people have remarked that Lauren was the only gymnast out on the floor that showed some real personality.

I think she smiled more than the eventual winner did! ;)

Erin said...

Well done Lauren!! to come 5th in a floor final!! 5th in the world! awesome effort, i keep saying just getting to the Olympics should be celebrated as an achievement in itself and Lauren has managed to get to two Olympics!! I would struggle to do a somersalt on the floor!

I tell you one thing that is really bugging me is journalists who don't do their research! Lauren, stopped bars, not beam people!!!

Totally agree Mez, she did have great personality on the floor, not to mention how happy she was when she finished the routine, despite (I believe) knowing she was probably was going to struggle to medal!

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard anything about the future for Peggy? Is she signed on for next quadrennium or moving?

Anonymous said...

Hats off to you, Lauren. You did everyone proud, not just with your gymnastics but with how you conducted yourself. You're a true champion in my book!

On a side note, it struck me just how tiny/petite Lauren appeared compared to some of those other gymnasts. Our little pocket rocket, with the heart of a lion :)

Anonymous said...

anyone know how I can get footage of FX final?

Well done lauren you champion!

Anonymous said...

http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/australia-news/new-south-wales-news/2012/08/08/aussie-olympian-reveals-hiv-status/82378

Australia already does have a gymnastics olympic medallist!

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Anonymous said...

Finally Australian Gymnastics is recognized for what they do best lol.

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