WOW to almost the point of gross! lol

Man if I tried to do something like that I'd be in a body cast. You almost cant tell which way is the front.

I for sure would be to in a body cast, but those girls are young, young. and I be they have taken ballet too.

Ummm. No you're not.. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

LOL rch101196

hubba hubba

This is an attitude about sports that belongs in 200BC, not 2012AD.

There is not a single sport in existence that is not judged to some extent. Every referee call is a judgment. Even in the 100m Sprint, the assessment of false-starts employs a human judge. All sports lie on a spectrum of judgment from a little to a lot, and it is a completely continuous spectrum without any non-arbitrary dividing lines.

@amphiox - What you say is simply not true. A false start in the 100m is not a subjective call. Either a racer leaves early or doesn't leave early- there is no judgement. Likewise - if a gymnast goes out of bounds on the floor exercise or falls off the balance beam - again, there is no judgement. They fell. That's it.

Judging a gymnast on how well they do this trick or that trick is not the same as determining the winner of a race. Nobody scores a sprinter on their form as they run the track. It's all about who finishes first. Now- don't get me wrong - I don't agree with SRS-798254. Judged sports have their place at the Olympics - nobody can convince me that gymnasts aren't among the very best athletes in the world - but they are most surely not the same as deciding whether or not a ball goes through the hoop or a runner finishes first or second.

Now, equestrian events, on the other hand... NOT an Olympic sport. If the riders were jumping the fences without the horse - then I'd watch. Otherwise, give the medal to the horse. I know that it's strenuous for the riders - but so is yardwork. And nobody has given me a medal for my great lawn this year.

@Nation. I think what @amphiox is saying is that even in sports where there is a score, certain aspects are still judged. In football, it's a ref's call as to whether there is holding, an illegal block, or pass interference. In baseball, it's the umpire's call as to whether the runner is safe or out, fair or foul ball down the baseline, ball or strike. As for the equestrian events, yes the horse is doing the jumping but the rider actually is MUCH more involved than just sitting on the horse. It's up to the rider to know the horse, how the horse approaches the obstacle, make sure the horse doesn't jump too soon or too late, making sure the horse has full view of the jump. If you have a great lawn this year with the drought, then you deserve a medal too! :o)

@ LifeLong... Your point is well taken. I agree that all sports have an element of judgement to them. What in life doesn't, right? My point is that in judged events a competitor is scored on how well they do a specific thing - a floor routine, a dive, etc... In a game with referees, where points are scored based on the achievement of a specific "goal" - crossing the goal line, crossing home plate, making a shot, etc. - a player is not judged on how well they accomplish that goal. Every shot made by Kurt Rambis counted the same as every shot by Magic Johnson. Just because his shot wasn't nearly as graceful or his leap wasn't nearly as high didn't mean that his points were counted less. In the judged events, that's not the case. I don't care how expert the judge is - nobody can tell the difference between a diver entering the water at 2 degrees off vertical as opposed to 7 degrees off vertical. Not at 35 MPH or whatever crazy speed it is they hit the water. Just my opinion... After having had a daughter do competitive cheer for years - I am 100% convinced that, in most cases, judged events are nothing more than educated guesses. Thank God for my son's football team!

As for equestrian... I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I think equestrian events are wonderful things for people to do and I respect people that have the tenacity and guts to do it. But if baseball's not an Olympic sport anymore then, in my humble opinion, neither is horse jumping.

Nation West - Actually the false start in track is a subjective call. There is a mechanism in the blocks that registers reaction time - which is based on a subjective judgment of how long it takes for a person to hear the gun and react. The false start is based on whether or not they react sooner than that subjective time. That said, one of the reasons why I'm a huge track and field fan is that there are very few judgment calls. You ran faster, jumped higher, or threw farther, and that's how the medalists are decided.

As for subjective competitions like rhythmic gymnastics, which I don't see as a sport, I still enjoy them for their beauty and grace. And of course, attractive young women is a nice bonus.

Translation...

"I could never have a woman that beautiful and flexible in my life so I have to put them down to feel better about my pathetic life."

And just think, I would pay GOOD money for women with those type skills!!!!!!

I am a woman (hetro) so your silliness doesn't apply.

Haters gotta hate. Go away PETA girl, go bug some millionaires for money to keep the the animal shelters open or designated no-kill, I agree with you there, but wailing about something that is never going to change is a bigger waste of time than what you are originally complaining about, something I disagree with you on completely. There's more to life than your solitary agenda, deal with it.

Animal shelters? Really? It's nice to have a cause, but sheesh, get over yourself. Some people enjoy the Olympics for what it is. You and Sarah McLachlan can donate all you want to save your doe eyed beaten dogs.

Isn't it all pretty much the same, when you get down to it?

Who's joking? They're pretty hot... I doubt there are many women in the world that could match their abilities.

Really, who's joking? Regardless the "years of training," I believe almost any man would love to have a woman with skills like that, and I am SAYING WOMEN with those type skills, not girls, or teenagers!!!

You know what i wonder though is what for the lack of a better term "damage" is done to developing bodies. I had an old Girl friend that was a gymnast when she was younger. Even 10 years later he legs swung on pivots with no resistance so it wasn't a muscle thing. I have no idea what happens when young people who's bodies are still growing but their bodies through that. It's not just gymnastics, look at swimmer they way some of their arms move aint natural either but when you been doing something since you were a kid and you body is still forming weird stuff has to happen sometimes.