Friday, August 3, 2012

KAYLA HARRISON—JUDO GOLD MEDALIST, HERO:  Just read this. (Still, it's Gabby Douglas who understandably gets the cereal box. Here's how she did it, via GIFs.)

This is an open Olympic thread.

31 comments:

  1. Joseph J. Finn9:08 AM

    Jesus.  I can't even... 

    (Also, has Kellogs somehow supplanted the Wheaties box and I missed that?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marsha11:30 AM

    I heard part of Harrison's story on NPR in the car yesterday and cried. A lot. (The NPR story left out the part about her mother smashing in the car windows, which I have to admit I find awesome.) What an incredible victory for her, not only to win gold, but also to covercome such a horrible experience and what sounds like crippling depression.

    And Gabby Douglas is awesome. But that hardly needs to be said.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I believe Kellogg has the sponsorship agreement with the USOC, so gets first dibs and can use the Olympics insignia on the box.  Any individual athlete is, of course, free to allow their image to be used on a box of Wheaties, but there are likely restrictions on them appearing in their "Olympic Uniform."

    ReplyDelete
  4. KCosmo's neighbor12:18 PM

    There was a female boxer on the news this AM with a story along the same lines as Kayla's, but I believe she and her sister were both abused by her father. Unbelievable. I'm happy to say I've never had enough adversity in my life to propel me to olympic status in any sport. Sometimes being mediocre has its perks. I'm glad these women are brave enough to tell their stories and have proved that as much as someone tried to break them...it couldn't be done!

    And yes...go Gabby. I keep getting teary when I watch these little peanuts pick up gold medals. 

    ReplyDelete
  5. Queen Underwood is the boxer, and her sister on her way to London to be ringside: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/olympics/2018837059_olympicunderwood03.html. 

    ReplyDelete
  6. bella wilfer1:56 PM

    The Harrison story is horrifying and ultimately fantastic in that she overcame something so horrible.  Go Kayla!  

    And Gabby Douglas - I can't even explain how much I love her.  Her beaming face at the end of that floor routine was priceless.  She's fantastic.  And man, what a bad sport Komova was.  Save the crying for when you're in private.  I know these girls are young and it must be heartbreaking to come so close to gold and miss, but that (not just tears, but her literally sobbing into her hands) just seemed incredibly unsportsmanlike.  Poor Aly Raisman - just a hair away from a medal - kept it together at least.

    ReplyDelete
  7. bill.2:18 PM

    The Guardian's Brick by Brick (Legos) recreations. I like the "exclusive footage" of Phelps' 12,000 calorie diet. The Shin A-lam protest is almost poignant.

    ReplyDelete
  8. bella wilfer2:22 PM

    Brick by Brick recreations are very cool but raises the question - are there no African-American Lego figures?  (Gabby Douglas was apparently being played by a white Lego - or was just not featured in the scene).  Weird.

    ReplyDelete
  9. KCosmo's neighbor2:28 PM

    bella wilfer, speaking of coming so close to a medal...isn't it amazing how most of these sports are coming down to thousandths of a point, hundredths of a second, etc.? It seems that a lot of the top contenders are basically at equal standing, and the winner on that one given day comes down to pure luck (I'll use swimming and gymnastics as my best examples, but the same goes for so many winter sports as well--downhill skiing). I hope these competitors can still hold their heads high and understand that essentially they have tied for first. 

    Meanwhile...I have no understanding of how gymnastics is scored, and I miss the old 1-10 scale, and seeing the sour faces of all the judges.

    ReplyDelete
  10. bill.2:38 PM

    That was odd, especially since it wasn't a problem with the basketball game.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Melissa R.2:41 PM

    I'm curious if her mom got charged with vandalism.  And if so, what happened when THAT went to court.  In my head the judge goes, "Good for you, er, I mean, 10 hours community service!"

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jordan3:23 PM

    That's not Pete's Grill!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenn.3:56 PM

    No, I agree.  I was extra disappointed for Aly Raisman, given how she acted when she lost out based on a tie-breaker and the Russians, who both made major mistakes, but acted like they'd been robbed.  I just wish that Aly could have done just a touch better and avoided the whole tie-breaker problem. 

    I had not heard about Kayla Harrison.  It's amazing that she overcame that, but it's also impressive that she came forward to talk about what happened, in the hopes that it might help someone else, as she obviously was under no obligation to do so. 

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Pathetic Earthling4:57 PM

    With such ten hours of community service to be provided by smashing out the windows of other monsterous bastards like this one.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The Pathetic Earthling5:08 PM

    I'm sure I've mentioned it before but we had a neighbor whose oldest son won two medals (100M and 200M backstroke) at Montreal.  He was 12 years older than me, so I really didn't know him though I knew the Mom quite well.  What was incredible was how completely self-directed he was and, I trust, how many of these Olympians have to be.  This was more true years ago, and more true in the less commercial sports (swimming was not the big business it is now).  The Dad was a doctor and the Mom and nurse and they weren't of modest means, but their involvement was limited -- really -- to driving the kid to practice until he was sixteen. Anyway, we all knew that Peter Rocca worked his ass off, on his own, but with nothing but plenty of support from his awesome family.  

    Now, I say this only to note this: being an Olympian is frakking hard work with a perfect family.  To do what Kayla Harrison did -- in the fact of all that -- puts all of us to shame.  That woman rules.

    (I note the following cute anecdote nonetheless:  Peter Rocca, after returning from the Olympics, gave the swim cap he wore for both finals to my best friend (and his next door neighbor) under the condition that he win the county meet in his best event, the 25 yard breaststroke.  And, of course, my friend did.  He still has the cap).

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the Kayla Harrison story. What a wonderful piece and an amazing woman.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Eric J.8:48 PM

    I would like to know when we get the Lifetime movie based on this story.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous9:12 AM

    I'm amazed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog that's equally educative and amusing, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head.

    The problem is something that not enough men and women are speaking intelligently
    about. Now i'm very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something concerning this.

    Here is my site - Emma.Intuition-Uk.info

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous9:51 AM

    If you desire to get a great deal from this paragraph then you have to apply
    these strategies to your won blog.

    Feel free to surf to my weblog vertical Leap Workouts

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:21 AM

    Hi there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be okay. I'm definitely enjoying your
    blog and look forward to new posts.

    Here is my web-site: exercises to increase vertical jump

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:23 AM

    I'm now not positive where you are getting your info, but good topic. I must spend a while learning more or working out more. Thank you for wonderful info I was on the lookout for this information for my mission.

    My web site: titanita.cirp.usp.br

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous4:46 PM

    It's very straightforward to find out any matter on net as compared to textbooks, as I found this article at this website.

    Feel free to visit my weblog workouts for vertical leap

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous7:14 PM

    Do you have a spam issue on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was wondering your situation; many of us have
    developed some nice methods and we are looking to exchange methods with others, why
    not shoot me an e-mail if interested.

    Also visit my webpage :: exercises to increase vertical jump

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous7:43 AM

    What's Taking place i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It positively useful and it has aided me out loads. I'm hoping to give a contribution
    & aid other customers like its helped me. Great
    job.

    Here is my web-site - lifebanq.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous7:57 PM

    Wow, fantastic weblog format! How long have you ever been blogging for?
    you made blogging look easy. The whole glance of your
    website is magnificent, let alone the content material!


    My web site словарь

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous3:28 AM

    great publish, very informative. I'm wondering why the other specialists of this sector do not understand this. You should continue your writing. I am confident, you've a great readers' base already!

    Stop by my page :: mesothelioma symptom

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous9:36 PM

    Link exchange is nothing else but it is simply placing the other person's web site link on your page at appropriate place and other person will also do same in support of you.

    Visit my web site :: exercises to improve vertical leap

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous6:56 AM

    I am sure this piece of writing has touched all the internet
    users, its really really pleasant post on building up new website.


    my web blog :: holidayrentalswiki.com

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7:21 PM

    I drop a comment each time I especially enjoy a post on a site or if I have something to valuable to contribute to the conversation.
    Usually it is caused by the passion displayed in the post I read.
    And after this post Untitled. I was actually excited enough to drop
    a thought :-) I actually do have 2 questions for you if you don't mind. Is it simply me or does it look as if like a few of these responses appear like they are written by brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are writing at additional online social sites, I'd like to keep up with
    you. Would you list every one of your shared sites like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?


    my weblog ... 9jaconnected.com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous6:15 AM

    Hello! Someone in my Facebook group shared this website with us so I came to take a look.
    I'm definitely enjoying the information. I'm book-marking and will be tweeting
    this to my followers! Exceptional blog and great design.

    my webpage - exercises to increase vertical jump

    ReplyDelete