The new gymnastics scoring system may be the reason behind the U.S. gymnasts being robbed of their medals.  The new system being used consist of two scores, a start value for difficulty and an execution score, they are then added together for an overall score.  So gymnasts that have a higher start value can win a gold medal even if the event isn’t executed well.

Which brings us to Alicia Sacramone being robbed of a medal in the women’s individual vault.  Since Sacramone’s vault had a lower start value and wasn’t executed perfectly, she hopped on the landing, she received an overall low score resulting in a 4th place finish.  However, two of the three women that received medals had major mistakes in their routines, like stepping out of bounds, landing on their knees, and overall poor execution, but because their vaults had higher start values they received higher scores than Sacramone.

Take a look at Alicia’s vault compared to the three women that placed and you decide who should have won.

Hong Un Jong Gold Medal winner

Oksana Chusovitinia Silver Medal winner

Cheng Fei Bronze Medal winner

Oddly enough I can not find the video of China’s best athlete’s final vault.  However, I did watch the event myself and despite a good first vault, her hands were out of place and she landed on her knees on the second vault and still received a higher score than Sacramone.  It is clear that she did not deserve to medal in this event and had the judging been on the perfect 10 scale she wouldn’t have.  On the perfect 10 scale I think Oksana would have taken first, Sacramone second, and Hong Un Jong third.  It is truly a sad day for gymnastics when the scoring system allows you to fall and still come out on top.

Sadly vault isn’t the only event where the U.S. was cheated out of a medal.  Nastia Liukin and He Kexin received the exact same score on the uneven bars, but It was Kexin that ended up with the gold.  Many believe that Liukin had the cleaner routine with less mistakes, but due to the tiebreaker procedure, Kexin came out on top.  Liukin, showing good sportsmanship, said that she can’t complain about the system because it has been good to her during the 2008 Olympics.  Here is a video that explains how the tiebreaker was won.

So what do you think….Is the U.S. being robbed of their medals or are the Americans just mad that they are not the best in every event?

On another note, on the beam the USA respectively won gold and silver.  Congratulations USA Women’s Gymnastics Team!

Nope, Wheaties isn’t the breakfast of this champion. (Sorry, General Mills.) In an interview with IGN Sports, the Olympic star said he consumes 12,000 calories per day, or 9,500 more than the FDA recommends for a young active male. No, we didn’t get that wrong… those are the right number of zeros.

Here’s what he told NBC is his typical daily menu:

Breakfast: 3 fried egg sandwiches, 2 cups coffee, 5-egg omelette, bowl of grits, 3 pieces of french toast, 3 chocolate chip pancakes, and don’t forget the syrup

Lunch: 1 pound pasta, 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, 1,000 calorie energy drink

Dinner: 1 pound pasta, 1 large pizza, 1,000 calorie energy drink

Here’s an excerpt from IGN’s interview, when they discuss his diet:

IGN Sports: What about your diet? Are you always eating super healthy?

Michael Phelps: I eat pretty much whatever I want. I don’t have a strict diet. It’s all about cramming in as many calories into my system as I possibly can. To be honest with you, I have a tough time keeping weight on.

IGN Sports: What about fast food?

Michael Phelps: Bring it on!

Obviously, his life is swimming and physical training, so he needs the fuel. He burns over 4,000 calories in a single workout and his heart pumps two times more blood per minute than the average male. If we all worked as hard as he does, we could eat whatever we wanted, too, and still look like this…

Wow.

Speaking from a female’s perspective, who doesn’t love a man that can eat?? Especially if he can maintain a frame like that. So go eat that whole pepperoni pizza and chocolate cake, Michael, you’ve earned it!

But, on the other hand, a girl might get a little resentful eating a salad and sparkling water while he scarfs down a large pizza and a milkshake.

You have to see these videos! USA’s Men’s Olympic swimming team demolishes the previous World Record in the 4×100 Relay by 4 seconds, shocking the world and definitely shocking the smack talking Frenchies!

(Note: If the videos don’t work, refresh repeatedly. YouTube has done something funky that causes, “We’re Sorry. This video is no longer available,” to pop up. But 3 - 5 refreshes and it usually works!)

In this first video, this guy reviews the history of the French Swim team’s trash talking of the American team and then gives a great synopsis of the race…”Suck it France!”

FYI, one of the losers (well, Silver Medalist really, but in this case, you can only say L O S E R), Frenchman, Alain Bernard, told reporters, before the race, “The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for.”

This is a MUST watch video:

Then, here’s the video of the AMAZING race with the electrifying finish:

Although it’s a team sport, Jason Lezak should be credited most for the victory; having an astounding finishing time for his leg of the race, at 46.06 seconds and for the unprecedented closing of the gap in his last 50 meters against the world record holding Frenchman, Alain Bernard.

The other American team memebers performed admirably as well:

Garrett Weber-Gale finished his leg in 47.02

Followed by Michael Phelps at 47.51

And, Cullen Jones at 47.65.

To read a great break down on this incredible race, click here.

Euro commentary just doesn’t sound as jubilant about the win as American commentary:

This video is long, but good. Set to music for the first 3 minutes and kinda drags; but, once you hit 3:15 or so, the music cuts out so you can hear the excitement.

The video then continues on to show footage of the Americans celebrating, while the French just look devastated (kinda sad). I love when the reporters are talking about the Americans and say, “I just don’t think they can do it [beat the French]… USA should get the silver” –literally, just seconds before Lezak makes his move!

Little sad for the French, huh? But, hmmmm….maybe loss hurts that much more when you’ve been publicly talking smack!?! Eat your words! And Americans are called arrogant? Ha!

For the best resolution vid, click here (use internet explorer and ignore the plug-in it says to download–you don’t need it to watch).

To read about records being shattered, click here.