Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Woman of the Week - Aly Raisman

My heart went out to Aly Raisman when she did not receive a medal even though she tied for third place in the women's gymnastics all-around competition in this year's Olympics. She tied Russian gymnast Aliya Mustafina with a total score of 59.566, but the tiebreaker was determined by dropping both gymnast's lowest scores and averaging the remaining three scores. Aly lost the tiebreaker by less than sixth tenths of a point. Aly handled the let-down with maturity and grace. I was very proud of her for staying positive, but I know that it must have been difficult for her.

Ironically, a few days later, Aly tied another gymnast for third place on the balance beam finals. To determine who would win the tiebreaker, the judges said the winner would be determined by which gymnast had a higher degree of difficulty. Luckily, Aly's routine had a higher starting value, so she won the bronze medal. It was wonderful to see her win that medal after she did not get a medal in the all-around.

Aly’s attitude is what impressed me the most. She faltered under pressure in the all-around competition, but she didn't get upset about it. She corrected her routines, and she was able to bring home two medals in the individual apparatus competition. I just watched Aly perform her gold-medal performance on the floor exercise. She executed everything perfectly, and she won the gold medal by four tenths of a point (a huge margin for an individual score).

It is obvious why Aly Raisman was chosen as the caption of the 2012 Olympic team. I am glad she was part of the “Fab Five” gymnastics team. She is a remarkable young woman, and I hope to see her perform at the 2016 Olympic Games.

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