HOW DOES IT WORK?
No one really knows鈥攂ut there are five events. The hoop, which you throw, roll, spin around, and occasionally stick your entire body through. The rope, which is a giant handle-less jump rope鈥攅xcept it鈥檚 elegant. The clubs sort of look like giant turkey basters and are thrown, twirled, spun, etc. The ball weighs less than a pound, and you throw it in the air, do something, and then catch it before it hits the ground, generally. The ribbon is 18-feet long and must be kept in perpetual motion. The medal dates are August 11 (individual all-around) and 12 (team all-around). Men do not compete.
HISTORY
Rhythmic gymnastics have been in the Olympics since 1984, but the individual event didn鈥檛 make its debut until 1996. The Russians have more gold medals (six) than any other country has total medals. Their 10 total medals are six more than the Ukraine and Belarus, who are tied for second. Russia鈥檚 won the last three golds in both the team and individual competitions.
WHO IS THE BEST?
Russia. Only two women per country are allowed to compete in the individual competition, but the top three or four rhythmic gymnasts in the world are Russian, so whoever wins the bronze in London is basically a fraud. Evgeniya Kanaeva is the defending gold medalist and three-time-defending World Champion. 鈥淪he is the best rhythmic gymnast in history,鈥 says Wikipedia, so that鈥檚 settled then. The other Russian challenger will be 16-year-old Alexandra Merkulova鈥攁nd yes, we are all failures. If Russia doesn鈥檛 win both golds, something very strange will have happened.
DOES THE U.S HAVE ANY CHANCE?
Nope. The U.S. doesn鈥檛 have a team competing, but 22-year-old Julie Zetlin will be the first American Olympian in rhythmic gymnastics since 2004 as she鈥檒l be competing in the individual competition. She鈥檚 kind of great, actually. Since she鈥檚 on her own, she gets no funding from the U.S. Olympic Committee but still wears $1,500 Swarovski diamond-encrusted leotards (which, what?). She trains for five hours a day by herself and generally leads what seems like a pretty lonely existence. She says she wants to raise awareness for the sport in the U.S. so people stop making dumb hula-hoop and turkey-baster jokes. (I鈥檓 paraphrasing.) Root for her or lose your American card.
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鈥溾 by Liz Clarke