in Other Props
Wagering on Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics
by BetUS Staff
I love the Olympics. There is nothing like channel surfing to every NBC-owned cable outpost available and finding the most obscure thing possible, preferably at 4 AM and hopefully one where no spectators at all have shown up. Like the biathlon or something. Oh, you say that's in the WINTER games? No wonder I can't find it.
Do you think anyone will show up for the rhythmic gymnastics finals? Hopefully some of our BetUS customers will wager on it.
What!!!! RHYTHMIC gymnastics????
You're damned right. I've even got the odds here to prove it.
BetUS Olympic Gymnastics Odds
To Win Individual Rhythmic
Russia -300
Ukraine +180
Belarus +500
Bulgaria +1400
China +4500
Spain +8000
To Win Rhythmic Group Event
Russia -350
Italy +200
Belarus +1000
Bulgaria +1200
Ukraine +1000
Azerbaijan +1800
Spain +2200
China +6000
Japan +6000
Greece +10000
Kazakhstan +10000
Brazil +10000
This ain't no biathlon. And no, Liechtenstein didn't qualify.
Okay, here's the deal. As far as I can tell, rhythmic gymnastics, which is the subject at hand and the event that will be contested in the Beijing Olympics on August 21, is roughly the "dry" equivalent of synchronized swimming, which you may have seen for a moment or two if you watched the movie "Caddyshack."
Sometimes it is conducted among groups of gymnasts, who essentially have to move in rhythm, while negotiating things like rope, ribbons, balls or clubs (no batons, as far as I know - hey, these aren't cheerleaders). And from the looks of it, the judging is based in part on how much in unison these people can operate. Think "Vegas revue," in slower motion.
Except I notice that this can also be done individually as well. Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose? I don't know if I'm diggin' this. I mean, is this a sport? Or is it like going to your little sister's dance class?
How does one handicap this thing? Oh, please don't ask.
Although I can offer you this one bit of insight: are you wondering why China seems to go off at long odds in these rhythmic events? Well, it could be that they're TOO OLD. Explanation below.
Now on to the REAL gymnastics. This is more like it:
BetUS REAL (?) Olympic Gymnastics Odds
To Win Floor Exercise
Cheng Fei CHN -550
Shawn Johnson USA +130
Jiang Yuyuan CHN +300
Sandra Izbasa ROU +700
Cassy Vericel FRA +1300
Alicia Sacramone USA +1800
To Win Vault
Cheng Fei CHN -450
Alicia Sacramone USA +180
Anna Pavlova RUS +500
Steliana Nistor ROU +700
Jade Barbosa BRA +1300
Sandra Izbasa ROU +1800
Now I ask you, what would the Olympics be without a little nasty controversy? This time around, the one that has gotten the most nasty attention surrounds the athletes on the Chinese gymnastics team.
Allegedly, they are not old enough to compete in the Olympics (you have to be 16), although the government has produced passports (satisfying the International Olympic Committee) that say they are. This contradicts information U.S. officials have about several of the Chinese competitors, but the point is moot. And for the record, Cheng Fei, the favorite in the two events listed above, is "allegedly" 20 years old.
The biggest verbal bombs were thrown by Bela Karolyi, the legendary coach who is now an NBC commentator. I think he believes some of them could be as young as eight years old. "They are using half-people," he said, I imagine, in front of others who were drinking plenty of Shingtao. Oh yeah, like HE never subjected any children to cruel and unusual labor?
Anyway, the problem with competitors being younger than they actually show is that the younger, the smaller, the lighter a gymnast is, the more flexibility she will have, and in turn the more of an advantage she will have in floor exercises or the vaulting events. In rhythmic gymnastics, the competitors need precision and teamwork a little more than pure flexibility, and that may take more experience and maturity (or maybe I'M drinking too much Shingtao). But it looks like the more conventional game - the one with more glamour attached to it - belongs to someone like Linlin Deng, who is all of 4'6" and 68 pounds.
What kind of sport is that, when an eight-year-old might actually have the edge?
The kind that I'll switch off for the biathlon, any day of the week.
(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com is always in perfect synchronization as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)
