Olympics/ gymnastry

One of the sensations of these games is the American gymnast Simone Biles who looks like winning 5 golds. I heard a discussion of this girl’s brilliance on the Radio 4 today programme. Duly intrigued I watched her in the individual brilliance event last night.

One of the aspects of the Olympics coverage is the experienced reporter delegated to cover a sport on which he/she is largely ignorant and the expert who doesn’t have the same broadcasting fluency. Thus it was that the expert took us through the various turns; the double Arabia, double pike etc. I did marvel at the combination of athleticism and grace of the gymnast but was not wholly comfortable.

Some of the participators are 16, all have eye make up and looked glamorous but had unusual figures – the top half was adolescent with a small cleavage and narrow waist, the bottom half had thighs that would not disgrace a rugger player. Some of the girls were coquettish. I better say no more for fear of being branded a pervert but I would not like to see my daughter disport herself like this.

My second concern is whether this is truly sport. In the brilliance event, each participator does an individual routine of dance to her own chosen music. Surely this is modern ballet not sport?

After slipping into second, Simone Biles destroyed the field and they say she is only operating at 70% of her capacity. She is four feet 8 inches in her bare feet and at 19 could become the biggest female gold medalist of all time.