Artistic Gymnastics and Fencing

Yesterday was a much better day (thank goodness!) to get to my Olympic Venue. Probably because it was Sunday, and also because I was actually heading to the Olympic Green - a location reached directly from the subway system - I managed the entire journey from hotel to venue in under an hour.

The sky overhead was looking rather threatening and the air had that feel of an oncoming storm; but inside the National Indoor Stadium all was bright and exciting.

So far, this was the biggest stadium I had been in, and while I did have a decent view of all the action from my seat, I was grateful that I had brought a strong pair of binoculars to China so I could see the action up close with my own eyes, instead of having to rely on the large stadium screens which only tracked certain athletes at a time.

For my session, I had 4 countries competing in the Artistic Gymnastics - Japan, Italy, USA and Great Britian. The gymnasts would be in teams that would rotate across the 4 disciplines on the stadium floor and judged not only individually on their performances, and also as a team in terms of points scored overall.

Yesterday had been the Men's events (which would have been awesome to watch! I'm particularly in awe of the Rings and Parallel Bars); but today's Women's events were just as exciting, especially as there were a lot of supporters in the stands for the US and Japanese delegations.

I had been feeling a little unAustralian at the Judo on Saturday, what with no flags to wave, or even temporary tattoos to highlight on my cheek :) so I brought along the only thing that I had that was even close - a Jeans for Genes pin which had Grant Hackett on one leg and the words 'Australia' with the Southern Cross stars on the other (thanks, Nikki and Anne!)
Suffice to say the pin wasn't that noticeable on my dress, as Chinese volunteers would still initially start speaking to me in Mandarin, until I shrugged sheepishly and say "Sorry!" :)

Anyway, I think you have to be at least 16 to compete in the Olympics, but the Japanese girls looked like they were 12 with their dimunitive size and lean build; the Italians looked sparkly, courtesy of their glittering costumes; while both the Americans and British looked compact but strong, with muscled limbs and chiselled features.

There had been quite a fanfare when the teams had come in, and this was repeated everytime they moved over to the next section.
The stadium arena was set up for Floorwork, the Balance Beam, the Vault and finally, the Uneven Bars. Everyone was most impressive during their set, but even at this level, it's inevitable that falls, trips and spills happen - the Olympic thing though is to get up and continue to work towards a great score - and to not let that mistake affect your performance both right now and in the future. Let the muscle memory and positive visualisation kick in!

My session finished mid afternoon and I took the opportunity to go for a bit of a wander around the Green. The weather had definitely taken a turn for the worse while I had been inside, and a lot of the general entertainment around the Green had been cancelled and put under cover as a light rain continued to fall. It was definitely cooling the city down though - so I was grateful for that!

I took photos of interesting sculptures decorating the centre where all the trees provided a visual reminder of China's commitment to a green Olympics; and also marvelled at the the sheer extravagance of some of the sponsors' booths on show - Johnson & Johnson had actual Terracotta Warriors (they are intimately involved in the restoration and protection of these national treasures); Adidas showcased their commitment to outfitting the athletes to perform at their best (Thorpy's Swim Suit was on display here amongst other Olympic historial treasures); and today I went to the Coke Cola booth and got to hold an actual Olympic Torch!

I was eager to do some shopping though, so I walked over to the Olympic Super Store where the weather had obviously chased some of the crowd away, but still had about a 30 minute wait to get through the doors.

Just as I stepped into the store, the electrical storm that had been tearing the sky with lighting all afternoon decided to step it up a notch and unleashed a torrential downpour so heavy, a Beijing TV commentator later remarked that it was like being in a carwash... outside! (He had neglected to take an umbrella with him to work :)

Things were just as crazy inside with more Fuwa stamped/ inspired/ promoted goods than you could possibly imagine :) And the Chinese? Well, I know the Olympic Volunteers have received special training on being polite and helpful, but in general a lot of Chinese people have no concept of queues, so will push right past you! And they never bother with saying 'excuse me' or the Mandarin equivalent 'duibuqi' (dway boo chee), so you're left with a rather indignant look on your face and a need to say rather loudly, 'Hey!'
I managed to pick up some cute and affordable items though, thank goodness for the current exchange rate!

Fencing today was fast, furious and surprisingly, involved a lot of screaming! I was in the Fencing Hall of the National Convention Centre for the Women's Individual Foil, and a lot of the competitors not only screamed in frustration, but also in triumph :)

I had been warned in the Spectator Guide that due to the uniforms the fencers had to wear, the arena would be a chilly 16 degrees Celsius, so I gratefully brought out the cardi and scarf I had in my bag. The rain from yesterday had cooled Beijing down somewhat so wearing jeans today hadn't been too uncomfortable. I'm sure the humidity's going to return in force tomorrow though!

As I have fenced before (and even studied for a short time under a master in London) I avidly watched the proceedings and looked out for technique - though it can sometimes just be about getting the point by whatever means necessary! Sabre would be even more ferocious and Epee... well, let's just say if these were real bouts it'd be a bloodbath..!