"There was a BEE in my THING!"
October 15, 2014 11:58 AM   Subscribe

The 2014 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Nanning, China ended this weekend. The biggest story line of the meet on the women's side was American Simone Biles, who successfully defended her world title in the All-Around competition and was attacked by a bee.

Gymnastics fans are hoping that Biles can stay healthy and competitive until the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, and possibly break a curse.

Biles has now won more gold medals in World competition than any other American woman in the sport.

In other news, North Korea's Hong Un-jong won gold in the women's vault finals, after missing two years of competition. North Korea was banned from international competition for two years in 2010 as a result of the DPK's routine falsification of gymnast's ages. The ban meant that Un-jong could not defend her 2008 Olympic title and trained essentially in isolation for two years, while maintaining her ability to compete one of the hardest vaults in the world. Earlier this month, the North Korean gymnastics program was fined again for age falsification.

In the balance beam final, defending champion Aliya Mustafina narrowly edged out Japan's Asuka Teramoto to win a bronze medal, despite taking a substantial half-point penalty for failing to connect two tumbling skills during her routine, a basic requirement on the apparatus. Teramoto's routine. Mustafina's routine.

Mustafina, one of the first and only women in gymnastics to return to the sport at a high level after an ACL tear, added one last minute flip to her floor routine to win a second individual medal on the last day of the competition.

Full video of the women's All-Around competition.
Full video of event finals, day one and day two.
posted by Snarl Furillo (17 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Bees! Bees! Bees in the car! Bees everywhere! God, they're huge and they're sting crazy! They're ripping my flesh off! Run away, your firearms are useless against them!
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:01 PM on October 15, 2014 [3 favorites]


NOT THE BEES, OH GOD NO, NOT THE BEEEEEEEEES.
posted by kmz at 12:06 PM on October 15, 2014 [6 favorites]


"They don't allow you to have bees in here."
posted by bondcliff at 12:08 PM on October 15, 2014 [6 favorites]


As an apiphobe, I sympathize with her and she is now my favorite gymnast.
posted by Drinky Die at 12:16 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


Awesome. Truly a sport that pushes human bodies to their absolute limits, in strength, endurance, and precision reflexes, putting demands on all the major muscle groups.

Anyone could tackle somebody. Most of us could hit a baseball, run a sprint, or swim laps - at some point in our lives. Many of us - most? - will never in our lives be able to do some of the very basic component moves in gymnastics.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:17 PM on October 15, 2014


Here's another insect in competition.
posted by CaseyB at 12:18 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


At least there wasn't a beedog in her bouquet....
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:19 PM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]


One thing I've really enjoyed in the most recent gymnastics (and especially looking at World's) is that there are gymnasts who aren't from Russia, Romania, Belarus, or the US competing at an elite level. Japan! Egypt (and again!)!!!! Azerbaijan (though apparently formerly Russia)! Great Britain! Poland! Switzerland! Peru! Brazil! Super.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:19 PM on October 15, 2014 [4 favorites]


As someone deathly afraid of stinging insects, I wholeheartedly endorse her reaction.
posted by tommasz at 1:17 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


That's just about the cutest reaction I've ever seen to a bee.
posted by Curious Artificer at 1:53 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


Really look at some of her performances in the past and think about it. She is a courageous person. She has to go out on a stage with billions of people potentially watching her and she has to be a world class athlete performing perfectly. Perfectly. She stares down that fear and time and again she has been flawless. Over and over.

And then she saw a bee! Argh, I hate them!
posted by Drinky Die at 2:06 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


ChuraChura, have you seen Epke Zonderland from the Netherlands ?
posted by Pendragon at 2:37 PM on October 15, 2014 [2 favorites]


Just over a month ago, the sports bees were in New York, creating havoc for Venus Williams and Kimiko Date-Krumm.
posted by yellowcandy at 3:14 PM on October 15, 2014


I miss the bees.
posted by Aznable at 3:21 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]


What's This? A gymnastics awards ceremony entirely lacking in bees! My bouquet of bees should put a stop to this!
posted by gamera at 3:36 PM on October 15, 2014


Yes! He's amazing. I should have qualified my initial list - I think men's gymnastics head always drawn from a wider range of countries than the big powerhouses of women's gymnastics, and I should probably have included China on that original list.
posted by ChuraChura at 4:03 PM on October 15, 2014


Oh, that hop around away from bees on the podium by all the gymnasts was so adorable.
posted by discopolo at 4:40 PM on October 15, 2014


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