A Must-See Gymnast, and the Meaning of Joy

WSJ ^ | 16 Jan 2019 | Jason Gay

[DUMBGRUNT]

If you haven’t seen the clip of Ohashi’s performance, go watch it right now. It’s barely a minute long. I’ll wait right here. OK, are we good? That was something, wasn’t it? I think there are a number of reasons why tens of millions of people are responding so positively—and emotionally—to this. First of all, Ohashi is an incredible athlete—she does about 20 things in this routine that if an ordinary human like you or me ever did, we would never stop talking about it for the rest of our lives. She makes extremely difficult maneuvers like tumbling passes look as normal as strolling down the sidewalk.

It’s so, so joyful. It radiates warmth and glee. There’s a playfulness to her routine, to be sure—UCLA coach Valorie Kondos Field, aka Miss Val, is a college gymnastics legend for the way she’s injected happiness into a rigid, often cruel sport—but it isn’t a goof, not at all. What Ohashi is doing is extremely hard to do

[DUMBGRUNT]

1:58 total length. ENJOY.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=4ic7RNS4Dfo

[Slyfox]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=4ic7RNS4Dfo

[petitfour]

Ironic choice of music for a gymnast. But great routine! College gymnastics is the best.

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you! Wow! Ouch! DG, were you a gymnast?

[Dr. Ursus]

Another gold medal winner!

[lee martell]

She’s having a good time. She is at or near the top of her powers, and she knows it.
My question is, would she receive a lower ‘score’ because of her dancing and ‘spiking the ball’ so to speak?
I’m guessing if she did those spontaneous movements during an Olympics, they would not like it.

[T. Rustin Noone]

KUDOS to her Coach, who turned a champion gymnast who hated the sport since she was 11 into a champion who exudes joy when she is on the mat doing her routine.

Well done, Coach.

[RoosterRedux]

She is simply amazing. I can’t stop watching it.

[teeman8r]

i’d give her an eleven.

[Sergio]

bkmk

[Baynative]

A couple of things jumped out at me when I first saw this;
1. She's not the typical 88 lb pixie we expect to see in female gymnasts and...
2. Although the sport continues to evolve the innovations are usually subtle - flips become doubles, then double tuck/layout, then double tuck/layout with a twist. But every now and then someone really pushes the envelope. This is one of those talents; forward flip landing seated, playing to the crowd and the finale split landing ... this raises the bar for the next Olympics as all the "pixies" are studying this video.

[dfwgator]

Sure beats those 12-year old Chinese gymnasts that plagued the sport for years.

[Drew68]

Enjoy women's gymnastics now while you can before it looks like this:

[Cicero]

She is a teeny bit plump, but she’s earned it. Magnificent!

[RoosterRedux]

Yep.

She's certainly not a delicate pixie. She's a tough cookie.

Great role model for young women.

[hoagy62]

Not to mention that she’s battling ulcerative colitis.

She’ll be 22 (I think) for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. I wonder if she’ll attempt to qualify? Older than the ‘teenage pixies’ that usually make up the team, but who knows?

[Lizavetta]

Enjoy it now before the libs bring her race (Japanese) into the picture in their predictable tiresome way.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I admit I don't know anything bout this sport. Nor do I have the discerning male-calibrated eye for the female form fantistique. But...

To me, "plump" jiggles. She doesn't. She soars, struts, twists and rebounds like a steel spring. Ignition, takeoff, swagger, suavity and strength and ((oh paragon of structural resolution!))) no jiggle at all.

Her grin is worth a 10 right there.

Magnifique!

[DUMBGRUNT]

DG, were you a gymnast?

No.

I have spent many years on rock and ice(climbing).
Many of my climbing partners are former gymnasts.

I have zero ability for aerial maneuvers.
I marvel at how anyone can flow through the air and maintain spatial relations with the earth.

We occasionally climbed next to a swimming hole they could do any number of dives, me; cannonball or bellyflop.

[Mrs. Don-o]

What’s the name of that music?