Life Is Unfair and So Is Gymnastics. Can Linoy Prove Me Wrong?

The 2020 Olympics are about to begin. In the battle for the individual medal, Linoy Ashram from Israel and Alina Harnasko from Belarus receive another opportunity to compete against the Averini sisters. Perhaps Boryana Kaleyn from Bulgaria and Anastasia Salos from Belarus can hope for a medal, too. Sure, it is great to go to the Olympics and have a shot at the top 3. But we are all going in with the knowledge that one Averina will likely win gold. This knowledge certainly makes the competition less exciting and from the perspective of the gymnasts, there must be other motivating factors that keep them going. Like being loved by audiences around the world, competing at an exciting Olympics and just getting better than yourself at what you do.

I admire Dina and Arina for what they have achieved. They showcase routines with tremendous difficulty and they work extremely hard. They have all the qualities of a champion. But if we had a meaningful Code of Points and fair judging,  gymnasts like Linoy and Alina (or Vlada from Ukraine who we will miss so much!) would have been able to have more than "a chance for gold if mistakes from Dina and Arina happen and if someone bothers to notice."Surprises happen at Olympic Games more than at other competitions. Surprises, in the individual final in rhythmic, are the best thing we can hope for. 

If I had to predict the top spots, though, I would still bet on Dina or Arina for the medals. Here are my predictions:

Top three: Dina, Arina, Linoy

Following: Harnasko, Salos, Kaleyn

The most interesting part of the competition will take place after 6th place. Who will join the top gymnasts in the final and make the top 10? Here I see chances for a number of gymnasts starting with the two Italians, the Ukrainians, Zohra from Azerbaijan, Taseva from Bulgaria,  and Laura Zeng from the United States. While I wish them all good luck, my preferences would be for Milena Baldassari (ITA), Zohra Aghamirova (AZE), Laura Zeng (USA) and Khrystyna Pohranychna (UKR).

Let's hope that this competition will be surprisingly fair and fairly surprising.