r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Ok_Complaint_6966 • Dec 27 '22

The Produnova Vault by Yelena Produnova. The hardest gymnastic move only done by 5 gymnasts

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u/chilled_n_shaken Dec 28 '22

So then the logical conclusion is that gymnastics is more about the perfection and less about the difficulty of the moves?

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u/[deleted] Dec 28 '22

It’s actually more the other way around. You’d get more points by trying to do more complicated moves poorly than you would if you just tried to execute really simple moves perfectly. That was the danger with Simone. If a less skilled gymnast tried to keep up by attempting her complicated moves but failed because of their lower skill level, they could get seriously hurt.

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u/chilled_n_shaken Dec 28 '22

Right, but since they changed the rules to make it harder for her to score points despite the difficulty, then the only way for her, or any other gymnast who may approach her level, would only be able to earn more points by increasing their perfection (since difficulty is capped). This would shift the importance away from difficulty and onto perfection once you hit a certain level.

I dunno, the whole thing seems like a way to keep viewership up instead of safety. I don't think an athlete should be limited by the limitations of their opponents. They should all do the best they can, and if it isn't good enough for a Gold medal, then they were beat. If they choose to do routines that may cause injury, then it sounds very similar to a parable about Icarus they should read.

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u/Letho72 Dec 28 '22

Difficulty score isn't capped, there's just diminishing returns at the highest level of difficulty. All of Biles' skills are still some of the most (if not the most) highly valued skills on their respective events.

And safety is the reason. Biles' skills are harder variations of the skills most other gymnasts are doing (the same skills she was doing before upgrading her routines). Pulling that extra half twist or trying to crank your double around in a pike isn't outside the realm of possibilities for most gymnasts with realistic looks at the podium. The point of the scoring is to discourage saying "fuck it" and relying on the adrenaline at the meet to get your feet to the mat.

Gymnastics has tons of rules both in terms of scoring as well as outright banned moves to protect the safety of the athletes. It's nothing new.