The 2012 Olympics boasts many athletes, but we have a special attendee from close to home - Julie Zetlin from Bethesda, Maryland! She is the only Rhythmic Gymnast the US sent to London and will be competing for Team USA against some powerful performers from Russia and Eastern Europe. If you've never heard of rhythmic gymnastics before, you're not alone - the sport has a very short history in the US and no one from Team USA has ever medaled at the Olympics. The sport is built around four apparatuses: ball, ribbon, clubs, and hoop. Flexibility, balance, complicated turns, and ballerina-like feet are crucial to a gold-worthy performance. Each routine is performed to music - ranging from the classical to the contemporary. Zetlin, in an interview with DC 101, said she came to the 2012 Olympics to encourage other rhythmic gymnasts to keep working hard, especially in the US. As opposed to artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnasts reach their peak in their 20s, a much older standard. Julie will be competing August 9th and 10th, so be sure to watch for her on TV and cheer her on!
an interesting sidenote: Rhythmic Gymnastics is officially the only women-only sport in the Olympic Games. It’s clearly not the most pressing or hot-debated topic, but there definitely are two distinct sides to this. On the offhand chance that this interests you as much as it interests me, here’s a pretty cool page that takes a look at the subject: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=1N8463JPM691&preview=article&linkid=c3e6d310-1687-43e0-94a5-595efe4be518&pdaffid=ZVFwBG5jk4Kvl9OaBJc5%2bg%3d%3d
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