# Olympic Uneven Bars

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [August 14, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995 "2008-08-14T16:36:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995/1 "2008-08-14T16:36:55Z")

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Is it just me, or has the uneven bars become impossibly boring. The women strap on some leather, spend almost the entire time on the higher bar, spin around a few times and … that’s it.

Compared to [Olga Korbut](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOOmFgBAdIA) and [Nadia Comanechi](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5gR0g8lHIs), it seems pretty flat.

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**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995/2 "2008-08-14T16:44:49Z")

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[QUOTE=kelly5078]  
Is it just me, or has the uneven bars become impossibly boring. The women strap on some leather, spend almost the entire time on the higher bar, spin around a few times and … that’s it.

Compared to [Olga Korbut](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOOmFgBAdIA) and [Nadia Comanechi](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5gR0g8lHIs), it seems pretty flat.  
[/QUOTE]

Some of those routines are obviously drastically different than what is done now. While some of it looks neater to the untrained eye, I couldn’t tell you if what they are doing is more or less difficult that what is done in 2008, but I suspect the latter.

The 1972 dismounts, however, look like child’s play compared to 2008.

See [here.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbQnjsqTycs)

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**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995/3 "2008-08-14T17:05:09Z")

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I’ll give you the dismounts, and I’m really not criticizing the athleticism of the gymnasts. It’s just that I find it quite dull. The apparatus has changed over the years, especially in that the bars are much farther apart. I think this is driven by the gymnasts, who seem to have become partial to doing routines more along the lines of the men’s high bar. Some of the between-bar moves that Korbut was doing would probably result in serious injury with the current setup. Also, the backwards flip off the high bar is now illegal (don’t know why; maybe it’s they don’t want too many people ending up quadriplegic).

Anyway, I just wish they’d do something interesting besides the dismount.

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**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995/4 "2008-08-14T17:17:40Z")

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Maybe they should try something like [this guy](http://www.funnieststuff.net/viewmovie.php?id=894)?

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**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-uneven-bars/459995/5 "2008-08-14T17:18:15Z")

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[QUOTE=kelly5078]  
Anyway, I just wish they’d do something interesting besides the dismount.  
[/QUOTE]  
I would say that between :25 and :35 is far more impressive than the routines from 1972. YMMV.

ETA: Of **Labrador** ’s, not\*\* tans’\*\*!