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Beijing Diary / It's a beautiful sport. So what? By Uzi Dann Sixth place was really quite an accomplishment for the Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team. It is just a shame that, given the limit of 28 branches in Olympic games, this well-developed activity receives the status of a sport at the expense of true sports that are begging to get into the Olympic family. But what can you do? There's not enough space, so you need to play with ropes, hoops, balls and clubs. Sure, they dance beautifully and perform impressive exercises. Of course, they work hard and are very dedicated, putting in hours of sweat. How beautifully they synchronize themselves with the rope and control the hoop. I have no disrespect for gymnasts, their enormous dedication or what is called artistic gymnastics. Ballerinas work no less hard and train long hours, as do flamenco dancers and modern dancers, but no one would consider making their disciplines Olympic categories. Advertisement There are plenty of artistic gymnastics fans, and that's fine. Let them have European and world championships, but why the Olympics? It's simply unnecessary. And while we're at it, synchronized swimming falls into the same category. It's nice for those interested. It's aesthetic, a beauty to watch, but it doesn't belong in the Olympics. And any branch where the competitor's external attire gets a score is problematic. The problem is there's no clear, accepted definition of what is sport. If someone once defined it as anything that appears on ESPN, then you would have to include poker and snooker. So let's start with what we can rule out - any event for which you have to put on makeup. Winning where it counts Beijing was presented as a battle between the rising Asian giant of China and the fading hero, the U.S. The Chinese, who prepared seven years for these games, won the race for gold by a wide margin of 51 to 36. However, hosting nations always do better than usual, and this particular country is a non-democracy fixated on success, so the results should not be surprising. The fact, though, that the Chinese succeeded doesn't mean that the Americans failed. Look at the numbers and you will see they are not bad at all, even in athletics where Tyson Gay and the sprint relay teams fell on their faces. The U.S. won 36 gold medals in Athens and 102 overall, while in Beijing it won 36 and 110, respectively - an improvement. But one should look not only at quantity, but also quality. With all due respect to women's weightlifting, table tennis and skeet shooting, the main attractions are athletics, swimming and the ball-oriented events. The American medals came in more glorified events. They led in athletics with seven golds - Jamaica and Russia had six apiece - and 23 overall. They matched their Athens and Sydney totals. China - thanks for asking - came away with just two bronze medals in all the track and field events. Swimming? 12 golds went to the Americans - 31 overall, including world records - while the Chinese had to settle for a lone gold and six medals in total. And, of course, in the games involving balls, the Americans won medal after medal, both men and women, leaving the Chinese far behind. So where is the Chinese success to be found? They did well in traditional Chinese sports - four golds and eight medals in table tennis, three golds and eight medals in badminton, five golds and eight medals in shooting. The Chinese also invested a lot of resources in new sports such as women's weightlifting, helping them harvest eight golds in weightlifting events. The rest of the golds came in subjective events. It may not be nice to say, but it must be said: These are areas where the locals can influence judges. The Chinese racked up 14 medals - including nine golds - in gymnastics, and 11 medals - seven of them gold - in diving. It's not that the Chinese aren't good at these events - they're outstanding - but sometimes the scoring for the hosts, shall we say, reflected a home-field advantage. Yesterday, Spain's Gervasio Deferr was robbed in the men's floor exercise final. Guess which country took gold? Yesterday's Chinese silver in artistic gymnastics was amusing in the best case, and directed from above in the worst. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Bad company Madonna draws ire for picturing John McCain near Hitler during a recent show. Raw energy An unemployed Israeli ecologist has a solution to the fuel crisis and global warming.

Read & React Gilad Shalit becomes punchline for jokes in the Gaza Strip Responses: 104 ANALYSIS / On verge of Rice visit, Israel and PA far from peace accord Responses: 28 Akiva Eldar: Let settlers who refuse evacuation in peace deal stay in Palestine Responses: 51 Israel not planning to detain activists' boats leaving Gaza Responses: 28 More Headlines 00:09 Obama: World must press Iran before Israel strikes 00:57 Abbas: No peace until all Palestinian prisoners released 18:21 Rice arrives in Israel in bid to push forward Israel-PA talks 23:03 Israel foiled the Gaza blockade-busting boat 'provocation' - but who gets the credit? 23:44 Barak puts Tel Aviv apartment up for sale for NIS 40 million 00:52 Hitler and McCain: Madonna's photo montage angers GOP presidential nominee 23:19 Can an unknown Israeli save the world from ecological disaster? 23:48 Israel to shut Gaza border crossings following Qassam strike 23:45 Gilad Shalit becomes punchline for jokes in the Gaza Strip 22:47 Mofaz slams Livni for supporting release of Palestinian prisoners 00:46 As convention kicks off, Democrats say U.S. Jews will overcome fears of Obama 20:47 Syrian FM: No headway made in negotiations with Israel 22:34 Israel Bank raises interest rate for second time in a month 22:25 Democratic Convention Notes: Meet Chinese Jewish candidate Hank Eng Previous Editions Select Day 25 aug 24 aug 22 aug 21 aug 20 aug 19 aug 18 aug 17 aug 15 aug 14 aug 13 aug 12 aug

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