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From diving to gymnastics to the strange world of curling, there are a lot of Olympic sports that we don't fully understand. Seriously, why do curlers yell so much??
Join host Justin Dodd (@juddtoday) as he breaks down some common misconceptions about the Olympics, just in time for the Paris games in 2024!
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Misconceptions About Olympic Sports | Mental Floss
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0:00
Judging by the sheer amount of chalk that Olympic gymnasts use during a competition
0:04
you might assume that they like the whole scene to be totally dry, like as a bone, as a desert, as, well, as chalk
0:11
And it is true that gymnasts use chalk to absorb sweat on their hands and feet
0:15
to keep them from slipping during routines. But it's not true that their ideal performance conditions
0:20
always involve complete and utter dryness. In fact, excessive dryness can be a problem, particularly for bar events
0:27
where gymnasts need a little moisture to keep a good grip on the bars. It's not sweat, though
0:32
For female gymnasts, on the uneven bars, it's often some blend of resin and water. They might
0:37
rub resin on the bars, then spray them down with water, and then apply another coat of resin
0:42
That combined with their hand grips and some chalk can help the athletes achieve the perfect level
0:47
of stickiness. Male gymnasts have slightly stranger ways of getting the parallel bars
0:52
ready for a routine. Rubbing them down with honey is probably the most popular tactic
0:56
but the gymnasts aren't averse to testing out other substances. In a 2012 article, the Wall Street Journal chronicled some of the more offbeat experiments
1:05
Coca-Cola, a beer and sugar mixture, pancake syrup, molasses, and, I kid you not, melted gummy bears
1:13
And if you're up next after someone who just smeared the bars in gummy bear gunk, it's your responsibility to clean it off and add your own concoction
1:20
For international competitions, gymnasts are only allowed 50 seconds to prep before their uneven or parallel bars routines, so coaches often help them
1:29
Hi, I'm Justin Dodd. Welcome to Misconceptions. During the Olympics, millions of people around the world tune into sports
1:35
that they barely ever think about otherwise. Naturally, this can lead to some confusion surrounding the rules and customs of each one
1:42
So, on this episode of Misconceptions, we're covering a handful of myths
1:45
and misunderstandings about Olympic events, from why divers really shower after every dive
1:51
to what will and won't get you disqualified during a baton relay. Let's get started
2:04
Divers shower between dives to wash off germs and chemicals. One of the first lessons you
2:09
learn about pools is to shower after you swim in one. That way, you get rid of all the chemicals
2:14
and the germs that can cause skin irritation, illnesses, and all manner of other issues
2:19
So it seems safe to assume that Olympic divers are just following this sage advice when they
2:23
rinse off after each dive. But that's actually not why they do it. Instead, it's to keep their muscles loose and warm between rounds
2:30
The diving pool itself is pretty balmy. It's not allowed to fall below 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit
2:36
But the pool deck is often chillier than that, and divers run the risk of cramping up if
2:40
they let the chill creep in As Ball State University diving coach Jacob Bremer told CNN diving is such a precise and fast fast sport if the diver gets a little cold and tight it could really affect their performance
2:52
It's the same reason the divers hang out in hot tubs while they're waiting for their next turn
2:57
Ever wonder why a sprinkler sprays down the pool between dives? It has nothing to do with maintaining a certain water level
3:04
Surface agitation is actually a mandatory safety measure. The ripples help divers judge their distance from the pool's surface as they're plummeting toward it
3:12
Plus, it makes the water extra wet. Ice dancing is just pairs skating without the tricks
3:19
It's true that you won't see the thrilling lifts and throw jumps of pairs skating in any ice dancing routine
3:25
Ice dancers are prohibited from all jumps and two kinds of lifts. Overhead lifts, in which a skater is holding their partner above their head with completely straight arms
3:33
and twist lifts, in which a skater throws their partner in the air to do a bunch of twists before
3:38
they catch them. In other words, ice dancers can't toss each other around. But if you think ice
3:43
dancing is just figure skating minus tricks, you've probably never watched it that closely
3:48
Ice dancing is basically ballroom dancing on ice, and it boasts its own arsenal of tricky moves
3:53
There are twizzles, one-footed turns across the ice, plenty of dizzying spins in place
3:59
and sequences of dance steps that the dancers must be in sync for
4:03
An ice dancer's lifts are hardly for the faint of heart. One skater might have to, say, balance on their partner's thigh
4:09
or flip over their shoulder as they spin across the ice. To put it another way, ice dancers aren't doing a pair skating routine without jumps in certain lifts
4:17
They're doing a totally different kind of routine. A dance routine. And look, if me describing ice dancing isn't enough to convince you
4:25
that it's really cool and just as worth watching as figure skating, I understand. But after this video is over, go watch Tessa Virtue and Scott Moyer's gold medal
4:33
winning Moulin Rouge routine from the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. If that doesn't make a
4:39
nice dancing fan out of you, nothing will. Swimmers in the middle lanes have a huge advantage
4:46
Let's solve the not-so-mysterious mystery of why swimmers in the middle lanes seemingly
4:50
always win. It's because the top swimmers from qualifying rounds get placed in the prime spots
4:56
The fastest finisher takes lane four in the final, and the next two fastest finishers get
5:01
lanes five and three respectively. So, the favorites to win the race are typically
5:06
clustered in the center, and it's viewed as an upset if an athlete in lane one or eight
5:11
nabs a medal instead. Now, I know what you're thinking. If the top qualifiers get rewarded
5:16
with middle lanes, that must be because middle lanes are the best, right? And yeah, okay
5:22
they have long been considered the best. For one thing, you can see all your competition
5:26
better than the swimmers on the outskirts For another you not as affected by water rebounding off the sides of the pool But swimming officials have done a lot to mitigate that rebounding issue In high competitions they usually leave a lane empty between the sides of the pool in lanes 1 and 8
5:41
There are also special anti-wave lane ropes that absorb some of the turbulence
5:46
Extra depth can help too. The minimum depth for an Olympic swimming pool is 2 meters, but 3 meters is recommended
5:53
and that's what officials opted for at the 2021 Tokyo Games. So, sure, swimmers in the middle lanes might still have the edge when it comes to visibility
6:01
But the position doesn't come with some massive advantage that explains why its occupants often win
6:07
In other words, Katie Ledecky doesn't win gold medals because she gets to swim in lane 4
6:11
She wins gold medals because she's freaking Katie Ledecky. Curlers mostly shout to hype up their teammates
6:19
Curling requires so much strategy and concentration that it's known as chess on ice
6:24
But the last time I checked, chess players didn't yell energetically during their turns
6:29
Curlers do, or more specifically, the captain called the skip does, because the skip shouting often sounds pretty generic
6:35
stuff like, whoa, and yes! It can seem like they're just cheering on their teammates
6:40
or reacting naturally to the stone's progress. But the skip is in charge of setting the strategy
6:45
and everything they yell on the ice is actually a command. Yes or yup means start sweeping, and whoa means stop sweeping
6:53
Hurry or hard means sweep faster, while hurry hard means sweep faster with extra downward pressure
7:00
If you hear clean, you should put your broom lightly on the ice without adding any extra pressure
7:06
There's nothing in the rulebook about using those exact terms, though. As long as it's not foul or offensive language, you can technically say whatever you want
7:13
Which leaves me with one question for all the skips out there. Why aren't you having more fun with that freedom? Simlish
7:20
Animal noises. of contestants from Season 3 of American Idol. The possibilities are endless
7:26
Bikinis are mandatory for women's beach volleyball players In 2021, after an international protest, women's beach handball players finally earned the
7:34
right to wear shorts rather than bikini-style briefs. Whether or not you heard about that
7:39
news, you might have assumed that bikinis were the only choice for women's beach volleyball
7:43
players too. That's what pretty much all of them compete in. But they're technically
7:48
allowed to opt for more coverage. Most of them typically just don't like to
7:52
The weather is one reason. It can get sweltering out there on the court
7:55
and less is more when it comes to clothing. During the Tokyo Games, temperatures hit the 90s
8:00
with humidity around 70 percent. Sand is another big selling point for two-piece over one-piece
8:06
swimsuits. As Jennifer Kessie, who won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, told Today
8:11
Imagine diving chest and lodging more sand than you care to think down the front of your suit You can keep it in there and it is not easy to get out I found myself adjusting my one all the time and while it was embarrassing sure it also took my focus off the match I was playing You automatically disqualified if you drop the baton in a relay race
8:31
Dropping the baton is definitely one of the worst things you can do during a relay race
8:36
and you can get disqualified if it happens. But it's not the fumble itself that results
8:41
in a disqualification. It's all the stuff that can go wrong in the aftermath. One way to get
8:45
dequeued is by covering forward ground without the baton while you're retrieving it. Say it
8:50
bounces a few meters in front of you and you run ahead to pick it up. Hypothetically, you'd have to
8:54
then backtrack to the point where you drop the baton, if you can even remember where that is
8:58
and then start running from there. But the bigger issue with dropping the baton is that you can't
9:03
get in someone else's way to retrieve it, and that's hard to avoid on a crowded track. It's not
9:07
like there are barriers to keep the baton from falling into another lane. If you do accidentally
9:12
obstruct another runner, your team is disqualified. That said, if you drop the baton because another
9:17
runner got in your way, you can try to appeal. This actually happened to the U.S. women's
9:23
team during a qualifying heat for the 4x100 meter relay at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro
9:29
One of Brazil's runners accidentally whacked Alison Felix, which botched her baton pass to
9:34
teammate English Gardner. Team USA, not wanting an incomplete on their record if they got to appeal
9:39
rallied to finish the relay after everyone else was already done running. They were granted a
9:45
redo, but not for the whole heat, which meant they'd have to run a qualifying time without any
9:50
other competitors on the track. As Felix later told NBC Sports, it was the most bizarre thing
9:55
to run alone because, you know, you're running in a relay and you really run off of people. It's
10:00
really hard to run fast by yourself. Not only did Team USA qualify for the final with the fastest
10:06
this time overall, 41.77 seconds, but they went on to win the gold medal. The drop baton wasn't
10:12
the only hurdle the women had to overcome on their road to gold. Right before the final
10:17
Gardner realized she was missing a shoe. She ended up wearing a spare pair of Felix's
10:21
which were half a size too big. As they famously say in track and field
10:25
the show must go on. While I'm deep in the World Athletics Rulebook, I just want to point out a
10:30
couple other pretty outrageous ways you can get DQ'd during a relay. One is by taking
10:35
another team's baton, which would be very rude, but also very hilarious. The other is by covering
10:41
your hands in anything that would help you obtain a better grip of the baton. I'm assuming that
10:46
includes melted gummy bears. Thanks for watching this episode of Misconceptions. What's the most
10:51
confusing Olympic sport to you? I personally am always baffled by the biathlon, you know
10:56
the one that's both skiing and rifle shooting. What are we doing, folks? What skills are we
11:01
honing here? What are we preparing for? I don't know. I'll see you next time. Love you
#education