The Crying Games

When athletes train for four years only to rise or fail in one brief moment, things can get emotional. Exhibit one: The women’s gymnastic finals.

American world champion Jordyn Wieber came into last night’s final tearyeyed after missing the final cut for best all around.  Her teammate Aly Raisman was crying last night because Wieber did make the cut. Raisman even started crying during her final floor routine. As she nailed her last pass across the floor, just before she landed, her eyes were filling up.

Meanwhile the Russians didn’t hold it together any better.  Russian star Aliya Mustafina and her team came up short against the American "Fab Five" time and again. While the Russians garnered silver to Americans' gold, they did seem to match them in water works. 

It’s a tough stage, especially for a 15-year-old girl. But if you turned off the sound you couldn’t tell who was winning or losing because they all cried whatever happened.

Maybe this trend will continue, and we’ll see tears during women’s wrestling too. Or perhaps a new event: synchronized crying or an all out sob-fest throughout the men’s decathlon.