Nothing against the tiny sparkplug gymnasts (of any nation) but this woman [woman] got her gold in the name of elegance, form and beauty of line, as well as top skill.

http://jrdonohue.com/oly1.jpg
http://jrdonohue.com/oly2.jpg
http://jrdonohue.com/oly3.jpg

Montage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hruZzYWIrls

Congratulations and go for it on the beam!

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She sure is flexible!  She could use a trip into the setup room to have some bones added!  hehe

She performs only after going into the menus and turns off "Use Limits"

She has the finest beam routine ever. Going for Gold on it tomorrow or the next day.

OG, if you'll pardon a suggestion, in pic 2 try her right arm behind her raised left leg.  As it is she definately should get some sort of medal for doing the impossible.  :)

This is from an acrobat.:)

The other 2 poses could be classed as caught in-motion to address slight off-balance issues.

This is presuming that you want opinions at all :)

I hear she's only 13.  That's cheating!

masha, very excellent observations. I looked conceptualized all of them as in motion. it is true that if one does not realize this, they fail, because of balance and gravity issues -- they only are convincing if in motion.

In a render one way to convey that is motion blur, but I was too "otherwise occupied" to fuss with that. Certainly putting a caption of 'in motion' would have been a good idea. Additionally, I am going to think thru what other clues besides motion blur I could have inserted to convey in-motion. Thanks for that observation.

The #2 pose does look impossible! However, it is an illusion of some sort, because when I spin around the model in 3D it actually is anatomical, though extreme. I should have changed it, because the twist in the torso that allows the odd pose does not come across; I made an extraordingary claim but did not 'sell' or convince properly.

Are you watching the gymnastics at the Olympics? The debate about the pure athleticism of Shawn Johnson against the athleticism plus dancer-style of Anastasia is fascinating. I think Anastasia won because she realized she had to be no less than equal in athletic ability and could not allow her grace and style "make up for" any shortcomings in power.

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Oh I see,  you had  it captured from another camera  than where you posed it from.  In stills  you can certainly get away with strange positions as long as you don't show another angle. :)

Didn't catch all the events but Nastia has done so beautifully, though the Olympics focus more on technical skills  I find the combination of  grace and skill far more admirable.  It takes special abilities to flow from a wonderful dance move into a difficult trick without the grim concentration of preparation for it. But perhaps that's more valued in show-biz.  Felt sad for Anna Pavlova losing her score when she beat the green light  at the start of the vaults.  Enjoyed your input :)

If only poser figures bent as well as the gymnasts did!
Nice work Operaguy!

Here’s that pose from another angle, sans outfit.  (mild nudity)
http://jrdonohue.com/oly4.jpg

The last gymnast prior to Anastasia who enthralled me as elegant,

stylish and theatrical was the "Belarus Swan", the wonderful Svetlana Boginskaya

Floor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO3vfULCRKU

Beam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nelq7qeaV0&feature=related 

At one time Béla Károlyi disapproved of The Swan, but she tamed him and got him to coach her.

You can hear him in the background cheering her on.

Vault

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6v_3ze269E&feature=related

I love the look on her competitor’s face after Boginskaya nails both runs with stuck landings

For fun as a dancer, 1997. What a woman!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOgJmcjNokU&feature=related
Floor for fun, All That Jazz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h04CZPzyys&feature=related

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