Today's London 2012 Google Doodle: Celebrating men's rings

Today’s London 2012 Google Doodle: Celebrating men’s rings

By Rene Lynch

July 31, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;lt;p class=”runtimeTopic”&amp;gt;It’s arguably the single image that best captures the Olympics, any Olympics: the men’s rings. That might explain why today’s &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”ORCRP006761”&amp;gt;Google&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; Doodle tribute to the &amp;lt;runtime:topic id=”EVSPR000227”&amp;gt;London 2012 Olympics&amp;lt;/runtime:topic&amp;gt; features a so-called artistic gymnast perched atop the men’s rings.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;”The grace, strength and skill of Olympic gymnasts have been astonishing audiences since the Games in Ancient Greece, where Gymnastics was regarded as the perfect symmetry between mind and body,” &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.london2012.com/gymnastics-artistic/about/”&amp;gt;according&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; to a snapshot of the sport offered up by the London 2012 Olympics. “Strength, flexibility and balance are keys to success in this breathtaking and hugely competitive sport.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Be sure to watch the video rendition of the doodle: The mustachioed gymnast uses his impressive upper body strength to swing himself up into the air -- so high, it seems he might never return -- before swinging back into position.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-olympic-2012-google-doodle-20120731-photos,0,4959827.photogallery”&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;IMAGES: Google’s 2012 Olympic Doodles&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;This Google Doodle comes with a bit of an Olympic history lesson as well: The term “artistic gymnastics” was first used in the 19th century. The rings are just one of 14 medal events that make up artistic gymnastics. And this fun fact: An equal number of men and women -- 98 -- entered this year’s Olympic gymnastics competition. (Participating countries are limited to five-person teams.)&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;So how is the United States team doing so far in rings? Not so well. After the first three rotations, American men were in &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/olympicsnow/la-sp-on-olympics-men-gym-rotation3-20120730,0,5042498.story”&amp;gt;eighth place&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;.&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Also not doing so swell by some standards: NBC. The network with the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics has been taking a drubbing for its programming decisions, &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-jon-stewart-nbc-terror-victims-tribute-london-opening-ceremonies-20120731,0,3091990.story”&amp;gt;most recently&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; by Jon Stewart. However, NBC is doing well in the one competition that matters most: ratings. Critics are rallying behind the hash tag #NBCfail on social media platforms even as NBC’s viewership is &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-0731-olympics-nbc-20120731,0,166521.story”&amp;gt;soaring&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;ALSO:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-florida-captain-who-lost-hand-to-gator-charged-20120730,0,347277.story”&amp;gt;Fla. captain who lost hand to gator faces illegal feeding charge&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-kent-state-student-arrested-alleged-twitter-threat-20120730,0,3389322.story”&amp;gt;Kent State student accused of tweeting plan to ‘shoot up’ campus&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”https://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-gun-control-advocates-online-ammo-ban-20120730,0,6439179.story”&amp;gt;Anonymous online ammo sales would be banned under proposed law&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Join Rene Lynch on &amp;lt;a href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/116843518703648900008?rel=author”&amp;gt;Google+&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; and &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.twitter.com/renelynch”&amp;gt;Twitter.&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; Email: &amp;lt;a href=”mailto:rene.lynch@latimes.com”&amp;gt;rene.lynch@latimes.com&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Today’s London 2012 Google Doodle: Celebrating men’s rings

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