Who's Who - Russia's Women Artistic Gymnasts

Russia come to London as underdogs in the women's artistic gymnastics, the fearsome, powerful USA the most likely contenders by far for team gold.   Saddled with a reputation for alarming inconsistency and an under power team with little reserve, Russia seem unlikely to stem the tide of efficient, stable athleticism that is the strength of the American gymnasts - and of the resurgent Romanians, who beat them at the European Championships in Brussels this spring.

But Russia are ruffling some feathers in London.  The amplitude, expression and technique, always a characteristic of their work, has now been joined by a sassy, confident attitude that has often found more expression on the girls' personal Facebook pages than on the gymnastics podium.  The Russian gymnasts have begun to show their character on the podium, as well as off it - and it is much appreciated by the ground swell of gymnastics fans who have been willing them for so long to show their class and grab at that gold.  Maybe, just maybe, the Americans have had all the credit they are going to have for their athleticism.  Maybe, just maybe, it will take more than 'clean routines' to win this Olympics.  The Russians are the ones who offer the added value of artistry to their gymnastics -  complete with the super-added extra of surprise upgrades.  Keep your eyes open and watch quick hits at the Gymnastics Examiner.  The Russians will be on at around tea-time.

Team captain Ksenia Afanasyeva

Ksenia Dimitriyevna Afanasyeva
born 13th September 1991
Home : Khimki, Tula
N S Nabakova, M V Nazarova, S O Gaidorov

World Floor Champion Afanasyeva goes to London as team captain, her maturity, concentration and determination marking her out as ideal for this role.  She is the only team member of have competed in the 2008 Olympics - where the Russian women came away empty-handed. 

Afanasyeva missed European Championships with an ankle injury, but managed to place fourth all around at the Russian Cup and is still amongst the team's strongest performers on beam and floor.  Her fearsome athleticism and artistry remains untainted and she is expected to contribute strongly in London, where she will unveil a bold and entertaining new floor routine.

Afanasyeva remains the Russians' fourth all arounder in this team configuration - but may be replaced by Paseka on vault if the latter is regularly landing her difficult Amanar vault.

Anastasia Nikolayevna Grishina
16th January 1996
Moscow
O E Sikorro, S B Zelikson, R M Ganina

Grishina is the youngest, least experienced member of this team - but her competitive edge has been tempered by appearances at the Olympic Test Event and European Championships.  A minor leg injury kept her out of the Russian Cup competition, but her selection for the Olympics seems unequivocal.

Strong, solid and graceful, Grishina has that special edge that enables her to improve at every new performance.  Her bars talent is well known, but watch out for her as a dark horse in London, particularly in the all around and on the beam.  Revealed in the last few days is also a rare and highly difficult floor skill - double twisting double back somersault.  If Grishina competes this it will make her a front runner for qualification to the floor event final, and also reinforce her all around efforts.

  
Viktoria Alexandrovna Komova
30th January 1995
Voronezh
G B Elfimov, O M Bulgakova, V V Kolesnikova, N Y Fedina

17 year old Komova - daughter of 1985 World Championships gymnast Vera Kolesnikova - has yet to show her full potential at senior level.  The fact that she is 2011 World Vice Champion all around, and  2011 World Bars Champion. speaks volumes for that potential.

In recent training since arrival in London, Komova has successfully performed a two and a half twisting Yurchenko vault, a double twisting double back dismount off bars and a half twisting double front dismount on beam - all significant upgrades to the partial programme she showed at the Europeans.  

Komova's strengths are her power and grace - the one quality belying the other as she makes her ultra difficult routines look easy.  She also really, really hates finishing in second place.

Aliya Fargatovna Mustafina
30th September 1994
Moscow
Brigada (coaching team), A S Alexandrov, R M Ganina


Since tearing her ACL at the 2011 European Championships, Mustafina has been promising a legendary comeback at the London Olympics.  The first daughter of a 1976 Olympic medal winning Greco-Roman wrestler has inherited some of her father' grit and spirit - and then added some more of her own.

A concentration on bars training during the early months of her rehabilitation means that 2010 World Champion Mustafina has recreated herself as a world-leading bars specialist - and now returns as a super-motivated all arounder.  Mustafina's post-recovery routines may not so far show the polish or difficulty of her pre-injury gymnastics - but her ambition has only grown.  Somehow, somewhere, Tsarina Aliya will find a way to deliver something very special at the Games. 

Maria Valeriyevna Paseka
born 19th July 1995
Moscow
M G Ulyankina, V N Ulyankin, I A Savosina 

Paseka made her senior international debut at this spring's European Championships, where she contributed on vault to the team's silver medal behind the resurgent Romanians.   Her even temperament could make her a useful addition to an otherwise potentially fiery mix of personalities in the likely cauldron of emotions in the North Greenwich Arena.

Paseka has been regularly landing the difficult two and a half twisting Yurchenko vault in training.  This makes her extremely valuable in the team final because of the high start value of the vault.







Pictures of Anastasia Grishina, Aliya Mustafina and Viktoria Komova were drawn from an online picture gallery of the July 6th and 7th control competition at Penza, courtesy of the Burtasy School of Gymnastics.  
The picture of Maria Paseka is courtesy of the Russian Gymnastics Federation.
The picture of Ksenia Afanasyeva is courtesy of the FIG.