Does Russia need Mustafina in Glasgow? Vaitsekhovskaya adds her voice

'Should Mustafina compete in Glasgow, considering her fragile state of health? - aren't the Olympics more important?' are the key themes of this brief news piece by Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, a top sports journalist who has interviewed Alexandrov, Arkayev, Starkin, Mustafina and...

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Mustafina riposte - I will decide if I compete on the basis of my health, says the Champion

As quickly as my posts have been published, new stories have emerged.  In my last post - you will need to read it in order to get the full picture - I said we would need to read Aliya's words, and here they are, thanks to RSport and some very vigilant readers of this blog who tipped me off!  The decision to include Aliya on the team is not...

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Provisional Russian team for Glasgow - Mustafina will now prepare, says Valentina Rodionenko

Aliya Mustafina - competitive status has been veiled in mystery.  Photograph is by leading Russian photographer, Sergei BermenievThe mist surrounding Aliya Mustafina's official competitive status lifted just a little this afternoon as head coach Valentina Rodionenko first...

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Russia Cup - Day one EF results and a little reflection

Dynamic young Seda Tutkhalyan, a leading gymnast in Penza this week, is finding her feet in senior competitionOnce again this week the Russian women showed themselves to be vulnerable to errors in the first day of apparatus finals, while the men excelled.  Please see the...

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Russian gymnastics teams for World Champs 2015, Glasgow - provisional lists

In Glasgow, MAG could well provide the highlights for the Russian team this time as Nikita Ignatyev's surge towards AA victory has strengthened the team in depth.  The addition of ambitious young blood such as Nikita Nagorny also shows that there is no lack of inspiration...

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Aliya Mustafina to miss Worlds

Mustafina will not compete at Worlds, says Valentina Rodionenko.  The gymnast will concentrate on her preparations for Rio, says the Head Coach in RSport. http://m.rsport.ru/artist_gym/20150918/864271660.htmlThe readers and editors of RRG wish Aliya the best of health as...

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Melnikova and the rest - a team of worried Russians

Can the Russians replace frowns with smiles next year in Rio?'The results we realised yesterday will not be enough to fight for medals in Glasgow', said Head Coach Andrei Rodionenko in an interview with Allsport today.  Unfortunately he was probably right.  ...

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Spiridonova Russia Cup Champion!

Spiridonova, Tutkhalyan, Kharenkova - a great finish but with too many errors.  Floor is a real weakness for this team, although bars are good and beam has significant potential ...Poor Sosnitskaya ... View the bottom section for junior scores, including Melnikova...

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Angelina Melnikova - top scorer in Russia Cup AA

Angelina Melnikova ... Top scorer in the Russia Cup AA competition today.  Daria Spiridonova in second place was the leading senior in the field, followed by Maria Kharenkova. Seda Tutkhakyan in 4th had a fall on floor but would otherwise have finished top.  As Melnikova...

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Russia Cup WAG team results, individual qualifications

WAG results - team event - Russia Cup.  Moscow, Central, St Petersburg.Individual qualis -AA - Spiridonova 57.3,  Sosnitskaya 56.367 Kharenkova 55.967, Tutkhalyan 55.766Shelgunova 54.999V - Paseka,, Tutkhalyan, Nabiyeva, AfanasyevaUB - Spiridinova, Paseka,...

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List of competitors - Russia Cup

The national team in training for Worlds, with their coachesWAG - http://sportgymrus.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/spisok-uchastnikov-zhen.pdfPleased to see all the usual suspects are registered, plus Daria Mikhailova, Anastasia Grishina, Anastasia Sidorova, Viktoria Kuzmina...

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Happy Birthday, Ksenia Afanasyeva!

Ksenia, who turns 24 today, will most likely be team captain in Glasgow, assuming she does well in the forthcoming series of qualifying events for Worlds and makes the team!Ksenia has an impressive list of honours to her name, going back as far as her international senior debut...

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Russia Cup preparations and TV shoot ... picture gallery

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Keep Calm And Support Aliya

Andrei Rodionenko has confirmed on RSport that Aliya has eligibility to qualify for Worlds even if she doesn't compete at Russia Cup.All that is important is that Aliya remains healthy and happy to make her own choices.  Rushing to qualify for Worlds might not be the best...

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Aliya Mustafina rumours - editorial note

EDITORIAL NOTE ADDED 9.9.2015From Queen ElizabethThere has been much discussion about Aliya in past weeks.  I do not want to create any distress or add to the current storm in a teacup, so the following is all I have to say until more information is officially and reliably in the public domain.   I will not be linking to blog posts or fan...

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