It's official - Anastasia Grishina has retired

2012 Olympic silver medallist, and multiple European medal winner in her native city of Moscow in 2013, Nastia Grishina, has retired, confirms head coach Valentina Rodionenko in an interview with Albert Starodubtsev of Tass.

20 year old Grishina, a beautiful beam and floor worker who was once considered to have significant all around potential at world level, married recently.  She has been studying journalism at a Moscow University.

Rodionenko wasted no time in ascribing Grishina's waning as an international star to her changing coaching arrangements since the Olympics.  Regular readers of this blog will know that Sergei Zelikson, whose tenure as Grishina's personal coach was terminated suddenly in 2012, was recently re-appointed to the national WAG team as tumbling coach.  'The leaders of the Moscow Gymnastics Federation made a fatal mistake a few years ago, when they decided to transfer Grishina to a different coach', said Rodionenko.  'You couldn't take Grishina away from Zelikson because he knew her well, and both coach and gymnast were on the right track.  Then Grishina's troubles began - first one injury, then another.  The transition to the Razumovsky coaches was a wrong step.  We (the management) tried to stop this.  However, not only Moscow but also Grishina decided they wanted a new coach.  It seems that the gymnast wanted a coach who was less demanding.  In the end though, their collaboration ended in vain'.

'Grishina has lost her desire to train, and her place [on the national team] was taken up by a younger gymnast a long time ago.  Frankly, we had big hopes for Grishina - most experts believed her to be one of Russia's big hopes.  She was really a very capable girl.'

Grishina's coaches since 2012, Irina and Viktor Razumovsky, returned to Moscow from Japan in 2012, where they had been coaching.  Rejoining the Moscow CSKA club where they had always worked during the Soviet era, their legacy includes Olympic champion Elena Shevchenko and Olga Chudina, and they also coached 1981 World Champion Olga Bicherova during the later years of her career.  Former junior national team member Daria Mikhailova trained with them.  CSKA is the native club of coach Alexander Alexandrov and of World and Olympic medallist Aliya Mustafina.

Kramarenko and Nabiyeva with St Petersburg promise, Elena Eremina

Universiade champion Ekaterinburg Kramarenko and world champion Tatiana Nabiyeva have also both finished their careers, Rodionenko said.    'Kramarenko did everything she could', 'Nabiyeva, on the other hand, did not fulfill her potential in the gym.  At youth level, she was stronger than Aliya Mustafina, and became European Junior Champion.  Her personality prevented her from fulfilling her promise.' (I hope Tatiana never reads this!!)   

Both Ekaterina and Tatiana come from St Petersburg, the home of Olympic champions Alexander Detiatin and Elena Shushunova.  Tatiana now coaches young gymnasts in her home gym, with her coaches Alexander and Vera Kiryashova.

Good luck to all the gymnasts and coaches mentioned in this announcement!  Be happy and successful in what life brings, keep in touch - and thank you for all the fantastic gymnastics!

Source - http://tass.ru/sport/2598291