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 who outscored the entire field!  Skrypnik fell heavily on floor warm up and scratched this final event.

Read More

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 is junior, this probably means that Spiridonova is Russia Cup AA champion!  An unexpected but well deserved title for this distinctive and well prepared gymnast.  Well done Dasha! congratulations to all the girls - will publish results as soon as they are available.

Read More

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 55.766

Shelgunova 54.999

V - Paseka,, Tutkhalyan, Nabiyeva, Afanasyeva

UB - Spiridinova, Paseka, Sosnitskaya

B - Shelgunova, Afanasyeva,  Sosnitskaya,  Spiridonova

F - Afanasyeva,  Akhaimova, Kharenkova, Paseka

Both Tutkhalyan and Kharenkova had many errors and would have done much better on a better day.  Melnikova and Skrypnik competed hors de competition - their scores are not shown here but their performances and scores were generally very competitive with this field.

MAG results - see http://www.the-all-around.com/2015/09/16/ignatiev-leads-qualifying-at-russian-cup/

Read More

List of competitors - Russia Cup

The national team in training for Worlds, with their coaches

WAG - http://sportgymrus.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/spisok-uchastnikov-zhen.pdf

Pleased to see all the usual suspects are registered, plus Daria Mikhailova, Anastasia Grishina, Anastasia Sidorova, Viktoria Kuzmina and Tatiana Nabiyeva.

As we have read before, Aliya Mustafina isn't competing here.

The oldest gymnast competing is Daria Elizarova (1991) and the youngest Daria Skrypnik (2000).  There is a field of 34 women.

MAG - sportgymrus.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/spiski-uchastnikov-muzh.pdf

In MAG we have a total of 55 gymnasts competing.  29 year old Andrei Perevoznikov is the oldest man present, and the youngest is 1997 born Sergei Kryvunets.  Rings specialist Alexander Balandin is the main omission from the list of competitors - he is having more shoulder surgery this week, so we wish him all the best of luck in his recovery.

The competition begins on Wednesday with the MAG and WAG team events.  We very much hope that as usual the RGF will provide live streaming; I will provide links as they arise (check my Facebook and Twitter feeds which are updated more rapidly than this, the main blog).

Good luck to all the competitors!  Do your best!

Read More

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 in 2007.  She has won gold medals at World, European and Universiade and has competed at two Olympics so far, winning silver with her team in London 2012.

Quiet determination and a strong need to fulfill her team responsibilities seem to fuel Ksenia's continuing improvement.  This stylish and powerful gymnast has an ability to maintain discipline and fitness even during injury down times - a talent that has been essential to her impressive competitive longevity.

She is a kind, supportive and inspirational team captain who has substantial moral and physical courage.  Her expressive brand of gymnastics pays respect both to the classical tradition of fine technique, and to the current trend for high level difficulty and acrobatics.

Have a happy birthday today, Ksenia - and good luck as your career develops! 

Read More

Russia Cup preparations and TV shoot ... picture gallery

The Russian team is hard at work, seriously preparing for the forthcoming selection for World Championships, and considering the path ahead to Rio.  It is essential that both the men�s and women�s teams finish in the top eight in order to qualify to fight for medals in the next Olympics.

The Russia Cup, an important stage in qualification for the senior national team in Glasgow, begins in Penza, next Wednesday, the 16^thSeptember.  Hopefully, there will be live streaming and I will do my level best to keep you informed of all relevant information.  Check my Twitter feed and Facebook page for instant links; it will take me longer to update the main blog.

It has already been established that Aliya Mustafina will not be competing here, and rings specialist Alexander Balandin will also be missing.  After more than a year out of action with a serious shoulder injury, we heard today that poor Alexander has to go for more surgery.  It is hoped that he will be able to participate in nationals next spring.  We wish him a full recovery.  Emin Garibov too has had more than his fair share of injury, but we will see him on three apparatus in Penza.  His participation in worlds is in the balance.

I wonder if Russia can produce any champions in Glasgow.  Competition in the women�s field is fiercer than ever, and the Russians seem more likely to contend for silver and bronze medals than gold at this stage of the game, as Andrei Rodionenko said a couple of weeks ago.  The men�s competition is a different animal, with the specialists playing the main role in title fights.  With more medals to contend on the men�s side, Russia might stand a better chance of gold there than in women�s, this time round.  But it will be difficult.

All Championships are won thanks to the discipline and hard work of the athlete.   What he or she does every day is all that really matters when it comes to those few seconds on the podium.  That�s why it is so good to see a photo gallery today on the RGF website, recording the team�s serious work, alongside a visit from the production team of children�s TV show, SpokinoiNochi, Malishy! (Good Night, Little Ones!).  This popular TV show is transmitted by Russia 1 every weekday night at bedtime, and has run since 1968.  This week, little dog Philya met with some of the gymnasts and observed them in training.  I have picked out a few select images below for you to enjoy and reflect upon.

Emin Garibov with Philya the dog. On his Instagram account, Emin says : '20 years ago, who would have dreamed of being in the studio for a chat with Khryusha, Philya, Stepashka and Karkusha?  It is a childhood dream come true ...'

Maria Paseka's lovely smile and natural demeanour makes her perfect for children's TV.  She's not bad at vault and bars, either!

Head coach Andrei Rodionenko has a lot on his mind at the moment.  Will the Russian team be able to meet its Olympic medal targets in 2016?

Alla Sosnitskaya in a dramatic pose on the beam.  Assuming she has recovered fully from injury, she is one of four gymnasts who will be contending for an all around spot on the team in the absence of Mustafina - Tutkhalyan, Kharenkova and Shelgunova are the other three.

Angelina Melnikova will become eligible for the senior team in 2016, but is training as seriously as if she were qualifying for Glasgow.  She is, quite probably, one more all arounder for Russia, who are building strength in depth.

Ksenia Afanasyeva, with a new, shorter haircut, discusses a fine point of execution with coach Marina Nazarova.  Former teammate and assistant coach Ksenia Semenova looks on.

The serioius minded Maria Kharenkov with her personal coach, Olga Sagina

One of three gymnasts on the team who are trained by Marina Ulyankina, Seda Tutkhalyan has her first big chance to prove her reliability and competitive spirit at next week's Russia Cup.

Ksenia Afanasyeva in typical dramatic motion, her downcast eyes adding to the expression of the moment.

Viktoria Komova does some conditioning with coach Anton Stolyar

The mature and competitive Daria Spiridinova is expected to be a bars specialist in Glasgow, but she still practices floor

The powerful, lyrical Anastasia Dmitrieva provides great back up for Ksenia Afanasyeva on floor and beam

Viktoria was evidently working hard on floor, showing her trademark polish

Evgeniya Shelgunova is assiduous and a good team player.  Will Glasgow finally provide her with an opportunity to prove her worth on the World stage?

Read More

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 thing if her back is hurting.

Let us all say - we support Aliya completely in making her own decisions in her own time and space.

Keep Calm and Support Aliya!  Good luck to our team's leader!

Read More

Aliya Mustafina rumours - editorial note

EDITORIAL NOTE ADDED 9.9.2015

From Queen Elizabeth

There 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 sites that attempt to make their version of the story into the true story.  

Let's all remember the definition of rumour : 

'information, often a mixture of truth and untruth, passed around verbally'

Let us not pass around our speculation as an authoritative version of events, or at least let's keep fact strictly separate from fiction, or near-fiction.  

Aliya is the only one who matters, and who knows the complete truth about it all.  It is her choice, and the choice of her Federation, whether we are informed of the full circumstances.  She is a professional athlete with a normal life whose privacy we should all respect.  Most of what is being said is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. 

I would say that the fact that Valentina is leaving the door open for Aliya to compete at Worlds speaks volumes of her respect for this gymnast.

I am probably flying in the face of fan opinion when I say, I hope Aliya DOESN'T compete in Glasgow, for reasons I will keep to myself.  All that matters is that she remains happy and healthy; I would love to see her compete in Rio, but that is almost a year away.

You can read the official information about Aliya here - http://rewritingrussiangymnastics.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/aliya-mustafina-to-miss-russia-cup-says.html?showComment=1441745122582

Read More

Garibov, Balandin will miss Worlds, confirms head coach Alfosov

Head MAG coach Valery Alfosov has confirmed that the Russian team will be missing two of its key players in Glasgow this winter - Emin Garibov and Alexander Balandin.  As reported on this blog two days ago, Emin will compete at the Russia Cup but will work on three apparatus only.  Alfosov has added that Emin doesn't yet have enough difficulty for Worlds.  

Alexander has suffered complications following surgery for a shoulder injury and is only now getting back to training after an absence of more than a year.  Both gymnasts are expected to be ready to contend for the Russian Olympic team for Rio.

Source - http://tass.ru/sport/2244743

Read More