Dmitrieva to replace Mustafina in Glasgow

    Dmitrieva in training this summer 

The Russian Worlds team line up changed today as Valentina Rodionenko announced via Tass that Aliya Mustafina would be replaced in Glasgow by Anastasia Dmitrieva.  Aliya withdrew her place in the team as she was not ready to compete, but will travel to Scotland as a guest of the Russian team.  'Her support is crucial to our girls in such an important competition', said Rodionenko (source - http://tass.ru/sport/2325851).

Dmitrieva's strengths are on floor and beam.  At best, her flighty double layout on floor, together with elegant presentation, make her a natural for a spot on the senior national team.  If she were to compete at Worlds it would be an opportunity to develop her competitive maturity.  Second place on both beam and floor at the Rusudan Sikharulidze International tournament are her best senior international results so far, and domestically she appears regularly in finals.  At the Russia Cup last month - not her best competition - she finished sixth AA, 5th on vault and 6th on the balance beam.  

Dmitrieva's potential strength - floor - is a weakness for the Russian team as a whole and her elevation from the reserve spot onto the final competing team may make strategic sense if she is felt to be reliable.  The only question would be, who would she replace?  At the end of the day, relying on first year seniors may be unpalatable to the ultra-conservative team coaches - but there always has to be a first time.  Steeling young blood in such a fiery cauldron as Worlds could be exactly the kind of experience those youngsters need to prepare them for battle in Rio.

This may not be the final change to the team roster - nominative registrations can change right up to the 24th October.  The Russian team travel to Scotland on the 17th, and their final selection will take place at Lake Krugloye on the 14th.  A lot can happen in a day in gymnastics, and we have eleven left before the team board the aeroplane.

This certainly makes the Russian team a heady mix of youth and experience, and emphasises the importance of the first and second year seniors who will have an opportunity to learn and to prove themselves at the most important team competition outside of the Olympics.  If the team performs well, it will cement the position of these youngsters and invigorate motivation and competition for the Rio team.  

Mustafina's almost talismanic status is also reinforced here as she is freed to take up a mentoring role to the gymnasts.  Her presence could make all the difference.

WAG team - 

Daria Spiridonova^

Seda Tutkhalyan*

Viktoria Komova

Ksenia Afanasyeva

Maria Kharenkova^

Maria Paseka

Anastasia Dmitrieva*

*First year senior

^Second year senior

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World Gymnastics Championships 2015 - Russian team news

Denis Ablyazin - coach Sergei Starkin confirms that his preparations are going well

Keep your eyes peeled over the coming days and weeks for news of the Russian team.  Offical nominative registrations were published by the FIG over a week ago, but it is almost inevitable that there will be some changes to the team line-ups. Sources close to the Russian team hint that this year it may be their men's team, and in particular specialist Denis Ablyazin, who has the best chance of shining on the podium in Glasgow.  And personal coach, Sergei Starkin, has indirectly confirmed that Aliya Mustafina may well not participate in this month's World Championships, the latest turn in a long round of statement-and-counter-statements made by the Russian team about their Olympic star.

As usual there remain significant question marks over the readiness of the women's team.  Journalist Natalia Kalugina visited Lake Krugloye yesterday and her reports indicate that there is still room - and time - for improvements to be made.  The gymnastics expert picked out Daria Spiridonova as Russia's leading all arounder at this moment in time, and praised Ksenia Afanasyeva for her floor work, although she was not training yesterday because of a high fever.  Maria Paseka is 'as reliable as a tank'.  But there are no miracle improvements - Komova's beam work is still hesitant, the team as a whole remains weak on floor, and is prone to falls. Under the circumstances the Worlds draw, which has the Russians finishing on beam in qualifications, is considered rather unfavourable.

Olympic Champion Aliya Mustafina's status for these Worlds still remains uncertain.  In an interview published today, coach Sergei Starkin explained that Aliya will resume full training AFTER the World Championships.  This strongly suggests that Aliya isn't ready for Worlds, therefore, but Starkin goes on to explain that Rio remains the gymnast's main goal, albeit with some changes.  'Slight adjustments will be made to Aliya's plans and objectives, perhaps with the emphasis on the team', he said, adding that she would train all around.  But really, Russia's depth issues mean that much of the strain still rests on the heads of the veterans from London.  'After the Games, Aliya was really unbearably tired', he added. 

Evgeniya Shelgunova at the recent Sidharulidze tournament

Few certainties therefore surround Aliya Mustafina as a gymnast at this particular moment in time.  The Egorovskye Kourier (Egorov, a small town outside Moscow, is Aliya's birthplace) has published a chronology of media announcements and counter-announcements regarding her participation in Worlds.  You can follow this story as it unfurled here, here, here and here, and you will see why the author entitled his article 'Drama in big-time sport'.  His main point is that the contradictory nature of much of this fast-changing story makes it difficult to know exactly what to believe.  Is it really possible that Aliya was plainly not preparing for Worlds one day, but 'ready to grit her teeth' the next?, he asks.  This isn't so much news about gymnastics, as news about news.

Certainly the main protagonists are not speaking with one voice.  And it continues - to bring things right up to date, Starkin's polite and slightly obtuse discussion of Aliya's future plans adds authority to the idea of a gymnast who isn't really ready to compete despite what the team management have been saying.  The idea that she is choosing not to be in Glasgow isn't tragic, worrying or upsetting - after Aliya's long career she should be able to choose her competitions.  Uncertainty is the nature of competitive gymnastics. But Russia's rushed attempts to satisfy media demand for information may have painted an unfavourable picture, and this is an unnecessary distraction when the team is preparing for Worlds. 

It's all the same in practice though - we still don't know anything but, probably, Mustafina won't be at Worlds. Evgeniya Shelgunova's name did not appear on the official nominative registrations published last month - but she is training with the team in Lake Krugloye and, according to Natalia Kalugina, doing quite well.  Perhaps she will travel to Glasgow instead of Mustafina.

Starkin's picture of Ablyazin's training for Glasgow is somewhat more optimistic than Kalugina's reports of the Russian women.  He confirms that he is satisfied that Denis has now stabilised his performance of the Yang vault and has overcome the adverse effects of a long-term shoulder injury for which he was treated in Germany shortly after the European Championships.  Ablyazin will therefore compete rings in Glasgow.

In Lake Krugloye, and at Starkin's home gym, the Burtasy School of Gymnastics in Penza, a new floor has been installed that is the same make as the one that will be used in Glasgow and Rio.  Starkin seems less than happy with this new floor, which he says doesn't give the same flight and rebound as others - he says he 'doesn't know of any gymnast who wouldn't complain about that'.  Apparently the floor mat is of a different make to the other apparatus chosen for Rio.  Practice on this mat will be vital preparation for the Olympics.

Denis's psychological preparations are going well, and Starkin suggests that he has overcome some of the nerves that gave him problems earlier in his career.  Apparently he was unwell during the Russia Cup and his coach even suggesting withdrawing from the second day of event finals.  Denis, however, would hear nothing of this (and went on to win vault!).

The team will travel to Glasgow on the 17th October, and the final test to determine who will travel will take place on the 14th October.  Watch out over at the Russian Gymnastics Federation's website - they often have a press day at around this time of year, and there may be a photo gallery upcoming.

Russia's nominative registrations for the Glagow World Championships (23rd October - 1st November) are currently

MAG

Denis Ablyazin
David Belyavski
Nikita Ignatyev
Nikolai Kuksenkov
Nikita Nagorny
Ivan Stretovich
Alexei Rostov

WAG

Ksenia Afanasyeva
Viktoria Komova
Maria Paseka
Seda Tutkhalyan
Maria Kharenkova
Daria Spiridonova
Aliya Mustafina

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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 Rodionenko in the last five years since Aliya won the World Championships.

Elena stresses that this year nothing unusual has happened.  Aliya has worked hard with her new coach Sergei Starkin.  She did a 'great job', demonstrating her work at the European Games in Baku where she won the all around, bars and team events as well as silver in the floor exercise.

But, says Vaitsekhovskaya, more important than the medals was the fact that Aliya showed a new technical level, began work on upgrades for the Rio Olympics.  Just competing in one event - the Baku games - could be enough for a veteran athlete of Mustafina's experience.  The body ages in both time - and injuries.  Athletes always respond in the same way - exhaustion sets in, old injuries worsen, and the psychological effect of all of this makes things worse.  So it's natural that doubts arise in athletes' minds at these times.  

Vaitsekhovskaya continues to the effect that these are difficult times when it is important not to give up, but also not to continue at all costs to try to overcome the 'inner apathy'.  Accept the fact that the body's reaction - if unpleasant - is natural and, most importantly, temporary.  

This is the reason, says Vaitsekhovskaya, that most athletes are only able to peak once a year.  The European Games may have been a minor event, but for Aliya, they were a big thing in that she set herself a goal to show that she had returned to her former level - and she did this brilliantly.  

This leads to the question - does the Russian team have to include Aliya in its team for Glasgow?  Well of course the absence of the leader will affect the overall result, but the Russian team only needs to qualify for the Olympics and with Afanasyeva and Komova coming back to their best form, they should at least manage that.  We all know that Aliya has strong fighting capabilities and Olympic goals are worthy of some sacrifices.  The main thing is - not to change the goals for Rio.

Aliya said - 

'I'm going to continue to practice and prepare for competitions.  I will attend camp at Round Lake, and try to restore my form and overcome my back problems.  Unfortunately, this injury has not responded very well to treatment. Improvements occur only after a period of complete rest from training.  But this does not mean that I'm going to despair. As a reserve I may be able to help the team in Glasgow.'

RRG is of the opinion that Aliya should only compete in Glasgow if she really wants to, and if her health is good.  It is exhausting just travelling to overseas destinations, adjusting to time differences and so on, and the pressure of big competition makes it difficult to take cool decisions.  What if another gymnast were to be injured during the competition, for example?  Aliya would feel it her duty to step in and give her all - and it is clear that her all now has its limitations.  The Queen is only human.

I'll reiterate Elena's point that the Rio Olympics are far more important than short term goals in Glasgow.  What do the Rodionenkos think of this?  Well Valentina Rodionenko has gone public, offering Aliya whatever treatments she wants - if the clinic in Germany hasn't worked, could another therapist do better?  But it is clear that rest is the only thing that Aliya feels works properly, and also that Valentina's words in this respect are rather unhelpful.   Only Aliya knows how her back feels.  

A coach shouldn't use media announcements to pressurise an athlete to train when she isn't ready.   You can spray anaesthetic on an aching foot to get through a floor routine, but that doesn't make the injury better - doesn't Valentina know that?  Besides, Aliya has to get through weeks of heavy training before Glasgow.  She shouldn't have to go through physical and mental pain at this stage of her career, just to make sure that the Russian head coaches achieve silver rather than bronze or fourth position in a competition that really matters very little.

We fans must support Aliya as best we can.

Vaitsekhovskaya's original article - http://www.sport-express.ru/artistic-gymnastics/reviews/919813/

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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 as definitive as might have been taken from Valentina and Andrei's words, but then we always have the subtleties of translation to deal with.

"I do not know for sure, (my performance in the World Championships) is questionable. When I am ready, it can be a statement, but for now it's not possible. I will be looking at my health closer to departure," - said Mustafina by telephone.  She also noted that saying anything concrete about her health is difficult. "While it is difficult to say anything about the state of my health, one does need to start training. We will work in the camp at Round Lake."

In turn, the head coach of Russia Andrei Rodionenko confirmed that 'no one had refused' the possibility of Mustafina being included in the squad for the World Championships.

Yet more uncertainty - it is understandable if Aliya wants to take her time in deciding, and I am sure that we all support her in that.  Interesting that Aliya is now clearly an independent voice on the Russian team - she has earned this autonomy from the mature and professional way she has handled these difficult questions, and indeed her entire career, and we all send her our very best thoughts.

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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 Bermeniev

The mist surrounding Aliya Mustafina's official competitive status lifted just a little this afternoon as head coach Valentina Rodionenko first announced one set of names for the forthcoming World Championships, then added another to the roster.  'Yesterday, Mustafina decided to clench her teeth and prepare for Worlds, despite her back pain.  We know her condition and cannot force her to train ... We will take seven gymnasts to Glasgow', said Rodionenko.  Later, Andrei Rodionenko added that ten gymnasts will join a training camp tomorrow at Round Lake to prepare for Worlds - and participate in final selection.  Names are given below.

We will have to look for Mustafina's own words to provide the definitive account of her miraculous return, and of course the only team that will matter is the team that marches out into the arena in October!  But if Aliya eventually says she will be ready ... she will be ready.  We don't know the context and the perameters, let alone the background to all this, but if it turns out to be true, the big questions will be -

-  Will Aliya compete all around?

-  How will her selection sway the chances of other gymnasts on the team?

-  How will her presence impact the results of the team as a whole?  We know of her as a fantastic team captain who can be a stabilising and inspirational influence on the gymnasts.

-  How ready will she be to face the strong competition from overseas, in particular the gymnasts from the USA, Romania and China?

-  Has Mustafina's position been one of indecision, defiance, self protection - or part of a wily master plan devised by the national coaches to secure a seventh berth for the team?   It could simply be a matter of a painful back - but we all want to know more than it is probably our business to know.  It's only human nature to ask : what on earth is this all about?  

One thing is for sure - Mustafina's charismatic presence in gymnastics is strongly missed, not just in Russian gymnastics, but internationally.  We need Aliya, not just for the soft performance quality of the hyper difficult gymnastics she brings to the stage ... Not just for the fantastically creative way she and her personal coaches and choreographer find to maximise the codified value of her routines ... But also for the enigmatic charm and powerful aura she transmits.  It is a relief to hear that she intends to participate - as long as she is properly healthy.  We have to trust her to make that decision.  From Valentina's words - 'we cannot force her to train' - it seems that this point has been made.

We can only get behind this amazing personality and give her OUR best support in the only ways we can - imagery, sound, words and lots and lots of cheers on the day.  It really does make a difference - Aliya and Russia needs you as they prepare for the big fight in Rio.

Don't miss Aliya's riposte - this is still a will-she-won't-she situation - 

http://rewritingrussiangymnastics.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/mustafina-riposte-i-will-decide-if-i.html?m=1

The preliminary teams Valentina Rodionenko announced are - 

WAG - (AA) Tutkhalyan, Spiridonova, Kharenkova (specialists) Komova, Afanasyeva, Paseka.  Valentina added that there would be a seventh athlete to be announced later, perhaps Alla Sosnitskaya or 'maybe a completely different gymnast' - :-))

MAG - (AA) Nikita Ignatyev, Nikolai Kuksenkov, David Belyavski, (specialists) Ablyazin and Nagorny.  The sixth gymnast is still to be decided - Ivan Stretovich is mentioned as being in the mix, but presumably Mattvei Petrov may also have a say - and perhaps rising star Dmitri Lankin.

Andrei Rodionenko's announcement of the training teams - 

WAG - Aliya Mustafina, Viktoria Komova, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Seda Tutkhalyan, Daria Spiridonova, Evgeniya Shelgunova, Maria Paseka, Maria Kharenkova, Anastasia Dmitrieva, Allla Sosnitskaia.

MAG - Denis Ablyazin, David Belyavski, Nikolai Kuksenkov, Nikita Ignatyev, Nikita Nagorny, Ivan Stretovich, Dmitry Lankin, Matvey Petrov, Alex Rostov, Vladislav Polyashov.

Sources - Valentina Rodionenko Aliya Mustafina announcement - https://sport.mail.ru/news/gymnastics/23364765/

Valentina Rodionenko announcement of prelim team - http://tass.ru/sport/2276365

Andrei Rodionenko announcement - http://www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=97647

Andrei Rodionenko's training team list - http://www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=97646

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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 competition

Once 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 results below, as ever courtesy of the Russian Gymnastics Federation.

On bars, Viktoria Komova performed hors de competition, recording a score of 15.3 - she didn't qualify officially to the final so can't be recorded as champion, but she is consistently now Russia's highest scorer on this apparatus.  Russia are already strong here, and she will need to up her game on other apparatus (Valentina mentioned beam and vault) to qualify to be part of the team in Glasgow.

A key fact emerging this week in Penza is the growing strength of Nikita Ignatyev, who for a long time was the unlucky one on the team who would often fall or make unexpected errors.  Gradually Nikita has been improving, until in this competition he has won the all around - and today won medals on all three apparatus.  It will be interesting to see how he does tomorrow, but I think that the friendly rivallry that this has produced will be good for the team.  The strength of Ablyazin as a specialist - he won gold here on floor and rings, and looks set to take vault tomorrow - is well known, but Russia's medal possibilities will always be vulnerable while they rest so heavily on the shoulders of one individual.  That is why it's especially good to see all arounders consolidating their position on Russia's team - it gives them more depth.

Yes, I have used a picture of Seda Tutkhalyan on beam to illustrate results on floor, pommel, rings, vault and bars.  That isn't very logical of me, but I like Seda and I like this picture; the Federation's photographer, Elena Mikhailova, has a talent for capturing impressive perspectives and backgrounds.  The use of the RGF logo lends a strong narrative here.   I would personally also add that in the absence of Mustafina, Seda is Russia's fiery, driven talent.   She is not as inconsistent as many people say, and has plenty of time to find her consistency anyway.  Falls are part of gymnastics and you won't find a good gymnast who has never fallen.  It's just good to see a Russian gymnast who, like Mustafina - and junior Melnikova - has fire in her belly.  Look at those eyes as she lines up to vault - Seda really wants her successes, and a silver medal in the bars today, not one of her best pieces, really shows her determination.  She also secured silver on vault.

Alla Sosnitskaya also today showed significant courage in taking fourth place on vault and gold on bars, not her best piece.  Alla had a difficult day in the AA final yesterday and is gradually coming back from a painful injury.  Once again, the Russian girls had many falls, especially on bars, but I think that measuring their progress by consistency only is a bit pointless.  Surely best to get your falls 'out of the way' here, rather than in Glasgow!  I can see many improvements in the girls' work all around, and perhaps at Worlds they will find their confidence and show more reliability.  This is the type of systematic, steady improvement that Russian coaching is showing these days.  We can always hope ...

Maria Paseka's vaulting is going from strength to strength - she scored 15.634 (15.467/15.8) to finish in first place.  Both she and Dasha Spiridonova had errors on bars, but there is still time to patch up any problems.  My pessimism of yesterday has been replaced with optimism today - it might be the sunshine, but I can see the positives in the girls' performances today.

It has been an especially good day for coach Maria Ulyankina, who coaches both gold medallists in the women's competition today, as well as the silver medallist on both pieces - for the avoidance of doubt, that is Maria Paseka, Alla Sosnitskaya and Seda Tutkhalyan!

Congratulations to all of the gymnasts and their coaches!

MAG

Floor

1  Denis Ablyazin                          15.767
2  David Belyavski                        15.1
3  Nikita Ignatyev                          15.0
4  Nikita Lezhankin                       14.7
5  Dmitri Lankin                            14.633
6  Mikhail Kudashov                     14.533
7  Daniil Kazachkov                      14.3
8  Viktor Britan                              13.3

Pommel Horse

1  Nikolai Kuksenkov                   14.733
2  Ivan Stretovich                          14.7
3  Nikita Ignatyev                          14.5
4  Sergei Eltsov                              13.867
5  Matvei Petrov                            13.7
6  Andrei Perevonikov                   13.2
7  Nikolai Kovinov                        12.5
8  Grigori Zyrianov                        11.033

Rings

1  Denis Ablyazin                          15.267
2  Nikita Ignatyev                          15.133
3  Daniil Kazachkov                      15.1
4  David Belyavski                        14.867
5  Nikolai Kuksenkov                    14.8
6  Mikhail Kudashov                     14.733
7  Ilya Kubartas                             14.167
8  Matvei Petrov                            13.867

WAG

Vault

1  Maria Paseka                          15.634
2  Seda Tutkhalyan                     14.4
3  Ksenia Afanasyeva                 14.334
4  Alla Sosnitskaya                     13.634
5  Anastasia Dmitrieva               13.5
6  Evgeniya Menovschikova       13.434
7  Anastasia Sidorova                  12.817
8  Lilia Akhaimova                      12.783

Uneven Bars

1  Alla Sosnitksaya                        14.733
2  Seda Tutkhalyan                        14.5
3  Daria Spiridonova                      14.433
4  Evgeniya Shelgunova                 13.8
5  Maria Paseka                               13.767
6  Maria Kharenkova                      12.7
7  Viktoria Kuzmina                       11.667
8  Yulia Biryulya                              11.5

You can find the results in full, with both vault scores, here.

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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 in the Russian MAG team, led by Head Coach Valery Alfosov.  Both Russian teams (MAG and WAG) are leading their assault in Rio with strong AA gymnasts.  It seems that the specialists (like Maria Paseka) are being required to develop on at least two (WAG) or three (MAG) apparatus.  Given the various competition formats, it might be difficult for those who are strong on one piece only (eg Mattvei Petrov) to find a place on the final team.

In the picture - (clockwise, from top left) - Kuksenkov, Ignatyev, Belyavski, Kudashov, Rostov, Nagorny, Dalolyan.  

Valentina Rodionenko has been drawn on the 'virtually decided' membership of the Russian teams for Glasgow (23 October to 1 November) though the information should be considered provisional as the selection process is not yet complete.

WAG - 

Ksenia Afanasyeva will be team captain.

The team will be a mix of younger and more experienced girls, said Valentina.  For the AA there are the Russia Cup winner Spiridonova; Tutkhalyan ('looked very good'), and Kharenkova ('fared well on the senior platform').  Afanasyeva will compete on two apparatus, maybe three - floor, vault and perhaps beam if the team needs her.  Viktoria Komova is in contention, but she still has some problems.  She is preparing beam and bars, and in all probability will also do vault.  Maria Paseka may fight for a medal on bars.

As we all know, Mustafina won't compete in Glasgow.  Russia does have better depth now than it did a few years ago, but I am sure that they will take forward with them to final training a number of reserves - I (QE) would suggest that these might be Shelgunova and Elizarova.  It is a little worrying that Valentina does not mention Sosnitskaya in her summation here; this hard working young gymnast did suffer some very heavy falls on floor in the AA final and was visibly in pain at the end of her routine.

MAG - 

Nikita Ignatyev won the AA with a spirited and highly competent performance.  He, Kuksenkov and Belyavski will be the three all arounders in Glasgow.  Ablyazin will compete three apparatus - floor, rings and vault, and Nagorny will also be seen on three pieces.  A month still remains to determine the final line-up; gymnasts like Alexei Rostov and Mikhail Kudashov will be in contention.  Valentina didn't mention Mattvei Petrov, the pommels specialist.

The national coaches were pleased with the team's performance in the AA, said Valentina.  All three top gymnasts competed without errors and Ignatyev's performance might well prove him medal-worthy at Worlds if repeated (says QE).   Valentina added that Nagorny's gymnastics still needs to mature a little before he can compete AA at this level.  Ablyazin still has a few problems on floor, and is finalising 'the ultimate combination' for his routine to be performed at Worlds.

Source - (WAG) - http://rsport.ru/artist_gym/20150918/864278153.html

(MAG) - http://www.championat.com/other/news-2249291-v-rodionenko-v-mnogobore-na-chm-vystupjat-kuksenkov-ignatev-i-beljavskij.html

See the results of the MAG AA here - http://sportgymrus.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/S-2-mal-chiki.pdf

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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.html

The readers and editors of RRG wish Aliya the best of health as she approaches the next stage of her career.  Good luck, Aliya!!

Updated 17.40 - Mustafina confirms she will miss Worlds to heal her back.  She says she can't predict the future.  http://dolly-z.tumblr.com/post/129352701188/mustafina-to-miss-worlds

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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.   With the exception of Daria Spiridonova, whose calm, professional approach led her to hit all four routines and achieve her best ever all around result, the main contenders - Maria Kharenkova, Seda Tutkhalyan, Evgeniya Shelgunova and Alla Sosnitskaya - all performed below expectations.  If the same happens on the podium in Glasgow, the team may still manage a silver - but don't expect to see an individual medal in the all around.

Alla Sosnitskaya limped off the floor yesterday

I suppose that if you were looking for an obvious reason for this failure, you would point a finger at the many errors gymnasts made - and floor was a particular bogey.  Poor Alla Sosnitskaya suffered painful falls to her shins and knees on three of her tumbles, Seda Tutkhalyan shot out of the floor area after her middle pass, and Maria Kharenkova had some good tumbling but still suffers problems of direction in her middle pass.  Compared to their nearest rivals, the power and difficulty of Russia's tumbling looks relatively meagre.  Grace and expression - particularly evident in Spiridonova's work - can't substitute for acrobatics under this particular Code of Points.

Russia's floor problems are well known, but they do not entirely account for the country's current weakness in the all around.  The team does have potential to do better, but not all gymnasts are available to compete for the team this year.  Mustafina and Komova are both outstanding all arounders, capable of leading the Russian field, but 'not ready' to compete all around at the World Championships, says Rodionenko.  In other words, perhaps, none of the new generation of gymnasts has been coached to live up to the standards of the veterans.  Or, could it simply be that the well of Russian talent has run dry?

I doubt it.  I do however think that the sport has changed significantly - the era of the 'flair' gymnast, for example Khorkina, is over.  Assiduous discipline and rigour are now more important than balanced, all around virtuosity and originality.   Precision over rules expression.  A sport that once favoured painterly technique and imagination is now ruled by the sporting equivalent of a slide rule, tick box menu and digital calculator.  The Russians are still second or third in the world, but to an extent they have lost their way as they attempt to follow a sporting coda that is not their own, and to which they are culturally unsuited.  Fire and passion, a certain charismatic unpredictability, has always been part of Russian coaching and gymnastic performance, but these are difficult qualities to manage when funders expect medal guarantees and when scores are calculated systematically rather than judged intuitively.  Cooling the fire only damps down the Russian genius for performance and drama that fuels so much of their sporting success.  Russia needs to lead, not follow.

To show creative leadership, and hence to win, the team must find its confidence once again, creating a new way of using the Code of Points to best artistic and acrobatic advantage.  Rodionenko as Head Coach is the person to make this happen.  He is a great manager, but as a leader he has so far fallen short of finding the central motivator for these gymnasts and coaches that will transform the Russian interpretation of this Code of Points into something they can manipulate, exploit and conquer.  Russia believes in mystical powers of leadership and creativity, in bravura performances grasped from the edge of oblivion, and will only rule gymnastics once again if it does so absolutely and on its own terms.   Silver is objectively outstanding at any level, but Russia only understands gold.  In coolly predicting that the team will achieve silver at best at Worlds, as Rodionenko did recently, he is revealing the steady conservatism and outstanding management that made him such a successful Head Coach in Canada.  Under Rodionenko's kind, moderate administration Russia will always do quite well, if that is good enough.

I do not think that this Russian team has performed as poorly as many other observers have said. 
The looks on the faces of the gymnasts and coaches (see picture above) says much about the gymnasts' own evaluation of their performances, but in many ways they did show improvements that will help them to accumulate more points in the World Championships.  There are some good specialists - Afanasyeva, Paseka, Komova, Spiridonova amongst them.  Tutkhalyan shows immense courage and ambition, especially on beam, and looks to me like a real little fighter.  Angelina Melnikova could be the next big thing for Russia in the all around, but she still can't match the all around totals of a fully on-song Mustafina - or Komova if she decides to try all four again.  Those gymnasts who trained on the totalitarian team led by Alexandrov are still outstripping their junior partners.

Perhaps the floor was hard; perhaps this competition came at the wrong time of the training micro-cycle.  There could be all sorts of reasons for under performance, and there are many reasons for optimism.  The minimum performance for the Russians in Glasgow will be to finish in the top eight, and therefore qualify automatically as a team to the Rio Olympics - nothing else really matters.  In Brazil, I think, we will see the full potential of this team.  But Russian gymnastics won't be Russian again until the team grasps the nettle of its own creativity - and shows another way.

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