Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

  I remember sitting in the Olympiski stadium in Moscow in 2013, absolutely mesmerised by David Belyavski as he progressed inexorably to the gold AA.   His last piece was pommel horse.  He stood there, his arms loosely at his sides, head down, completely in the zone.  The arena sound system was playing music in the background; I remember Led Zeppelin.  The music was curiously cohesive with the space and the occasion.  When it was time for him to go, he was perfect, golden.   Belyavski spans generations of gymnast, floats across era of gymnastics. His body is light and lithe.  His technique is balletic.  You could watch Belyavski perform a simple handstand or leap, and it would still be impressive.  His execution is immaculate. It’s now 2025, and David is 15 years into his senior career.  Today he won a silver medal on the pommel horse.  Tomorrow, he will compete in the parallel bars final.  He is 33. And on his social medi...

In an interview with sport 24, head coach Valeri Alfosov reflects on the MAG team and how the gymnasts performed in Sochi. After the men's all-around competition, senior coach of the men's team, Valery Alfosov, spoke to Sport24 correspondent Anastasia Loginova about his plans for the World Championships and summarized the results of the all-around at the national championships. ❓ How would you rate the boys' performance? 💬 It's hard to give a definitive answer. The national team performed brilliantly on the parallel bars and high bar, and they performed beautifully. The end of this competition was interesting; there were many mistakes today, and the boys were battling it out. Everyone had the same scores until the fifth apparatus, and the champion only emerged on the sixth. Of course, these performance shortcomings need to be addressed in preparation for the World Championships, because our level of difficulty is high, but our execution is significantly lacking. ❓ Spea...

 Translation of highlights of article from Sport Express. Angelina Melnikova spoke to Sport-Express journalist Sergey Lisin about today's competition day.  ❓Did you expect such a victorious end to the day, considering how it started on balance beam? 💬 No. Just looking at the scoreboard just now gave me goosebumps; it's a great joy. This is my first time competing for Vladimir, and I'm so happy that we won this Russian Championships, competing for the Vladimir team, and we achieved such a historic victory. It was fantastic, thanks to the whole team. ❓And still, about balance beam. 💬 I don't want to talk about that shame. I have nothing to say, I'm just ashamed; I can't find any other words. ❓How did you manage to pull myself together after that? 💬 Actually, I'm in pretty good shape, and I was generally confident on all the apparatuses today. As a professional athlete, if something isn't working out, I can't give up on the next apparatus. ❓ Yesterda...

Almost two years ago the IOC sanctioned Russia for invading Ukraine.  The IOC effectively banned Russia’s team from international competition in Olympic sports.   2020/1 was therefore Russia’s last Olympics, but even so they competed then not as Russia, but under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee. There has been a long history of ‘diplomatic’ conflict between Russia and the IOC.  You could think back as far as 1984 when the team boycotted the LA Olympics, but more recently we begin with the ‘state doping’ that went on in particular at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in 2014.  Gymnastics wasn’t affected at that time as the sport of gymnastics is clean, but the sanctions on sport in Russia, in general, have gradually become stronger.  It’s now only possible for gymnasts to compete internationally as individuals, with neutral status.  Neutral status is granted by their sporting administrative bodies, in our case the FIG.   It’s not an easy job, eit...

Highlights of an interview with Angelina Melnikova, three days after her appearance in Paris, via Vk.com.  She departs for the Russian Championships in ten days.   Sport24 correspondent Anastasia Loginova contacted Angelina and asked her about everything that happened in Paris.  ❓When did you find out you were going to Paris? 💬Just before my vacation in China, around July 25th. I was told there was a stage and I should go. At first, I was very hesitant, because I wanted to focus on the Russian Championships and the World Championships qualifiers. It turned out that I was selected for the Paris trip. Initially, we wanted to focus on a few apparatuses, but then we decided we needed to do the all-around as one of the stages of preparation for the Russian Championships. ❓At what point did you realize what was happening wasn't a dream, but reality? When did this realization dawn on you? 💬Probably when I went to the airport. I realized that everything had finally come togethe...

  Angelina Melnikova is not only an ambitious gymnast, she also wants to pursue acting as part of her career.    This picture came with congratulations on her medals in Paris, from one of her agents. I can see real determination in her face - it must have taken a lot of courage to put herself in the public eye at a time when the international environment is uncertain and unpredictable, and her own country is at the centre of chaos.   Sport is about bringing people from different cultures together, to appreciate human achievement and celebrate respect, competition and, wherever possible, friendship.    This gymnast has remained consistent in her pursuit of excellence since childhood, and she has persisted in the most difficult of circumstances, with incredible personal grace.    She is down to earth, charming and professional, a real example to everyone.    The circumstances have been very trying, but you would never see Angelina sho...