Skip to main content

Should the FIG 'allow' wins? Comments on the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

I was reading International Gymnast Online yesterday and came across a story about the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships:

http://www.intlgymnast.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1921:russia-wins-three-more-golds-in-moscow&catid=5:competition-reports&Itemid=164

What caught my eye was Tanya's comment at the bottom of the page, to the effect that the Russian team had won too many golds at this championships, and that the FIG shouldn't 'allow' it. Now, granted, I don't know much about rhythmic. The 15 point winning margin of the Russian team suggests that there wasn't much doubt about their win, though, and there seem to be enough people in the world gasping about Kanayeva's grace and artistry to make these wins seem reasonably legitimate; if anything can be legitimate in this sport given the amount of controversy surrounding figures such as Irina Viner.

What really got me thinking, though, was the poster's emphasis on the idea of the FIG exercising power over who can or can't win.

There is an important point of principle here.
Surely sport is about the best winning - not administrators 'allowing' countries to win as a sop to national pride. But what is 'best?', and who decides? Who exercises control over the form that gymnastics takes - the performers and coaches, spectators, or the administrators, and for what reasons? Is fairness about an equal spread of medals amongst diverse countries, or about awarding wins to those who perform the 'best' under the current set of rules? Who should decide what those rules are? Is who wins more important than the sport itself? Is it right to let the sport's administrators try to 'level the field' artificially?

I'm not a rhythmic expert and I may have missed the point - perhaps the Russians aren't clearly the best and should have come second, third, or even last. But if they are the best, what is the problem?

Comments

  1. I think the FIG is already trying to prevent any one country from dominating. Bruno Grandi enjoys enormous support from the smaller countries because he is always promising them a share of the medal wealth. His promise to break the Eastern Bloc dominance is what got him elected in the first place. In a way, he has succeeded, at least on the men's side, due to the deemphasis of the AA.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Melnikova withdrawn from Bundesliga

  Angelina Melnikova has issued a statement about her participation in the Bundesliga.     The mayor of Chemnitz has withdrawn the gymnast’s invitation to participate in the final.     Angelina’s words: ‘I didn't receive an invitation to the Bundesliga final. Unfortunately, the public attention and political discussions were much greater than the organizers expected. I am grateful to TSV Tittmoning-Chemnitz for the opportunity to participate in the semi-finals and, most importantly, for their respectful and kind attitude. In Germany, I received tremendous support from spectators, athletes, coaches, and referees. A sports arena is a place where athletes meet each other and demonstrate their abilities in their favorite sport. Sport provides the opportunity to showcase the results of their hard work and athletic prowess. Everyone deserves equal opportunities in all areas of life, and every athlete deserves to compete equally in the sports arena and fulfill their dr...

European Gymnastics votes to allow Russian participation in UEG competitions

The RGF confirms via Telegram.  Angelina Melnikova attended the Congress in Prague and gave a speech. ‘ ✅ The European Gymnastics Congress voted to reinstate Russian athletes' eligibility for competitions under the organization's auspices. This opens access for artistic and rhythmic gymnastics to qualifying tournaments for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In trampoline, athletes can qualify for the Olympics without going through European competitions. 🗳 Delegates from 46 of the 50 countries that are members of European Gymnastics participated in the vote. Twenty-seven countries voted to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete. The Russian delegation was led by Marat Filippov, Vice President of the Russian Olympic Committee and Secretary of the Presidential Council for Physical Culture and Sport.   💬 Oleg Belozerov, President of the Russian Gymnastics Federation, noted the importance of the decision: "We positively evaluate the position taken by European Gy...

Breaking news - Stretovich in, Ignatyev out

Valentina Rodionenko earlier today confirmed that Ivan Stretovich will take the place of Nikita Ignatyev on the main Russian gymnastics team.  19 year old Stretovich, from Novosibirsk, Siberia, is Russian Cup champion on the pommel horse and high bar.  His first major senior competition was the 2014 World Championships where he performed on pommels only.  Stretovich was originally selected as a reserve and the decision to bring him onto the main team was based on his superior performance quality compared to Ignatyev, according to Rodionenko. For the women, the news is that Angelina Melnikova is recovering well from the hamstring injury she aggravated at one of the final control competitions at Round Lake.  Valentina says that she is back to training her full routines again.   Sources - MAG - http://rsport.ru/rio2016_gymnastics/20160802/1011352078.html WAG - http://rsport.ru/rio2016_gymnastics/20160802/1011409100.html New - video of the girls training, ...

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more