I'm laid up with a virus at the moment and will update this blog with some 'proper' writing as soon as looking at the computer screen doesn't send shooting pains through my eyes. Oh joy. In the meantime, however, please find below a list of some lovely media coverage about the Russian girls and Mustafina. Sigh.
I have a less lovely question re the code, or rather Rebecca Bross's beam score in the all around. Could any of you clarify you views on this and perhaps enumerate the E score deductions and how the D score would have been affected? How would artistry/posture/line have been taken into account? It just seems to me that 14.1 was rather out of synch with other scores on the apparatus given what seemed to me to be a huge hiatus mid routine that then led to a fall. (Please note: I am a code dissident: I think it tries to formulate the sport out of existence - how can you calculate something that is at least as much art as sport? However, I would be interested to see how this score was justified.)
For those of you with a haughty disdain for such matters, here are a few more bits and bobs of Russian press coverage that are nice to read, and a couple of videos, including this one in German, English and Russian ('what do I have to do to make you smile?' is the final question to Mustafina). With thanks to Nora at the All Around Forum for pointers to some of these.
Interview with Mustafina and Rodienenko: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcEu4qShleQ
Alexandrov: Russian gymnasts - stinkers! http://www.championat.ru/other/news-632596.html
Valentina Rodienenko : We'll appeal! http://www.sovsport.ru/news/text-item/414988
(Seems they are pretty angry about the change in vault valuations)
Aliya - you are now a star! Nice picture of the team with covers of Sovietsky Sport http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/415234
Aliya Mustafina - I can't afford a sip of wine - I'm still a minor http://www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=44717
Iron Aliya http://www.izvestia.ru/sport/article3147641/
Aliya - Superman! Courage, grace and plastic http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/414904
Team arrives at airport http://www.sovsport.ru/video/gallery-item/2123
Another video http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/...rileteli-domoy
Pics http://sportgymrus.ru/contest/3946/4...3/default.aspx
Lupita has translated this ITAR-TASS interview with Nelli Kim. It's controversial, to say the least. Ed's note : much of the initial response to this interview - both here and in the wider gymternet - has focussed on the detail of Kim's words and especially her comments about Viktoria Komova, and smiling. But I think these have to be taken in context, and not too literally. Don't forget that just a day ago Andrei Rodionenko complained bitterly about the judging in Antwerp, calling Kim's behaviour 'aggressive'. Kim is responding to this here, and to the wider current context of Russian gymnastics. What she is essentially saying to the Russian coach is 'get your own house in order, produce confident, disciplined, well trained gymnasts - stop complaining, do your job, and I will do mine.' She goes about saying this in a somewhat long winded way and says some things along the way that seem contradictory, unfair, inappropriate even for th...
Oh - I should also make reference to the Russian Gymnastics Federation website which is where many of the pointers to articles can be found.
ReplyDeleteAre all Russians whiners? Do they have an insecurity complex? Nyekulterne!
ReplyDelete