Alexei Nemov talks to Anna Kozina of Rossiyskaya Gazeta about the relative progress of the Russian men's team. An English language translation is available here. It is clear that despite the team's recent success at individual apparatus level, disappointing results at team and all around finals are causing significant worry.
Nemov suggests the Russians need to seek the help of additional coaches, specifically mentioning Vyacheslav Boiko, who helped to prepare the national team for the 1996 Olympics along with the late Nikolai Andrianov.
Hmmm ... my impression of the Russian men (and this often included Nemov apart from the odd gold medal winning performance) is that they are somewhat casual and excessively philosophical in their approach. I still haven't forgotten Devyatovski giving up the ghost after a relatively minor error on p-bars some years ago.
My 51 year old memory has churned up a remark made by Ludmilla Tourischeva some time around 1972 when the Soviet women's team was winning almost everything while the men were doing significantly less well. 'If our men trained as hard as our women, they would experience similar success' is more or less what she said. I think that's a fairly reliable memory, though I would have to spend a long time in the library trying to find the original source.
Let's not forget that the Soviet men's supremacy only really began to develop after the appointment of Leonid Arkayev as head coach. I seem to remember him placing great faith in the talents of the new generation, allowing room for such greats as Andrianov, Tkachev and Detiatin to establish the Soviets at the top of the sport. Isn't it time for another new generation to be entrusted with the reputation of the Russian team?
Nemov suggests the Russians need to seek the help of additional coaches, specifically mentioning Vyacheslav Boiko, who helped to prepare the national team for the 1996 Olympics along with the late Nikolai Andrianov.
Hmmm ... my impression of the Russian men (and this often included Nemov apart from the odd gold medal winning performance) is that they are somewhat casual and excessively philosophical in their approach. I still haven't forgotten Devyatovski giving up the ghost after a relatively minor error on p-bars some years ago.
My 51 year old memory has churned up a remark made by Ludmilla Tourischeva some time around 1972 when the Soviet women's team was winning almost everything while the men were doing significantly less well. 'If our men trained as hard as our women, they would experience similar success' is more or less what she said. I think that's a fairly reliable memory, though I would have to spend a long time in the library trying to find the original source.
Let's not forget that the Soviet men's supremacy only really began to develop after the appointment of Leonid Arkayev as head coach. I seem to remember him placing great faith in the talents of the new generation, allowing room for such greats as Andrianov, Tkachev and Detiatin to establish the Soviets at the top of the sport. Isn't it time for another new generation to be entrusted with the reputation of the Russian team?
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