Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

First impressions, lasting impressions. The Tokyo World Championships were certainly a talking point this year. For me they were perhaps the most political championships we have experienced in some years. In this age of social media, talk was all important, and it began well before the competition started. I expect it will go on for some time to come. I will take a considered look at all the national level exchanges in due course, but in the meantime I wanted to record a few thoughts. And, lest we forget, put into relative permanence a few observations from the world of social media and broadcast about a controversial all around result. This World Championships was all about the power and precision of the American girls. They did dominate the team competition and were without question the best prepared team at this event. We also witnessed the continuing, rather surprising rise of a depleted yet determined Russian team. The developing discourse of the battle between the wom...

Russia's new World Champion, Ksenia Afanasyeva, appears in a ten minute panel interview on Sports Expert. The written commentary notes that the gold she won on floor in Tokyo is the most important victory of her career; before she had won the gold, she was considering retiring from the sport. I'm sure many of us would love to know the main points Ksenia makes in this interview which begins at 9.30 on the video link provided here . Could anyone possibly provide a brief translation?

In the autumn of 1989 I travelled to Stuttgart, Germany, for the World Gymnastics Championships. There, I was enthralled by the performance of the best Soviet women's team I ever saw, and the six best floor exercises there have ever been. The videos you will see below are not the best quality, but they have been selected for atmosphere, presenting the exercises in the order they were performed that evening, accompanied by audience sounds. We were all vocal supporters of the Soviet team, that night. National team coach Alexander Alexandrov, interviewed after the competition by a local newspaper (I think it was the Suddeutsche Zeitung) explained how the team had worked with choreographers from Moscow's world famous Bolshoi Theatre. One thing that really strikes me today is how different each floor exercise is, drawing on diverse dance traditions, from the folk-inspired work of Sazonenkova to the modern dance of Boginskaya. Each gymnast's work is a short, consummate...

I hadn't seen before this Soviet produced drama. It is in the Russian language which sadly I don't speak! But do take the time to have a look, if only to appreciate the well sculpted bone structure of so many of the actors, and the incredible black and white photography which is so redolent of this particular period of Soviet gymnastics. There are some of the most incredible look alike performances including one from the lead role as Latynina. Fast forward to parts 15 to see Petrik, Druzhinina (Voronina) and Askakhova in podium training and competition, and to 16 for amazing coverage of the Soviet team in action (around 1967/8), including bars work from Petrik and a young Tourischeva, all doe-eyed, beribboned and intense, in her leotard with an embroidered Dynamo symbol. The purity of movement in these routines is outstanding, and I don't think Komova or Afanasyeva are so very far behind them in this respect. There is certainly a heritage of movement that informs ...

And finally, the judges did some judging. As a result, we have a world champion - Afanasyeva - who is worthy of the honoured title 'artistic gymnast'. At the end of the day, Afanasyeva won because the judges chose her routine as the best. At last, I like to think, artistry influenced the outcome. Only the judges could tell you, though, whether this was actually the case. The top 3 gymnasts all had the same difficulty value - 6.1. They all made errors and so all had deductions. It was very close indeed. Discussing artistry is difficult. It is a concept that is not easily articulated as it is largely intangible. It's also rather contingent on matters of taste. A shared understanding of the vocabulary would be a good starting point though. 'Choreography' as understood by many of us is a synonym for 'dance composition' and yet there is so much more to the art of choreography, including but not limited to ideas of balance, line, rhythm, amplitude....

And finally, we have a floor world champion who is worthy of the title. At times, watching this final, I felt that the floor should be replaced with a tumble track. Last year Marta Karolyi pronounced that gymnasts should not have to be ballerinas to win. But, surely, they should have to adhere to some form of dance tradition. For Alexandra Raisman to medal is a terrible comment on the state of women’s gymnastics, but then I suppose she was as good as many of the other participants in the final who finished below her in the rankings. Then came Sui Lu and Ksenia Afanasyeva and it felt as though you were watching a different sport. For once, the judges acknowledged the added dimension these gymnasts brought to the floor, and justice was done. Congratulations to both of them! I am particularly delighted for Afanasyeva, a truly outstanding gymnast who has contributed to many Russian team efforts but often fallen away during individual finals. For her to be World Champion on floor s...

Queen Elizabeth is officially appalled.  Her flag (unusually, white blue and red) is flying at half mast.  Remember these names - Ksenia Afanasyeva, Viktoria Komova, Anna Dementieva, Yulia Belokobylskaya, Yulia Inshina, Tatiana Nabieva, Alyona Polyan - they are all consummate artistic gymnasts, fulfilling the requirements of the sport to be both artistic and dynamic.   They are a vibrant example of a dying breed, and they alone keep the sport alive. There is not enough time in the world for me to articulate the dissent and dismay I am feeling at present, after the women's all around final.  So for now, I will keep my silence.  Other than to offer my sympathy - and congratulations - to Viktoria Komova in particular, and Ksenia Afanasyeva and the entire Russian team in general.   But shortly, in the not too distant future, I intend to produce a review.  A state of War may shortly be declared.  A War of Words. That is all I have to say a...

Russia did well in the first, qualifying, day of competition in Tokyo, taking 2nd place in the team competition behind a solid USA, with youngster Viktoria Komova taking top position- by a whisker - in the all around.  It was a good performance from a team relatively weakened by the absence of world champion and team leader Aliya Mustafina, and a lingering injury to last year's Youth Olympics Champion Komova. Newcomers Yulia Inshina and Yulia Belokobylskaya performed a fantastic job for the team as strong lead off gymnasts.  Beginning on bars, the team had no margin for error.  Inshina, starting up, had no previous experience of major international competition but showed no sign of nerves as she went through her routine flawlessly.  She is an enchanting little gymnast who performs her floor and beam routines with her head a little to one side, as if deep in contemplation.  A personal characteristic that adds no end of expression to her work.  A nice rewar...