Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Russian floor champion, Anastasia Grishina Brief links here to the results of today's Jesolo Cup, which saw the Americans take the majority of the medals. Junior All Around Junior team Senior All Around Senior Team Anastasia Grishina earned a gold medal on floor, and a bronze on beam.  Nastia was well in the lead until her final piece, bars, where she suffered a fall on the back of a near fall, losing too many marks to win the gold. I am glad that this beautiful gymnast is beginning to show her class in international competition.  She has progressed significantly since the Olympic Test Event in London this January and possesses those intangible qualities that so many struggle ever to acquire.  Keep fighting, Nastia!!

A single picture is worth thousands of words , so take your time to look at these images.  Consider the variety of feeling, shape and flow.  There is a quality of gymnastic eloquence that is about more than 'form'.  A quality that is trained, but innate and deeply embedded in Russia's gymnastics culture.  A quality that has been uniquely the possession, and responsibility, of the Russians in recent years. I believe it used to be called virtuosity.  Consummate artistry.   The beauty, the power and the glory. These Russian women gymnasts are the rarest of the rare, the final, finest remaining strand of a chain of heritage.  You are experiencing here the last masters of a fading art form.  In London, America may well take the medals with their power and consistency.  But Russia already owns the soul of artistic gymnastics.  Only they understand the sport in all its colours.  What we call choreography is for them an alchemy of t...

Three golds for Aliya Mustafina! What were the most noteable outcomes of the Pacific Rim and Russian National Championships? Mustafina likes the taste of gold She is back with that familiar mystical demeanour that makes her look every inch the champion.  Mustafina has a distance to travel with her difficulty (apart from bars, where she showed an SV of 7) but seemed confident and strong elsewhere at the Russian Championships.  Coach Alexander Alexandrov has emphasised that Mustafina and he have not even begun work on vault and floor.  Grishina is improving all the time Besides Mustafina's brilliant bar work, the routine of the Championships for me was Grishina's floor - elegant, musical and complex.  Grishina ended the competition with medals in every competition, including two golds, so with Mustafina and Afanasyeva she was a leading gymnast here. Afanasyeva has set the bar high With gold on beam and silver in the all around and floor competitions, 20...

Some of the medallists from this weekend's Russian National Championships The Russian National Championships drew to a close this weekend with gold medals for three of the best Russian gymnasts of the past five years, and one up and coming star, including 2008 Olympian Anna Pavlova (vault), 2010 World Champion Aliya Mustafina (bars), 2008 Olympian and 2011 World Floor Champion Ksenia Afanasyeva (beam) and first year senior Anastasia Grishina (floor).  Full results are available in Russian here .  All members of the 2011 World Championships team competing here (Komova and Nabieva were not) managed to secure a medal in these national championships. Vault results were noticeably flat this week with only one national team member (Grishina) competing (Maria Paseka is in the reserve squad) in the final.  National team coach Alexander Alexandrov has commented on his team's performance on this apparatus as trailing that of their main rivals, the USA (thanks to Gymnastics Co...

Gold is standard for a gymnast whose name is appearing regularly now in the headlines of this blog.  Over the last two days, tiny Maria Bondareva took three golds in the Candidate Master of Sport event finals at this year's Russian Nationals.  Whether Bondareva is old enough to compete at the forthcoming Junior European Championships - I don't know.  But I hope she is!!  The full results in Russian are here . Vault Evgeniya Korolkova 13.76 Yulia Starchenko      13.59 Maria Bondareva      13.59 Uneven Bars Maria Bondareva      13.92 Viktoria Kuzmina      13.9 Evgeniya Korolkova  13.42 Beam Maria Bondareva       14.92 Kristina Levshina       14.04 Viktoria Kuzmina       13.96 Floor Maria Bondareva      13.9 Viktoria Kuzmina  ...

Maria Bondareva, Maria Nazarova, Kristina Levshina 12 year old Maria Bondareva proved herself once again in competition on Friday, taking the All Around gold in the Candidate Master of Sport category with a score of 56.867 including a 15.2 on beam.  Bondareva's nearest rivals were (second placed) Polina Spirina  (52.933), who turns 13 in April and comes from Novosibirsk; and bronze medallist Kristina Levshina (52.9), 13 years old, who trains alongside Ksenia Afanasyeva with coach Maria Nazarova in the town of Tula.  Full results are available here . National team member Polina Spirina, who first shone in the 2010 Olympic Hopefuls competition The Master of Sport category competition was won by Polina Fyodorova but with a score almost four points short of Bondareva's total (53.133).  Following on her heels were Yuna Nefedova (52.4) and Irina Yashina (51.533) The junior competitions this year are marked by the absence of key team members who have until very re...

EF at the Russian Nationals this morning - beam and floor, rather than the advertised vault and a-bars. Mustafina did not compete on floor - rather wisely, I think. I will post results as soon as they become available. Update : Medallists have been confirmed from sight of the ceremony on streaming video as : Beam - 1 Afanasyeva; 2 Grishina; 3 Goryunova Floor - 1 Grishina; 2 Afanasyeva; 3 Belokobylskaya But the wonderful DanyZ2012 is already posting video grabs of the live coverage this morning. I thoroughly recommend Grishina's floor to you - I think it must be her best routine since the Junior Euros two years ago. I think she is getting her confidence back ... Afanasyeva floor Belokobylskaya floor Inshina floor Pavlova floor Mustafina beam In my book, Mustafina is allowed a fall. Rodionova beam Inshina beam Afanasyeva beam Oh glory be to the Goddess Afanasyeva who is even beginning to land vault like Boginskaya. Belokobylskaya beam We ar...

The Russian Gymnastics Federation has a translation of a short Allsport interview with national team coach Andrei Rodionenko, all about Russian Championships so far, the condition of Mustafina and other team members : The Russian Senior and Junior Championships in Artistic Gymnastics are under way in Penza. 2010 World All-Around Champion Aliya Mustafina became the 2012 Russia All-Around Champion with a score of 59.533 across the discipline's four events (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise). Kseniya Afanasyeva won the silver medal (58.387) and Anastasia Grishina won the bronze (57.699). Combined men's and women's national gymnastics teams Andrey Rodionenko shared comments on the results with AllSport. "All the main results are on the score board", Rodionenko said smiling, "Mustafina is first, Afanasyeva is second and Grishina is third. It's all very clear and easy to understand." — Has Aliya Mustafina completely recovered fro...

The winning Moscow team at this year's Russian Championships.  L to R : Anastasia Grishina, Maria Syrnikova, Anna Myzdrikova, Maria Paseka, Maria Chibiskova, Aliya Mustafina Moscow completed a convincing win ( see results ) in the national team championships yesterday, taking the title by more than four points over their rivals from the Central District.  Moscow came first on all apparatus except beam, where Central headed the field with strong performances from Ksenia Afanasyeva, Anna Pavlova, and Yulia Inshina. There is an excellent report on The All Around , who have transcribed the results seen below: In the unofficial all around, 2008 Olympics veteran Ksenia Afanasyeva came first with an impressive 59.733, ahead of Anastasia Grishina who managed a score of 59.1 despite a fall from beam. Third placed Yulia Belokobylskaya redeemed herself somewhat from the previous day's competition, improving her performance by almost three points to score 56.967 including a 14.6 ...

Leading gymnasts at today's all around Russian Championships.  Ksenia Afanasyeva (silver); Aliya Mustafina (gold); Anastasia Grishina (bronze)  By kind permission of the Russian Gymnastics Federation Please see reports of the junior and senior competition results below. Find the Russian Gymnastics Federation's own photoreportage .

This morning we saw the Junior competitions take place - qualifications for the all around finals, which will take place on Friday, and also the team competitions. The junior gymnasts compete in two categories - Master of Sport; and Candidate Master of Sport. One big surprise is the omission of leading junior Evgeniya Shelgunova. Shelgunova, 15 this year, is training alongside the seniors in preparation for her maiden year at senior level in 2013. It is unclear whether she competed hors de concours as her colleagues Anastasia Grishina and Sidorova did last year, or if she was missing from the field altogether. This competition could be said to give the impression that the generation below Shelgunova lacks depth, but then again Maria Kharenkova and her other Pacific Rim team mates did not perform here. However, at Candidate Master of Sport level we see Maria Bondaryeva confirmed as the leading junior gymnast at this competition, outscoring her elders in the Master of Sport categ...

Russian gymnastics fans the world over have been feverishly hitting their refresh buttons and praying that the live link will work.  It didn't always, largely because the weight of our collective enthusiasm overwhelmed the world wide web.  But I'm pleased to say, at the end of the day, our Queen Mustafina is back.  Clearly, the gymnastics presented today is work in progress.  We might never make true conclusions thanks to the grainy nature of the videos.  I'm risking putting the cart before the horse when I say that the USA and Russia are complete opposites when it comes to PR, the one (USA) all bluster and hype, the other (Russia) all mystery and understatement.  I'm sure that my friend, Mr Zaglada, will tell me that it's the results and the results alone that matter.    The only thing that will really count this year are those few days at the end of July. The absence of two of the leading contenders for this title, Viktoria Komova and Anna D...

Please find the live feed on the Russian Gymnastics Federation site here http://www.sportgymrus.ru/press/news/7338/default.aspx A timetable of events is available here . The times are currently 3 hours ahead of Western Europe, 4 if you are in London (thank you Alar). Enjoy!!!

 Aliya Mustafina, World All Around Champion, 2010  Valentina Rodionenko today announced that 2011 European Champion and defending Russian national champion Anna Dementieva will miss this week's Russian National Championships with tonsilitis.  Anna is not alone in missing the Championships as (confirmed yesterday by Andrei Rodionenko) 2011 World Vice-Champion Viktoria Komova is also out with a leg injury which will need a couple more weeks' therapy. 2010 World Champion Aliya Mustafina, recovering from a serious injury incurred at last year's European Championships, will participate in the championships, although Rodionenko said she will not compete all around.  The Russian Championships, coming early in the season, have traditionally seen an incomplete field as gymnasts prepare at different paces.  With Russia's three leading all around gymnasts - Dementieva, Mustafina and Komova - out of the picture, it will be interesting to see who emerges as a leade...

I've loved this picture ever since I first saw it in the autumn of 2010 - it seems to me to say so much about Russian gymnastics. Flight, form, fluidity - power gymnastics with beauty.  This picture of 2010 World Champion, 2011 vice champion, Tatiana Nabieva, says it all. Good luck to all the Russian women as they approach the first important competition of the year!

Andrei Rodionenko today confirmed that Viktoria Komova will miss Russian nationals thanks to a leg injury which will need two to three weeks of therapy. The competition will follow exactly the same format as Europeans and the Olympics to support the gymnasts in their mental and physical preparation for the Games. Read the full article here . Good luck to all the girls, and wishing a rapid recovery to Viktoria Komova.

Further exploration has uncovered these three Soviet produced films on the gymnastics competitions at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Men's competition, part 1 There is a running commentary of the exercises featuring Alexander Detiatin, Nikolai Andrianov, Alexander Tkachev, Roland Brueckner, Michael Nikolay, the legendary Zoltan Magyar on the pommels, Danut Grecu, Stojan Delchev (double salto forward with half turn dismount off rings). Men's competition, part 2 Features an early Cuban effort at a handspring double front vault and a slow motion technical analysis of Nikolai Andrianov's Tsukahara vault, Tkachev's winning parallel bars routine including a slow motion section on the piked forward somersault with straddle, Tkachev's 10 scoring high bar routine (beautiful) including slow motion analysis of the Tkachev release element, Kovacs, Delchev, Arroya's one armed work. Dismount elements by Andrianov, Detiatin. Delchev's gold medal winning routine. ...

I found this video whilst perusing my Google analytics - it is a 1985 news piece from Moscow Meridian featuring interviews with 1972 Olympian Liubov Burda and 1981 and 1985 World Champion Yuri Korolev. Definitely one for me to add to the list of documentaries on this page!

The USA Gymnastics federation has done a great job of posting videos from the Pacific Rim competition .  Here are a few of the key Russians. Maria Kharenkova , floor (bronze medal)  SV 5.4, E 8.55 She makes nice eye contact and is expressive for such a young girl.  The music requires more of her than mere poses.  Very energetic and fast in her tumbling.  I could watch this floor routine over and again. Grigory Zyrianov, pommel horse (silver medal) SV 5.2 E 8.8 It's just so good to see a Russian perform pommels without an error.  Zyrianov has good line and looks composed and determined. Ekaterina Baturina , uneven bars (7th place) SV 5.1 E 8.075 Baturina comes off on her Pak here, and has a tic in its performance, splaying her feet outwards like little cats' ears.  Yes, they are flexed, but they are flexed with style .  And just watch how she swings!! Sergei Stepanov , rings (silver) SV 5.4, E 8.75 I love the facial expressi...

Official poster for this year's Russian Championships, courtesy of the RGF  The Russian Championships for women will take place in Penza over the coming days.  The competition will give some indication of who might be going to the forthcoming European Championships in Brussels.  So far the RGF has mentioned that Mustafina, Afanasyeva, Dementieva, Belokobylskaya and Inshina are competing, although we have no news of Viktoria Komova.  Tatiana Nabieva will almost certainly be there. Details and media links can be found on the Russian Gymnastics Federation site, along with a competition schedule which Nora kindly translated for the All Around Forum: 19 March arrival 20 March podium training (10 am - 2:30 pm juniors; 3 -7:30 pm seniors) 21 March CI & CIV juniors 10 am - 2:30 pm; CI & CII seniors 4 - 8:30 pm 22 March C IV seniors 4-6 pm 23 March C II juniors 2:30 - 4 pm Candidates; 4 - 5:30 pm Masters 24 March CIII (V & UB ) juniors & seniors 1...

13 year old Maria Kharenkova from Rostov on Don achieved two bronze medals yesterday at the Pacific Rim championships, with brisk, energetic performances on beam and floor.  With the European Junior Championships upcoming in May, Maria looks likely to make the team alongside 14 year old Evgeniya Shelgunova.  Maria had narrowly missed a bronze medal in the all around competition after a fall on bars.  Maria's biographical details can be found here , along with those of her five other Russian team mates.  The senior women (probably to be considered the Russian's 'D' team in terms of experience) did less well.  Diana Elkina, their sole gymnast qualified to an event final, injured her left knee in bars warm-up.  I do hope she can recover well.  A similar story was told in the men's competition where the senior team failed to achieve a medal position in any competition.  However, the juniors did much better, qualifying for multiple event finals....

The Pacific Rim competition is now well under way, and proving to be interesting.  Russia sent junior and senior teams in both the men's and women's competitions, with the juniors providing a real point of interest in terms of selection for the forthcoming Junior European Championships.  Startlists for today's men's competition can be found here and here .  Quick hit descriptions of routines for the men's and women's competitions can also be found here .  Gymnastics Examiner also has a list of which of the women have qualified for event finals tomorrow. Full results of the women's junior competition show Rostov-on-Don's Maria Kharenkova providing the highlight of the Russian performance across both seniors and juniors, to finish fourth (52.95) with a high note of 14 on her specialist piece, beam.  Ekaterina Baturina finished 5th, only .6 behind Kharenkova. Anastasia Belova ended in 10th place.  In the senior competition newcomer Anastasia Marchuk l...

Maria Bondareva again struck gold in Canada on Sunday, winning three golds on bars, beam and floor at the Gymnix International Junior Cup.  The fullest results available to date are here and I expect full results to be available on the official competition page soon.  Maria's victory in Saturday's all around competition, along with some video, is reported here , and you can find quick hits from both comps at the Gymnastics Examiner . The only event that Bondareva did not win here (and indeed, did not even qualify to) was vault. Relative weakness on vault does seem to be a recurring problem with the Russians at present, and although Maria has plenty of time to make improvements I'm wondering how the seniors are doing. At this rate the Russians will win gold on bars, beam and floor at the Olympics - yet be nowhere on vault.  It's unfortunate that the Code favours the least complex and interesting piece so strongly.  

Maria Bondareva at last December's Voronin Cup Junior national team member Maria Bondareva confirmed her class yesterday with a convincing win all around at Canada's Gymnix Junior Cup. Bondareva, 12 years old, won bars and beam in the junior competition at last December's Voronin Cup, and took the all around junior title at Hungary's Eva Kanyo Cup. With 14 year old Evgeniya Shelgunova , Bondareva is leading the current charge of Russian juniors. She has been selected for the Jesolo Cup later this month, and (assuming she is age eligible) looks likely to be on the roster for the upcoming Junior Europeans in Brussels. Bondareva competed alongside Russian junior national team mates Anastasia Dmitrieva, Evgenia Korolkova and Daria Mikhailova.   Full results are available here .  Event finals take place today Maria Anatolyevna Bondareva , born 28th November 1999 (12 years old). Trains under U V Pursheva and Y N Bachurin at Fryazino (Moscow Oblast).   ...