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Interview with Gennady Elfimov: 'Do Not Create a Buzz Around Vika!'

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Coach Elfimov with Viktoria Komova at a team visit to the Novodevichy Convent


Viktoria Komova's personal coach, Gennady Elfimov, has given a personal interview to Sovietski Sport.

His main messages?  Don't hype Vika!  Keep calm!  We have to keep our focus  and perform four apparatus confidently - don't get carried away with that vault!  And forget about Tokyo!





Read key excerpts from a Google translate below.





Gennady Elfimov is a protective presence in the life of Viktoria Komova, quiet, placid and undemonstrative.  It's just as well.  He has helped his gymnast through some of the most difficult moral challenges a gymnast can face : the controversy of a silver medal at last year's World Championships amid gross media speculation that the marking had been unfair; the pain and frustration of a serious leg injury, at just the time that Viktoria would prefer to have been preparing for competition.  

Other commentators, in particular Valentina Rodionenko and also her husband, national team coach Andrei, hold firmly onto the belief that the Olympic team title depends entirely on who can produce the most Amanar vaults.  Elfimov, in his calm and direct manner, puts this into context, and asks for calm around his gymnast.

This is, for me, one of the most sensible interviews I have read in a few days.  Thankfully, the Google translate is fairly readable, so I present a summary and extracts below.

On the basis of a baseline assessment of the program elements Vika is now the strongest in the world. ... For all-around gold will fight the order of eight gymnasts. Aliya Mustafina, Douglas and Choose the American, Romanian Iordache ...

Women's team Valentina Rodionenko believes that the very dangerous and complex Yurchenko [2.5 twists] vault will play a key role, giving an enormous advantage in points. Do you agree with this statement?
 
I think we should go smoothly and well on all the apparatus and not get too focused specifically on the  Yurchenko vault. At the last World Championships in Tokyo, Vika, whose return to the gym after a serious injury was very severe and prolonged, did not vault this vault, but was very close to victory in the all-around.

But now she performs the vault and will do it at the Olympics?
 
Yes, we have restored the jump. In the control training team in Penza Vika performed it confidently and well.

He says they have pushed memories of Tokyo into the background, and used it as experience to help with training for London.  Viktoria has matured and grown up, has longer arms and legs, but they have had time to work on this and to make adjustments. 
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  1. M18 July 2012 at 12:33

    I agree with the man, Valentina especially is putting so much pressure on the girl. Komova has said she doesn't like the pressure, Russia doesn't need her to feel the burden of expectation so she headcases anything. Just let the athletes take things one apparatus at a time.

    I also agree too much talk is on that vault, I would have preferred them learn a Rudi or a Cheng. I think Rudi is 6.3, nothing would have been wrong with that.

    Thank God Valentina isn't one of the girls coaches, she would place so much pressure on them.

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