Russian men finish 6th in fiery Olympic final

Denis Ablyazin on floor at this year's Russia Cup.  Courtesy of the RFG

As Britain recorded an historic first medal in the men's gymnastics team competition at the North Greenwich arena yesterday, Russia struggled to fulfill their potential.  With falls on pommels, vault and parallel bars they finished in sixth place, with a team total almost three points lower than that achieved in qualifying.

This must surely be a learning experience for a very young team who have every right to believe that things will turn out better in the end if only they can keep up the work ethic that has seen them make such strong improvements since 2008.

In that time Russia have also had to grapple with a change in the world order which has seen countries such as Britain, Germany, USA and, now, the exciting Ukraine develop into a strong second league in world gymnastics behind the leading crew of Japan and China.  Men's gymnastics in many ways is now a preferable experience to the women's sport for its vibrancy and depth of competition.  It is a pleasure to watch these calmly modest daredevils at work.  Gymnasts must be some of the most sporting, courteous athletes in the world; just look at the way that Uchimura handled himself in the midst of that judging debacle.  See how the Ukrainians reacted to the loss of their bronze medal, the British to their rapid turnaround from silver to bronze.  If the sport is ever let down, it is usually by an official.  The men's sport is so much less shrill,  emotional and contrived than women's gymnastics : the true Olympic spirit of participation, international relations and friendship is alive and kicking.

It's not the end of the line for the Russians; they have gymnasts qualified to finals in the all around and in all events.  They'll live to fight another day.

Read the full results here.