Not so very long ago, the Russian national training centre was rarely seen in the public eye. Now, thanks to the investment of VTB who have helped the Russian Gymnastics Federation to create a state-of-the-art training facility complete with all the latest rehabilitation equipment, Russia invites us to learn more about the training centre. The following videos were shot in April, before the European Championships, as part of the press tour that is recorded on this blog on April 14th and 15th. There is also, of course, the virtual tour of Lake Krugloye.
Along with last week's Russia 2 documentary, this provides a fascinating insight into the daily environment of the men and women of Russian gymnastics.
VTB: A Look Inside Gymnastics
VTB Group : Gymnastics Team
Become a professional with VTB : A trip to the base of the Olympians
In the end, it was as predicted : Simone and the others, with Simone's teammate, Alexandra Raisman, providing the back up. I do not need to point out that, by definition, the Americans are scoring significantly higher marks than the rest of the field. Congratulations to them! Aliya Mustafina finished in third place. The 2012 bronze medalist led the competition after vault and uneven bars, but had a very nervous outing on beam that might have taken a less experienced gymnast out of the medals. A bravura performance on floor brought Aliya back though to confirm her third place all around. From her senior debut in 2010 to today, Mustafina has continuously set high standards of grace. It is the first time since 2000 that a gymnast (Amanar) has medalled in the all around at two consecutive Olympics, and if Aliya can medal on Saturday's uneven bars final, she will once again be Russia's biggest medal winner of the women's gymnastics. Russ...
Thanks for the videos.
ReplyDeleteThe last one was especially cute.
A pity that they show gymnasts crying almost all the time! Gymnastics is hard, but they are there because they want.
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