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
Rodionenko with European Champion David Belyavski Courtesy RGF/Elena Mikhailova This is the interview that many people on the internet have already commented on, regarding Andrei Rodionenko's alleged racism. The original, Russian language version, appears on VTB Bank's website (VTB are sponsors of Russian gymnastics). It takes cleverer people than me to decide what is racism, what is deliberately perjorative, and what is inferred in an interviewer's question. For now, I will not comment on this, therefore, but I would ask you to read Lupita's translation carefully before you form your own opinion. I am providing some links below which might help you to decide where you stand. Definition of racism Definition of sexism BBC Sport article by Matthew Syed : Is it wrong to note that 100m winners are always black? Updated 24/10 CSKA Moscow: UEFA opens racist chants case http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24654499 Andrei
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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