Watching videos of this weekend's competitions - the qualification and all around rounds of the Russian championships, medal winners from the American Cup - I am struck, more and more, by the huge difference between the American and Russian schools of gymnastics. It led me to ask the question : do artistry and acrobatics have to be mutually exclusive? (I am afraid that I think naming 'American' gymnastics a 'school' is perhaps lending an undeserved dignity to work which has become excessively obsessed with the difficult and the consistent, but I am using the word here so as not to label unfairly those individual gymnasts who are blameless in the direction of their training.) The FIG's vision for gymnastics is said to embrace more artistry; at least the publicity it has put about on the subject of its new Code makes that fairly plain. So perhaps the Russians, with their inconsistent brilliance and superior body carriage (Mustafina, Komova, Grishina, Afanasy...
There were beautiful pics. It was nice to see them in a different environment. I wonder why Nabs was outside, lol.
ReplyDeleteBTW here is an interview with Ksenia's coach, of course I have a vague idea because of google translate but we all know how that is, lol
http://summer.sport-express.ru/gymnastics/reviews/23260/
We need Lupita (sorry if I spelled wrong name) to translate that article. We all want to know what Marina says. We see her all the time with the gymnasts at competition. We barely get to know this coach. I believe she will be the main coach in London as well. I hope we get a translation soon :)
ReplyDeleteLupita is abroad at present on business. Let's wait and see if she has time to do a translate on her return.
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