Skip to main content

Mustafina collects her second major all around of 2013 in Kazan

By

Aliya Mustafina confirmed her dominance of the Universiade today, winning gold in the all around competition with a competent, if not full powered performance, understandable considering she had left hospital only a few days ago.

The victory was certainly not assured.  After vault, Ksenia Afanasyeva was in the lead.  Mustafina, predictably, pulled ahead by two points with an accomplished bars routine culminating in a very strong dismount, but then dropped off beam after a double turn. So it was left to Afanasyeva to win the title on beam and floor, her strongest pieces.  But the veteran of two Olympics could not assert herself, making three major errors, failing to complete moves and combinations in the process, to score a competition low for her of 13.15.  So after the third rotation Mustafina still led the competition, with Afanasyeva a disappointing third at that stage - and needing her best floor routine to claw back the silver.

She did not disappoint.  That floor routine of Afanasyeva was to be the highlight of the all around competition.  She does not perform the complex choreography any more - the Code has more or less made that irrelevant to the sport anyway - but what this gymnast does do, she does with beauty, great energy and huge complexity.  Her double straight somersault, and her two whips to triple twist, take my breath away.  She tumbled as well as I have seen for what seemed like a stingey mark of 15, and brought a unique grace to the name of power tumbling.  

Mustafina closed out the competition with what seemed a rather tired floor exercise, bereft of the lofty leap after the opening double arabian and missing the final pose.  She avoided major errors, though, and won the all around.  Once again the Muscovite came first in 2013, and Afanasyeva was left standing on the sidelines, wondering about what might have been had she been less nervous on the beam ...

Did you miss the live streaming?  The competition is archived and available for viewing here. 

Ksenia Afanasyeva - floor routine



Full results are available here.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous9 July 2013 at 14:55

    Only for Musty and Afan will I get up at 4AM to watch streaming in a language I don't understand. But it was absolutely worth it, great AA final!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown9 July 2013 at 17:05

    Mustafina looks exhausted !! Hopefully she will get some rest before worlds! She is looking worse everyday!! And nobody wants that :(
    By the way, I read Komova has gotten bigger since the Olympics, has anybody seen a picture of her? I don't know why I feel Russians (my beloved Russians) will fail at worlds :s

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9 July 2013 at 17:48

      Mustafina does look a bit tired. I hope she gets rest and doesn't get injured. I think Komova will do fine. She has every event back, but vault. She will probably be ready for worlds.

      Delete
    2. Anony11 July 2013 at 05:00

      I follow Komova on Instagram and she still looks very fit/thin, just a tad taller...I think she'll be in great shape for worlds!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15 July 2013 at 22:47

      I do hope Musty takes a break before worlds. It sounds like she had a pretty draining illness, and that does deplete the body. She needs to protect herself.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Svetlana Boginskaya: I was always a bitch* in gymnastics

By
Svetlana Boginskaya, 15 years old, with her medals from the Seoul Olympics Nico translates the latest interview with gymnastics legend Svetlana Boginskaya, during a recent visit to her home country of Belarus. Svetlana Boginskaya: I was always a bitch* in gymnastics, so now I ask for forgiveness from everyone who came in contact with me. The National Olympic Committee of Belarus held a press conference with three-time Olympic Champion in artistic gymnastics, Svetlana Boginskaya. The meeting was devoted to the 25th anniversary of the Olympic Games in Seoul. In South Korea the Belarussian won two gold medals in the team competition and vault. As a gift to the Olympic Hall of fame, the famous gymnast, now living in the United States, donated one of her trophies that she won at the 1990 European Championships and a pennant for Best Female Athlete of the USSR in 1989. How happy we were when we could share with such stars as Boginskaya, Scherbo, and Ivankov,...
14 comments
Read more

The sad demise of artistic gymnastics

By
This picture, of 1985 Soviet World Championships team member Irina Baraksanova, is a symbol of what is now lost to gymnastics as a whole, and Russia in particular.  Black and white, the picture was taken at another time when imagery came at a premium, technology was simple and memory and emotion played an important part in documenting sports history.  A similar picture taken today might be more colourful and have a sharper focus, but lack the nostalgic significance, the scope to challenge the imagination.  For all its lack of precision and technical sophistication, this box brownie snap captures the feeling of a unique moment.  Baraksanova, in common with many of her team mates, used floor exercise to tell an enigmatic and gentle story built on line, air and just a little bit of acrobatic magic.  The position of the head, the asymmetry of the position, the downcast eyes, all speak to me.  She combined grace and power, innovation and tradition to make the ...
32 comments
Read more

Simone Biles - 'on her way to Olympic gold' in the opinion of Russia

By
Prosport is carrying the following article about Simone Biles, who they tip as a favourite for Olympic gold.  I thought I would share it here (Google translate in italics) as it gives an interesting perspective on where the Russians feel the sport is heading.  Elena Zamolidchikova and Alexander Alexandrov are both extensively quoted. Atypical American. Simon Biles on the way to Olympic gold Simone Biles, American gymnast, turned 18 on March 14, 2015. Shortly before this, the first in US history absolute Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton called Biles perhaps the most gifted athlete in the history of the sport. In 2014, Simon became the first gymnast for 40 years to win four gold at a World Championships. But Biles is not only talent. This is the first gymnast in recent years from the United States, who is not going to earn on its potential Olympic success. Text: Alexander Vladimirov March 15, 2015 9:35 The article on Prosport/Photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images / Fotob...
42 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more