The spirit of Nabiyeva 2013, and a Russian enigma

Tatiana Nabiyeva celebrates her golden week in Penza

Tatiana Nabiyeva shone this week in the Russia Cup, taking five of the six available gold medals (all around, team, vault, uneven bars and beam; she withdrew from the floor competition for which she had qualified), thereby establishing herself as the current spiritual leader of Russia's gymnastics team.  This is a dramatic turn around for the 18 year old from St Petersburg.  Before this summer's Universiade, Nabiyeva's last all around competition of any note had been the 2010 World Championships, where she finished in seventh place.  Since then, she has battled chronic back pain, a significant growth spurt and a drubbing from Russia's head coach Valentina Rodionenko for what she called her 'obesity', sitting out last year's Olympics as reserve before digging herself out of a rather doubtful place in Russian gymnastics' history to a hopeful position as we approach the 2013 World Championships.

As a junior, Nabiyeva was a beautiful, joyful all arounder with a real strength on the balance beam and clear economy of line on all her apparatus.  She won the unofficial all around at the 2008 Junior Europeans ahead of her now more decorated colleague, Aliya Mustafina, but fell back somewhat as she transitioned to senior level in 2010.  By the end of 2012 her gymnastics had receded to a point that had seemed almost terminal, the problems of that painful back almost insurmountable.  Yet now, after what must have been an immense and sustained effort, Nabiyeva has re-established her competitive morale and technical panache to a point that she can consistently compete on all four apparatus.  Her gymnastics bears many of the characteristics of her junior identity, most noteably outstanding twisting form and line in her leaps, and a strong if emotional temperament.  In reality she has restored three and a half of the four apparatus necessary for a good all around score; the second half of that floor routine is still designed to preserve energy for the final double pike.  Her difficulty is still a little behind Russia's 'A' leaders, but consistency and leadership skills - already identifiable back in the World Championships of 2011 - make her a valuable team member and may even see her compete beyond 2013.  It is a delight to see such a talented and appealing gymnast restored to a national team after what has been a significant interruption, and Tanya deserves accolades for what she has achieved to date.

Russia's WAG team for Antwerp

All around silver medallist at the London Olympics, Viktoria Komova, warms up beam under the watchful eye of team mate and rival Aliya Mustafina

So, having established that Russia has enriched its ranks of mature gymnasts by the rehabilitation of the talented Nabiyeva, I had been hoping to be able to tell you that the Russians had selected an unprecedently strong team for the forthcoming World Championships in Antwerp, composed of Mustafina, Afanasyeva, Komova and Grishina, with perhaps Nabiyeva as travelling reserve.  Who could dispute that, on form and healthy both physically and mentally, these four gymnasts represent the most consummate array of artistry and acrobatics imaginable in the sport today?  Given the format of this year's World Championships - individual medals only are contested, with four members of a WAG team and only three gymnasts from each team competing per apparatus - it was conceivable that the Russians would choose to present only three all arounders, ignoring the distractions of individual apparatus specialists and allowing every member of the team to fight for qualification to the main prize.

But life is never quite as you imagine it, and Russian gymnastics would not be Russian if doubts could not be cast on the composition of the team until the very last moment possible.  There is always doubt about at least one member of the team and this year is certainly no different.  Poor Viktoria Komova.  The outstanding technical gymnast of the last two years, having so bravely overcome injury since joining the senior ranks, having so closely missed all around gold at the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics, has once again been handicapped in her preparations by a severe case of viral meningitis that has sent her to hospital for a week, and bars her from training for at least another seven days on top of that.  The door is open to qualification for the national team via the multiple internal competitions that will take place in the run up to Worlds, but a decision will not be taken until absolutely necessary according to FIG rules in order to allow time to assess her recovery. 

Aliya Mustafina is currently contemplating her second World Championships and her third major all around competition of 2013 - thank you Zarariel for the picture

So the main World Championships team that has been announced by Valentina Rodionenko at this stage includes just Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva and Tatiana Nabiyeva, with no indication of which of these nominated gymnasts will compete all around (but presumably Mustafina and Afanasyeva rank first after their performances at the Universiade in Kazan this summer).  The remaining place on the team will be decided between now and September.  Presumably Viktoria Komova will be in contention if she is well enough, alongside perhaps her fellow Olympian and vault medallist Maria Paseka; although Paseka's specialisms would seem to overlap too much with Nabiyeva's and not provide a good fit for the team.  So maybe the Russians will consider trying out someone new; their nominations to the Osijek Cup, an FIG World Cup competition that takes place shortly before Worlds (13th to 15th September) include youngsters who performed well at the Russia Cup, including most noteably floor champion Alla Sosnitskaya but also beam bronze medallist Polina Fyodorova and beam finalist Anna Rodionova.  Ekaterina Kramarenko is there too although I am not sure she would be considered a good 'investment' for the team.

[In answer to many questions: Anna Dementyeva is out of contention for the upcoming Worlds, and is perhaps considering retirement.  A pity : her beam routine at its best could contend for a world EF medal.  Despite winning many medals at the Russia Cup, once again, Anna Pavlova is unlikely to make it to Worlds; basically she is past her prime now, and the head coaches don't like her.  I am coming round to the idea that Pavlova should have been included in training squads in previous years, she puts certain national team members to shame.]

And what of Anastasia Grishina

Anastasia Grishina in training for the Russia Cup last week.  It is clear that her back is taped.

Whenever I think of Anastasia Grishina a wave of hope overcomes me.  This fine but powerful gymnast, like Komova, has yet to have a clear run at a senior competition free of psychological doubt or physical injury, yet her superior amplitude on every piece and the potential she has for high difficulty quotients on each apparatus leads me to consider her a leading gymnast on the Russian team.  Forget the renowned problems of consistency; Grishina is still only in her second year as a senior and it would take only one very good competition to restore her reputation.  In the all around and event finals of Europeans this spring, Grishina showed her mettle with a really controlled performance that promised great things for later in the year, if only she could reclaim the promised difficulty that once saw her considered an outside contender for Olympic medals.  However, even I am now beginning to wonder if my optimism has been misplaced.  With the experienced Razumovsky couple installed as her new coaches since the beginning of the year, Anastasia promised so much for 2013, but on Friday the gymnast walked out of the Russia Cup with back pain, failing to make a show in the major qualifying meet for Worlds.

Presumably she and her coaches expected she would be treated with the same clemency as the unfortunate Komova, and allowed the opportunity to qualify via internal meets.  However, Grishina has not found favour with the senior team leadership since the Olympics; her new coaching arrangements have been publicly denounced and she has frequently found herself criticised for her failure to increase difficulty.  Now, Valentina Rodionenko says that the team coaches have ruled her out of contention for the Worlds team.    'Only those who have a conscientious attitude to training and competition' may be considered for the Russian team, she says, in a brutally abrupt declaration that may yet see a further turf war erupt in Russian gymnastics.  Has this gymnast been treated fairly and according to the rules?  Isn't the loss of Grishina from the Worlds team a major blow to its medal chances?  We do not know the full background to Nastia's withdrawal.  Pictures of her in podium training for the Russia Cup do reveal some back strapping but gymnasts regularly perform in pain.

UPDATE 22/8 18.09 In a TASS interview Grishina's coach Irina Razumovskaya confirms that Anastasia did withdraw from the competition with severe pain, which the doctor diagnosed as a pinched nerve. She says that she recognises that Grishina has avoided the Russia Cup in the past, but hopes that by resuming training at Round Lake she can convince the national coaches of her conscientiousness, and make her case for a place on the World Championships team.

The eternal Russian enigma : questions

Olympic, World, Universiade and European medallist Ksenia Afanasyeva wistfully watches over proceedings during the all around competition in London 2012

As ever, a Russian competition and Valentina's ensuing declarations ask more questions than they answer.  Nabiyeva's rapid naming to the team was probably the only fair outcome given her clear dominance of qualifications, although it might be described, in the absence of Komova and Grishina, as a 'B' team competition.  While her performance was a strong endorsement of her rehabilitation and recovery from injury, her resurgence to the very top of the national team tells uncomfortable stories about Russia's strength in depth.  The strategy of refreshing veteran talent has certainly worked well to strengthen the team and lessen the impact of injury, but it is doubtful that Nabiyeva could compete for gold at World Championships level.  I will say right away that I would love her to prove me wrong!  But why have none of the promising juniors on the national team been brought to a similar level?

Grishina's equally rapid barring from the team comes with more question marks.  The context requires some explanation: it is clear that the Rodionenkos do not like Grishina for some reason or other and, once again, we have seen a gymnast be subjected to regular public criticism by the head coach, this time dating back to the Olympics.  Rodionenko did not like it when Grishina sacked her personal coach, Sergei Zelikson, nor when she appointed the experienced Razumovsky couple (recommended by former WAG team coach Alexander Alexandrov) as her personal coaches.  She criticised Grishina for training in her home gym rather than at the national training centre in Lake Krugloye, and couldn't understand why the girl was not competing more difficulty at the Europeans this spring.  Now what looks like a hasty and perhaps rather ill-judged decision to exclude a gymnast from qualification to Worlds, seems unfair compared to the extra time Komova is being given.  What are the competitive rules under which qualifying for the Russian team operates? 

Then again, the wonders of the Russian press may reveal more: did Grishina withdraw herself from contention for Worlds, owing to overwhelming back pain?  Will she take off the rest of the year to recover, prior to rehabilitation early next year?  This is possible, but Valentina's tendency to try to control the narrative blocks out all possibility of a diplomatic ending.

Which leads me to the dreadful thought: after all the drama and infighting that culminated in coach Alexander Alexandrov's departure from the Russian team earlier this summer, is the Russian team still in a state of perpetual battle?  Grishina's former coach, Sergei Zelikson, sacked by Grishina late last year and replaced by the Razumovskys at Alexander Alexandrov's suggestion, is certainly eager to place the blame for Nabiyeva's earlier decline on the former national WAG coach, suggesting that a lack of encouragement and support left Tanya rudderless, and that inappropriate training left her struggling with painful injuries, like so many of her team mates (he says).

You would think that enough had already been said, but as can be seen by the announcement about Grishina and the team, the Russian press is still dominated by Valentina's narrative.  I would hope to read an interview with Grishina's coach, Razumovksy at some point in the not too distant future, and I would love to read Alexandrov's account of the events leading up to his resignation.  Even so, I still do not think we will fully understand the enigma of Russia's battling political gymnastics scene until the sport there becomes publicly accountable, publishing details of qualifying procedures etc.  I suspect that this is anathema to many of those in charge of Russian sport.  Well, the important thing is that the coaches work together to maximise the potential of all the gymnasts on the team, but in Grishina's case at least this doesn't seem to be working.

Which Russian has the best chance of winning all around at Worlds?

It is impossible, and perhaps foolish to make predictions; who knows?  But of the current crop of Russians, assuming Mustafina, Afanasyeva and Nabiyeva travel to Antwerp, leaving Komova and Grishina at home, I hope that a well trained, in-form Mustafina wins; she is the one who will fight the hardest, and she is the one who has the potential to express the current Code to its fullest extent without alienating the culture of artistic gymnastics that is so much at the heart of the Russian sport.  Winning this World Championships would also mean that she has topped the World Championships each time she has entered the all around competition, and make her European, Universiade and World Champion in one year, a fitting accolade for such an astounding, competitive gymnast.

I would hope, perhaps realistically, for Mustafina to compete for gold in Antwerp, but I would LOVE Afanasyeva to win.  Her weakness on bars is what makes me doubt her eligibility for the top three, but the developing power of her vault and the sophistication of her beam and floor make her the most Russian of all the Russian gymnasts today, and a fine example of a mature artistic gymnast whose power never detracts from her line, amplitude or expression.

I would explode if Nabiyeva won, and will say nothing more. It's her personality that makes her so special, isn't it.

Results, videos etc

I have been lax and have yet to provide transliterations of all of the results: apologies, but it is difficult to find the time to keep up with the positive flood of information that emerges with every new competition, alongside my full time job and other responsibilities.  I will provide links here to the key sources.  Dear readers, please comment, question and rant as you feel appropriate!

Live streaming of Event Finals, Day 3 (1 hr 45 mins)




Live streaming of Event Finals, Day 4 (2 hrs 34 mins)




Photo galleries of the Russia Cup by Elena Mikhailova

Full results of the Russia Cup (in Russian)

The Couch Gymnast has transliterated WAG Event Final results for you.

The Men

In many ways, MAG is becoming more interesting than WAG and I will try to come back with some results later.  As with the women, the key players did not participate: Ablyazin, Belyavski, Garibov and Kuksenkov have already pre-qualified to Worlds.  But there are still two places on the team to decide (the men have six team members) and at the Russia Cup, Mattei Petrov proved to be the emerging star on pommels and someone who is being considered for the team.  I would also mention Alexander Balandin who shone on rings, but for some reason looked rather unhappy during the medal ceremony and has not been mentioned in the press reports.  That can be rather ominous, if you are a Russian gymnast.