The State of Russian gymnastics - Elena Produnova and Rostov on Don

You will read quite a lot on this blog about all the money that the Russian Government and its sponsors, VTB, are investing in Russian sport. Head coach Andrei Rodionenko has acknowledged VTB's help in establishing new training centres across the country, including the town of Rostov-on-Don which has famous associations as the training home of champions Liudmilla Tourischeva, Natalia Shaposhnikova and Natalia Yurchenko, and more recently of Elena Produnova, Yulia Belokobylskaya and senior national team member Anastasia Sidorova. Sports are considered an important part of the country's social policy, and mega events such as the upcoming Sochi Olympics, this year's Universiade in Kazan, and the 2014 Football World Cup have the potential to contribute enormously to the economy by improving infrastructure and providing opportunities to develop tourism.

Yet, as we have seen in the arrangements made for Dynamo Moscow while their new training facilities are built, these positive capital investments are often unmatched by good management at grass roots level.  In this case - in a May radio interview with Elena Produnova - it becomes clear that Russia's legacy of sporting achievement is falling by the wayside, providing an answer to the question - why do so many Russian coaches work overseas?

And I am sure there are many clubs out there who would like to employ the inimitable Elena Produnova.

Elena Produnova was one of the leading gymnasts in the world of the late 1990s, and was unlucky to miss out on a gold medal at World or Olympic level.  Had she not suffered an untimely foot injury in 2000, she may well have won the gold medal in the All Around at the Sydney Olympic Games.  She was a powerful, passionate gymnast who combined difficulty and power with an innately musical approach to her sport.   She was also the only female gymnast ever to compete the handspring double front vault with any degree of technical mastery.

With thanks to Lifje for finding this fascinating interview, which Lupita kindly summarises in English below.

Radio Rossya- Radio Don - Athletes’ problems in the Don region.  Elena Produnova speaks.

I was given a flat after the 2000 Olympics. When I was an athlete, I competed for the Army Club, but now people have forgotten.  As I am not an army official and there is no law about the allocation of a flat to Olympic champions after the Olympics, there is the risk I may lose my flat.  If I had been a civil servant in the army, I would have kept my flat.  This happens to many athletes in the Rostov on Don region - people rapidly forget about us.

There is a long list of athletes with the same problem, mainly in the Rostov region. Athletes need a specialist to handle administrative issues for them.  The athlete has no time to handle this himself because he is always training or competing.

But we are 'past our sell-by date'. People forget about us. Female gymnasts are very young when they compete.

I have a very strong character: I decided to stay in Rostov because I love my city. Now, should I pack my bags and go away?  To where? Abroad?  But doesn't our country need athletes? Why do we have this situation? In the States they would welcome me. People there remember me and even now I often get work proposals.

The Rostov school is very strong. There is an excellent tradition and we would like it to continue. We face this lack of provision from the very start. What happens to the athlete when he or she finishes his or her career? What happens after an injury? We need another health system if we need surgery once our career is over. 

Elena Produnova's unforgettable floor exercise from team final in the 2000 Olympics