Skip to main content

Ksenia Afanasyeva (2011) 'Winning gold gave me the strength to carry on'

By

It was a glorious moment.  Ksenia Afanasyeva, assumed to be out of the picture for medals, was brought into the final at the last minute as a reserve.

She delivered one of the best floor routines of the last five years (alongside her own masterpiece at the 2012 Olympic Games, that went on to win her the 2013 European title).

Afanasyeva ('Afonya' to her friends) didn't expect to win.  The modest young woman, for so long the unpredictable but gifted one, was accustomed to disappointment.  Adopting the role of team captain and 'mother' to the younger gymnasts on her team, she doubted her own motivation to continue and train for her second Olympics, to be held in London the following year.  

Then came the score, and the shock of realisation.  Gold, well deserved, brought an emotional response from both Afanasyeva and her coach since childhood, Marina Nazarova.  I'd like to give credit to whoever took this wonderful picture, but sadly the source isn't acknowledged.

Coincidentally, I came across the following ten minute interview with an almost painfully shy Ksenia, from a Russian show Expert.  I linked to it at the time of its initial release, but now the poster has added English language captions.  It is worth spending the ten minutes to share Ksenia's thoughts. http://youtu.be/9EXnk6lf6JY

You can view the floor routine and Afansyeva's reaction in full here : http://youtu.be/mVHW3DHZVm0. 

I very much hope Ksenia continues till Rio and, if possible, beyond - she is a graceful example in both form and character, a great captain for the Russians.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous17 March 2014 at 04:12

    Hi, I know this is somewhat irrelevant to this article but I was wondering whether you could tell us when the Q&A with Anna Pavlova would be published? Many thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Queen Elizabeth17 March 2014 at 07:40

    Hello, I'm afraid I don't know and am beginning to doubt that it will happen. I am very sorry, not least because of the disappointment to those who bothered asking questions. I edited the list if questions and they were translated and sent to Anna, but I guess that her programme is so busy it has not allowed her to respond as yet. I do not think we should expect anything at present as the person who was coordinating it is currently indisposed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18 March 2014 at 01:17

      Aww :( well thanks for trying anyway. I hope this means that Anna is busy training and upgrading her difficulty as we speak so she can kick butt when she gets to Worlds :)

      Delete
  3. Queen Elizabeth17 March 2014 at 07:41

    Let us hope that there will be some great media coverage of this popular champion if and when she appears at Worlds.

    ReplyDelete

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

Mustafina Interview 2 of 2 : 'I will only perform under the Russian flag'

By
Argumentyi i Fakti interview with Aliya Mustafina Translated by Marina Vulis ‘I have no fear’, says Aliya Mustafina.   ‘My father [Farhat Mustafin, the bronze medallist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1976 Olympics] took me to my first gymnastics class.   In his opinion children need to do sports, and he saw gymnastics as useful for my general development.   He had no goals – just to let us practice.’ It did not end with ‘just practice’ – she became the World Champion at 16, but then had an ACL injury the next year (2011) at the Europeans.   Even just returning to gymnastics is a feat; then she came back to win four medals at the 2012 Olympics. Aliya Mustafina – That injury.   I do not know why I was ashamed – so many people were watching me and I could not even walk.   My parents!   They saw everything on TV (the coach had to carry her from the podium).   Of course I was aware that anything could happen in gymnastics, but I di...
4 comments
Read more

I am looking forward with inspiration - Melnikova returns to international competition

By
Angelina Melnikova will be the first Russian WAG to compete internationally since the IOC ban in 2022 when she appears at the World Challenge Cup in Paris on September 13 and 14 this year. Travelling with her will be coach Konstantin Pluzhnikov and judge Elena Redyanova.   Angelina says she will compete AA with a relatively simple programme. I’m glad Angelina is making this start for Russia.  It’s a real tribute to this young woman that she is trusted with the first effort at coming back after such a long time, and I hope people welcome her back warmly.  Angelina will be competing as a neutral athlete, of course.  She was awarded this status after a fair and rigorous process of evaluation by the FIG.   Here is what Angelina said today to Match TV: Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Angelina Melnikova told Match TV how she reacted to being admitted to the FIG World Challenge Cup tournament in France. ❓What emotions did you experience from the fact that you w...
1 comment
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more