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

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

ā€˜My daughter likes gymnastics. For us, this is the big successā€™. Aliya Mustafina talks to Match TV

By
Via VK.com.  Google translate A big interview with Aliya Mustafina was published on MATCH!. We provide a small excerpt below, and the full version is available on the website at the link below  ā“ Aliya, you are now the head coach of the junior artistic gymnastics team. What does your typical day look like? šŸ’œ My current life is similar to what it was when I was competing. In the morning, I have breakfast and go to work by 9:00, we train for four hours, have lunch, rest and train for another three hours. During the training camp, the athletes live at the base. They live and train on the same territory. ā“ Do you manage the gymnasts' personal trainers or do you evenly distribute the responsibilities? šŸ’œ We work in contact with the personal trainers, I listen to their opinions. For example, if the trainer believes that their athlete needs to be given a little rest or do fewer repetitions of a particular exercise, we do so. ā“ Describe the current generation of children. Do they nee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Russian Gymnastics Federation withdraws AIN athletes from competition

By
 An official announcement, via VK.  Google translate. Official statement of the Russian Gymnastics Federation All Russian athletes representing artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, who received "neutral status", decided to refrain from participating in the upcoming competitions under the auspices of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The reason for this decision is the numerous unfounded and biased refusals of the FIG special committee to allow our gymnasts to compete. The Russian Gymnastics Federation respects and shares the position of the athletes. President of the Russian Gymnastics Federation Oleg Belozerov: "I respect the athletes' decision and understand what it is dictated by. At our meeting on March 10, Mr. Watanabe said that "I would like to use all my strength to once again think about the role of sport in this world. Sport should unite and give friendship, it should not be a tool for increasing hatred. The rights of every person must be resp...
Post a Comment
Read more

The tragic end for Russian gymnastics

By
  Russian gymnasticsā€™ recent decision to withdraw its neutral athletes from international competition, as a protest over some offence or other, is highly uncharacteristic.   Only a few weeks ago, Russia was welcoming FIG President Watanabe into its gymnastics homes, with smiles and hugs exchanged at the highest level.   The gymnasts, including especially Angelina Melnikova, have been training assiduously for a return to the international arena.   There have been excited announcements of the names of those returning to our world of gymnastics.   Russian gymnastics has always been friendly, international and diplomatic.   Good sportsmanship is required of athletes and is generally shown, with a few notable exceptions.   During the depths of the Cold War, Russiaā€™s teams toured the world, staging friendship displays and offering workshops and training.   Russian officials have been at the heart of the sportā€™s governance since the early 1990s and e...
Post a Comment
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more