Skip to main content

'Romka' - Russian Junior gymnast documentary

By


I love all of those Soviet era sports documentaries - the moodiness of the black and white photography, the silences, the variations in tone, in light and shade, the mystery of it all.  

There haven't been many films to match them since the end of the Soviet era, and I think this latest video short, authored by Denis Mahafrov, is probably the nearest modern-day equivalent.  Do take some time to view it on Youtube if you can - find the link at the bottom of the page.

Roman Lebedev, 'Romka', is a junior gymnast who trains in one of the SDYUSHOR sports schools in St Petersburg.  This short (12 minute) documentary shows him both in training and in his everyday life.  He hasn't yet made the Russian youth team - I don't know if he is even old enough to be considered - but he is an astonishingly serious and hard-working young man whose home is decorated with the many cups, medals and diplomas he has earned during his life so far.  

There are interviews with his mother, Lioubov, and senior coach Evgeny Derzhavetz.  We also see the various team members sweetly and earnestly working away in the gym.  In a quiet moment, the commentator asks these very young boys, 'Who wants to be an Olympic Champion?'.  'Me!  Me!', they all shout, leaping in the air, smiling broadly, full of joy and excitement and accomplishment despite all the apparent tension and pain of their considerable sporting effort.

The film was made by Denis Mafrahov under the aegis of the Russian Ministry of Culture and the St Petersburg  University of Cinema and TV.  If your Russian is better than mine, please could you leave a comment explaining any more information - I think it may be work submitted in fulfillment of a degree qualification, but I could easily be wrong.  It is certainly an engaging film both in subject and visual dimensions, good enough that it can even be appreciated by non-Russian speaking people like me.

I love the selection of music - alongside Muse and Radioactive we also hear Muslim Magomaev, who recorded a song for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.  Thus a subtle and nostalgic link to the country's heroic past in the sport is established.  Who was the men's all around champion in 1980?  Who else but St Petersburg born Alexander Detiatin.  Perhaps in 2028, Romka will emulate him, and wear the gold medal at his own Olympics - maybe even in his hometown of St Petersburg, which has candidate city status for those Games.

http://youtu.be/2CI5Ygrmriw
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Viktoria Komova - back pain has forced me to step down

By
I awoke this morning to a very simple statement from Viktoria Komova, on her vk.com site, which Papa Liukin has translated (via the IG forum): 'Dear friends, fans, and gymnastics lovers. Unfortunately back pain isn't allowing me to train to my full potential and get ready for competitions. I've made the very difficult decision to stop training and take care of my health. I want to thank everyone for their support! Without your love and warmth it would've been more difficult to go all the way. Thanks everyone and see you soon! Love and kisses.' Well, first of all, good wishes and best of luck to Viktoria, who has struggled since 2012 to re-establish herself fully as a competitive gymnast, whose talent was so great that she secured gold on bars at two different World Championships, four years apart, whose career was littered with controversy, who must be allowed to live her life as she wishes.   I know that the 'gymternet' will now be overflowing...
43 comments
Read more

Interview with Andrei Rodionenko

By
The four men and four women who Andrei Rodionenko says are 'guaranteed' selection to Russia's Worlds team.  The final full selection will be made before the team travels to Nanning on 27th September.  Pictures courtesy of the RGF. Key points summary of an interview between Maria Vorobyeva of R Sport, and Russia's Head Coach Andrei Rodionenko, dated 11 September 2014.  Link to Russian language - http://m.rsport.ru/interview/20140911/771553414.html Upon completion of the Russia Cup in late August, the Russian national team coaching staff announced a list of eight athletes - four men and four women - guaranteed participation in the World Championships. Aliya Mustafina, Maria Kharenkova, Daria Spiridinova and Ekaterina Kramarenko; Nikita Ignatyev, David Belyavski, Nikolai Kuksenkov and Denis Ablyazin.   At the World Championships 2013 Alexander Balandin won a silver on rings, and Mustafina won the balance beam and took two bronzes - in the all-around...
27 comments
Read more

Who really won the WAG All Around?

By
You will find a link to the FIG's newly published book of results at the Olympic Games here .  This year, they have broken down the judge's execution scores so you can see exactly how each judge evaluated the gymnasts' performances.  It makes for interesting reading - if only I had more time to analyse each judge's marking.  A skim reading already highlights multiple inconsistencies in individual judges' marks and makes you wonder why they bother with the jury at all. I have taken the time to look at the reference judges' scores for the top four in the women's all around.  The FIG explains here what their role is, and how they are selected.  I even used my calculator, which is a risky thing in my hands.  My, how I wish we could have seen a similar document for the Tokyo World Championships. I wonder if anyone can explain how, if the FIG's Code of Points is so objective and fair, it is possible to come up with two different results using two differ...
70 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more