Skip to main content

Russia's new all around champion - Seda Tutkhalyan!

Image
By
Daughter of a former Soviet wrestling world champion (Guergan Tutkhalyan), Seda put on her game face and fought for every point, taking a gold medal in today's Youth Olympics all around, just ahead of Brazil's charming Flavia Lopes Saraiva, and Britain's Ellie Downie.

I will post more detail in due course, but big congratulations are in order.  Seda is coached in Moscow by Marina Ulyankina who also takes care of national team members Maria Paseka and Alla Sosnitskaya.  This morning fellow Muscovite, national team captain Aliya Mustafina posted encouragement on her Instagram account : 'Show them who is boss ... I believe in you ...'.  The support showed as Seda was clearly well in control of her competition, nailing all but her final tumble during an ebullient floor exercise.  But this misfortune could not rob her of the gold she deserved.

Seda hasn't just won a competition, she is an Olympic champion all around at a time when Russia has painfully few all arounders.  She overcame significant mental pressure to take the gold.  Let's hope she can convert her junior achievements to senior gold when she progresses to the big team next year - Russia needs her power and competitive attitude!  






Labels:

Comments

  1. M20 August 2014 at 20:54

    Congrats to her, still has things to work on but it is a good step.

    I really liked Flavia Lopes Saraiva and although she didn't compete Rebecca Andrade.

    It will be interesting to see how these 3 and other juniors do in their first year as seniors next year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. K821 August 2014 at 15:59

    Tutkhalyan reminds me of a young Mustafina -- the same combination of guts and grace. Good luck to her. I also like Saraiva. Mustafina's old coach is proving his mettle once again, this time in Brazil. The next Olympics should be interesting.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dmitri Andreev - we are building towards long term goals

By
  Dmitri Andreev, Russia’s gymnastics leader now that Andrei Rodionenko has stepped into an advisory capacity, is a long standing national coach and well respected international judge.  Now, as gymnastics in Russia steps forward onto the international arena once more, (via its neutral athletes, coaches and officials), it’s up to Andreev and his team to support and structure the growth and development of gymnastics.   Russia’s first big goal as neutral athletes is to qualify for the Olympics at the October World Championships.  Many of the gymnasts have limited experience on the big stage.  The necessary placements are therefore a big ask - especially emotionally and psychologically.   Here is how Andreev sees things working. 1. Transition Phase: Building Toward Major Goals The Russian team is in a deliberate rebuilding and preparation phase. Early-season competitions like the Russian Cup serve more as evaluation tools than peak performances. The primary o...
1 comment
Read more

Our future is our past - Soviet and Russian propaganda from 1950 to today

By
 As Russian state restrictions on the use of social media and the internet take hold in Russia, we are seeing changes in the way that fans all over the world can access information about gymnastics in Russia.   It is no longer easy for gymnasts to post their opinions, training updates and life events on social media because the State is blocking the use of social media, and even entire mobile internet networks, in certain parts of Russia.  You can read about this more broadly on BBC's Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg's, channel on Youtube. Russia’s attitude to sports is still very much focussed on elite sport, state involvement, and international competition.  Private gyms where anyone can participate are gradually opening, but gymnastics clubs, in the main, are still focussed on elite sport and training to compete at the top level.  We need to go back a few years, to a time when Russia was part of a larger country, the Soviet Union.    E...
2 comments
Read more

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

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more