Russia's regions are of great importance to their sports development, as they represent a vast potential source of talent, both coaching and athletic. Sadly, having been a vital contributor to the success of Russia in the Soviet era, the gymnastics regions went into decline around the 1990s and early noughties, following the political restructuring of the Eastern bloc countries. Coach salaries were not paid, so coaches left to earn a living overseas. Facilities were neglected. The sport became unfashionable and young people no longer sought to follow gymnastics seriously, as a career.
Gymnastics has never recovered fully, and the problems have extended root and branch into the Russian system. In 2011 head coach Andrei Rodionenko said that there was only one specialist gymnastics coach training programme in the whole of the Russian Federation, meaning that there are fewer and fewer highly qualified young coaches up and coming. This is reflected in the composition of the national and personal coaching teams, many of whom are approaching or beyond retirement age. Former Soviet national coach and head coach of the famous Dynamo Moscow club, Vladimir Zaglada, has explained that there is virtually no research going on. Octogenarian Vladimir Gaverdovsky is the only research active national coach, and he is publishing the results of data collected a decade ago. Both Alexander Alexandrov and Andrei Rodionenko have highlighted problems with standards set for Master of Sport recognition as a barrier to coach recruitment and retention.
Moscow remains the main powerhouse of Russian gymnastics, and you will be familiar with other successful regions: for example for the men Siberia, for the women Rostov and Voronezh. St Petersburg also seems to have a lively WAG programme, and Penza has recently upped its importance, with Russia's two leading gymnasts training at the Burtasy School of Gymnastics in addition to three other national team members.
It is therefore encouraging to read of the successful development of one area in Russia, the Mari-El Republic. Anna Rodionova, coached by Gyorgy Fomenko in its capital city, Yoshkar-Ola, is the only representative of this Republic on the national team so far, but recent press coverage suggests that there may be more talent to follow. Read this condensed interview with Gyorgy Fomenko, by Andrei Antonov of local newspaper Marpravda, for some interesting insights into Anna's prospects as well as an insight into gymnastics development in this little known region. Links to a video news story can also be found at the bottom of the page.
September 19, 2014
Gymnastics in the Mari El Republic is truly on the rise at present. Young Anna Rodionova won "bronze" this spring at the European Championship as part of the Russian team. Anya also participated in the World Championships 2013 in Belgium, where she delighted the audience with her grace and beauty. Maria Smirnova - another pupil of George Fomenko - now competes for the national team of Azerbaijan. In the sports school, in the meantime, new talents are coming forward. But as they grow up, the main "star" still remains Rodionova. After her performance at the Russia Cup, we started our conversation with coach Gyorgy Fomenko.
As it turned out, in the Russia Cup Rodionova performed with an injury, taking only 6th place on the uneven bars.
- Anya did not have time to restore her full difficulty. She did well, but there was not enough complexity to it - complained Fomenko. - And on beam we removed it altogether - well, there was an incomplete combination. Anna's leg ached.
Due to injury, by the way, Anya did not get to the World Championships in China. There, however, even Komova missed out, despite winning the bars at Russia Cup; nobody can be on the team with only one apparatus.
- What kind of injury does Anna have?
Until November Rodionova will rest the injury. She will work at home in her own gym.
"Her goal is to get to the Olympics"
- Why are your gymnasts suddenly improving?
- We received a whole new set of apparatus. It's not only my merit, but also Lyudmila Gennadievna Tyulkina (she is the second coach to Anna Rodionova). We worked seven days a week, hard, with no holidays. After all, there wasn't only Rodionova and Smirnova; we also had Kristina Sidorova on the national team. Up and coming is Nina Mikhailovna Baykova (coach - Alena Pronina) - she is a very good girl.
The main task now is to heal the injury and get Anya in 2016 to Brazil at the Olympic Games.
Says Fomenko, among all of his pupils Rodionova is the most talented with whom he ever worked as a coach. In 40 years of coaching Gyorgy Fomenko has prepared more than 50 Masters of Sports and, overall, about 100 gymnasts.
- How did you get into the sport? How did you end up in Yoshkar-Ola?
- Actually, I was born in Maykop. It is the capital of Adygea, in the Krasnodar region. There was a good school where I reached Candidate Master of Sport standard. In the same city I entered the Institute of Physical Culture. Later I came to work here in Yoshkar-Ola - didn't know it at all, but decided to come anyway : what difference does it make?
The Director of the Sports School was Mikhail Laptev - he was the founder of gymnastics in the country. Fomenko found himself training the women because his co-coach, Valery
Linkov, said he couldn't coach women.
Fomenko continues, 'I was given several groups, who all seemed to be quite weak. But six months later, these little girls began to win. As a result, Laptev made me senior coach of the Republic. Then I worked for a long time with Tatyana Ivanovna Kocheganova. Now, my coaching partner is Lyudmila Tyulkina. We found that we were flooded with girls wanting to do gymnastics. Many of them were good.
- In 1977 I got married - continues the coach. I have two children, Zhorik and Vika. I'm here to stay.
- Do you ever regret it?
- I do not think in Maykop I would have worked as hard. Because everything is a little different. It is unlikely that I would get the same results..
- How often do you go home?
- Every year, while my mother was alive. She died five years ago, but I still visit her tomb.
"At heart, we are always working for our country"
- There was a time when salaries were not being paid, and coaches were leaving. Weren't you asked to leave?
- Valery Tihonovich Mikov went to the States, then returned. I did not want to work there. Other friends went to Australia. But the motivation is different, children are less serious, they don't need sport, and the parents just count money. It takes time before you can work independently, and I am not somebody who likes being managed.
I don't have anything to complain about. I was given an apartment. In my heart I have always worked for my country.
- When did you realise that Rodionova can show results?
- She was always a lively child with a bright head. Anna isn't a spoiled child. She is an all-arounder - that is a rarity. If she recovers well, she will be able to fight. She has never had a serious injury. Always little things, because of nonsense. In the national team we even laughed about it. But in herself Anna is, of course, a beautiful girl.
- For gymnastics it means a lot.
- Yes - a lot. It means she can perform, with less difficulty, but win on beauty.
"Do not take a talented gymnast, take a clever one"
- Do you have many hard-working pupils?
- Yes, but understand that hard work is not usually given by nature. Anna is talented, she doesn't like to repeat things much. She can learn a complex element in training, then become bored of it. She works well below her capacity, but I don't want to have a heart attack. Talented gymnasts can be lazy and moody.
- How do you deal with that?
- It comes from the parents. As one well known coach has said, do not take a talented gymnast - take a clever one. When you have had so many years in the sport, you have had 40 years working in the same place, and been through a lot, it becomes even more obvious.
Interview with Gyorgy Fomenko by Andrey Antonov for Marpravda - http://www.marpravda.ru/news/vsja-respyblika/georgiy-fomenko-vse-talantlivye---ochen-kapriznye-/
A Russian language news story about the gymnasts of Mari-El - http://youtu.be/beerG1rZnbw
Anna on FX in 2012 http://youtu.be/lrD5aCpKXxI
Finally, the new lists of the national teams are now available in a Russian on the RGF website. You can view videos all all the team members here - http://russiangymnastvideos.blogspot.co.uk/p/russian-gymnasts-included-here.html
And a summary of the MAG team here - https://theliukin.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/russian-national-teams-for-2015/
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