Nine-time Olympic gymnastics champion Larisa Latynina told Sportbox.ru's correspondent about the first results of the World Championships, frequent injuries in the women's and men's team and the problems and need for a psychologist in the team.
Was bronze success or failure for the current women's team?
'Mustafina pulled the team into third place. Unfortunately, we don't have any athletes who could take the place of the leader, Mustafina. In recent years, periodically, there are stars, but they are injured or ill.
Recently I read an interview with Andrei Rodionenko, in which he says that the coaches can not be responsible for the girls' injury - that the recovery and treatment of athletes was the responsibility of physicians. I believe that it is fundamentally wrong position. The women mainly get injured in training. Usually an attentive coach will see in advance that an athlete is tired or that she has some problems. Therefore, it seems to me that such a large number of injuries is the result of including errors in the preparation. I did not go to "Round Lake" and did not see how the guys and girls were preparing for the Championships, so I can only judge by what I see as a result.
I do not know if they work with psychologists. I think it also would benefit from the preparation.'
You have won an Olympic gold medal, and without the help of psychologists.
'For us the personal coach carried out the role of the psychologist. He knows his athletes best. It is important for the coach to work closely with the gymnast as her personal coach.'
Source : http://news.sportbox.ru/Vidy_sporta/gimnastika/spbnews_NI487824_Larisa-Latinina-Komandu-vitaschila-Mustafina
Russia's situation is becoming so worrisome as it was around 2005-2009. Mustafina is the rock of the team but it's too much for her sometimes, and God knows in which conditions Afanasyeva and Komova will return... The team lacks everything: difficulty, consistency and confidence. Basically is Mustafina who makes the team survive. It's not the results that bothers me, but all the mistakes and tension along the competitiono, the girls just can't hold the pressure. Does Russia have any good gymnasts for the next two years? Sorry Elizabeth for being so negative about this.
ReplyDeleteDaria
Daria,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. They lack difficulty, consistency and confidence and Mustafina is who makes the team survive. I am no expert, but it looks as though the coaches work her too much. She had better and more difficult routines on beam a month ago at the Russian ntls. Her spins were better too (she connected her triple spin to a double). She looks tired. It's not just her but I don't understand why Afanseyva and Komova were being pushed to compete for this worlds when they are just getting over their injuries. I am also sorry for being negative, but I am such a HUGE fan of Russian gymnastics that I want the best for them.
On a positive side: they still did great during team finals! Also, there is a lot of hope with the younger gymnasts. I just hope the coaches keep them injury free.
Russiafan
The Russian girls are injured and sick, a lot. I'm not sure whose fault that is, but Latynina is correct that this problem needs to be addressed. They also suffer from a severe lack of confidence right now. (Aliya single handedly holds this team together.)
ReplyDeleteThe US girls may be pretty in pink, but those girls show up to fight. From knowing a little about the US camp system, they do high numbers of routines. They hit x 10 (or x20) every day. The US camp system also puts a high emphasis on conditioning. Is there any doubt that the US girls are the best conditioned athletes out there? There are no secrets to gymnastics success. Emphasize conditioning. Drill your routines. Make no excuses. Repeat 365 days a year.
i completely agree with you that conditioning is a big problem in russia and that more should be done. but at the same time there are differences in the reality - the US girls fight because they have to, because there are tens of girls waiting to take their place. if they get injured or quit it is not that big a deal, there are plenty of others waiting to step in line. so the US can afford to let the 'weaker' or more physically fragile ones or mentally fragile ones weed themselves out and pick the last few standing, even if they have to go through 10 girls at elite level to keep 1. No other country can afford this, there is just not enough of a pool of talent at ground level - another thing Russia needed to fix, and which Alexandrov started doing, quite rightly, before the Rods got in the way. So it's not as simple as just following the US style, because there are different pressures faced in all other countries.
DeleteRachel---Your argument that "No other country can afford this, there is just not enough of a pool of talent at ground level" is actually a meaningless excuse. Russia has a population of almost. 150 million people!!! That is the 9th largest population. That is 2.5 x the population of Great Britain. It is 7.5 x the population of Romania. It is 2.5 times the population of Italy. It is 6 x the population of Australia. It is almost 9 x the population of the Netherlands!! All of these countries have produced at least one or more male or female champions in the last 10 years in various competitions with significantly less people in their countries than Russia has! And China, of course, has almost one billion people, so your statement in regard to China makes no reasonable sense at all. Russia earned more medals in the last winter Olympics than the United States. How do you explain THAT with "no pool of talent." There is something else that is drastically wrong that is not the fault of any "pool of talent" or any advantage in the United States. You have to look inside, not outside, to find it.
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