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| The Russians during a team talk in training for the World Championships. Courtesy RGF |
I am delighted for Aliya personally that the efforts she has made to help the team have provided her with some tangible result, but the principal feeling at the end of the competition is that of relief. As Vaitsekhovskaya said in her article last week, there were no moments of shock and awe from the Russians, and that's what will be needed if they are to compete for gold medals in Rio (translation available here).
Let's consider a timeline of the competition : before, during and after.
BEFORE
The promise of a return to the Worlds stage by Viktoria Komova gave Russia a feeling of optimism pre-Russia Cup. However, Viktoria's performance at this important competition gave little reason for celebration. Yes, she had retrieved many of her bar skills, and her beautiful flight still stood out as world-beating. But under today's Code, that matters little. Bent legs during her giants and a tendency to brush the lower bar are deductible faults that still remained; after a two year break, why weren't these problems addressed? No upgrades from Viktoria, no beam, no vault and no World Championships. It seems almost inconceivable that she will now make it back onto the Russian team after an absence of more than two years, at least as an all rounder.
Just prior to the final selection of the team, Valentina Rodionenko suggested that Ksenia Afanasyeva might be in contention for a place on the Worlds team. This never really seemed likely given the gravity of the injury that had taken her out of training in the first place - Afanasyeva had explained in May that the bone was inflamed, a condition that can quickly lead to osteoarthritis, and the gymnast's own announcement that she would take the year off seemed far more feasible than selection for a major championships. Sure enough, Rodionenko's hopes for the 2011 World floor champion were dashed within a few short days and the announcement of her rapid comeback appeared to be little more than hot air.
Mustafina, meanwhile, had undergone her own injury hell for long enough. Investigations in the Munich clinic that is now a second home for many Russian gymnasts revealed nothing serious, but a procedure relieved the heel pain enough for Aliya to look revived and refreshed at the Russia Cup. Furthermore, a now mature Aliya was obviously providing caring motivational leadership for her younger team mates. It became clear that once again Aliya would come to the rescue of a struggling team.
So in the context of the unavailability and unreadiness of two* of its Olympic stars, the Rodionenkos' strategy was to blood some up and coming young talent - Sosnitskaya, Spiridinova and Kharenkova, who in the spring had won the European beam title - and to complete the team with more experienced, reliable girls - this time Kramarenko, who had competed at the 2008 Olympics, and veteran of the 2010 gold medal winning team, Nabiyeva. Nabiyeva herself had toyed with retirement earlier that year, preferring to move forward with her happy life as a coach and student in her home city of St Petersburg; but the lure of another competition proved too great to resist.
The team that prepared for Nanning was, largely, the only one available to Russia. The demographic of Russian women's gymnastics is highly complicated at present, thanks to a slump in government funding and, hence, in youth participation during the Yeltsin years. So the fact that only a few gymnasts are available to the team is a fact of life; there is not much that the coaches can do about that. And it is a good thing to bring through youngsters at this stage of the Olympic cycle - how else to develop strength in depth than to give new gymnasts a chance to compete at the highest level?
Yet the strategy adopted by the team coaches seemed to be predicated on the assumption that Russia would need its veterans to win. This strategy was to balance the insecurity of youth with the maturity of experience; not a bad idea, except for that the main aim seemed to be to keep the gymnasts calm and avoid making mistakes. Perhaps a good way of securing bronze, but not a good way of fighting for gold or silver.
And surely, this was exactly the time when a new generation should enter to challenge and overtake the long standing champions. For example, in 2010 Alexandrov had led a young team to win the World Championships. Half of his gymnasts - Mustafina, Nabiyeva and Dementyeva - were first year seniors who had not competed at worlds level before; the most experienced gymnast, Semyonova, had made her Worlds debut in 2007. With Komova and Grishina due to turn senior over the following two years, it was clear that the new generation was rapidly taking over.
In women's gymnastics, few World Champions continue to win medals at the very top level for more than two or three years. There are always exceptions, of course - Khorkina is one example - but to expect all gymnasts to emulate Khorkina is clearly unrealistic. If the Russians' plans for Rio come to fruition, and all their currently active London Olympians participate, it will be a miracle - the team will have a collective senior experience of 24 years - Mustafina six, Komova five, Paseka four, Afanasyeva nine.
More to the point, the youngsters should now be challenging these gymnastically elderly ladies and making it difficult for them to participate in the training squad, let alone be selected for World Championships. I would love to see Afanasyeva and Mustafina at their third and second Olympics, respectively. But I would hope that they would be there to lead an exciting, vibrant young team who were at least their gymnastic equals. It doesn't seem to be too much to ask, considering the level, if not volume, of talent available to Russia.
Before the Championships then, we had a happy looking team, well balanced and obviously emotionally secure and confident within themselves. The Russian coaches had set modest expectations of them; the consensus was that there was really only Mustafina who would contend for medals. Gainsayers suggested the team might be poor enough to finish in fifth place, but that was an extreme view. The team selection was a solid one, with a good distribution of talent across the apparatus, and even though there was a clear weakness on floor, a reasonable show was expected.
DURING
A reasonable show was exactly what we got from the Russians in Nanning. In podium training and in qualifications the team managed to avoid meltdown, anyway. The girls had the worst draw of any of the big four countries, competing qualifications in the first subdivision, beginning on floor. This made World Champion Mustafina almost the first gymnast to compete in the entire WAG competition and, as things turned out, she was also the last.
The young Russian gymnasts are a delight. Spiridinova is an enchanting gymnast, beautiful in line and technique and clearly able to perform her routines on floor, beam and bars with something approaching ease. She embodies the Russian enigma - an up and coming gymnast who has the basics to a fine point of perfection, then stops. Anna Rodionova, who was in contention for this team but didn't quite make it thanks to a small injury, is a similar gymnast.
The Russian system has always had such beautiful, rather erratic gymnasts. I am not comparing like exactly with like, but Kazakhstan-born Natalia Ilienko, 1981 World Floor Champion, was a remarkably unreliable, remarkably talented gymnast. World Champion Natalia Yurchenko's career was marked by unfortunate falls until good luck collided with her in 1983. These gymnasts shared the fundamentally strong basics of such gymnasts as Spiridinova and Rodionova but were tempered by a system that understood that in order to be able to win, one must risk. Their stunningly original programmes were put together not to provide a comfortable nights' sleep for their coaches, but to challenge for gold medals wherever they went and whenever they competed. The rather lowly expectations of this year's Russian team were that they would do enough to finish in the top 24 and hence qualify to compete at next year's World Championships, in turn a qualifying event for the Rio Olympics. The two Natalias were expected to fight for gold, wherever and whenever they competed, and because it was expected of them, they expected it of themselves.
One could say that the circumstances in which the gymnasts compete today are much different, not least the 6-3-3 format which emphasises the need for reliability; and the relative lack of strength in depth in Russia, which means that the coaches are trying their best to maintain the health and strength of their gymnasts for another day. Russia and the Soviet Union are far from a direct like for like comparison as the Soviet Union covered not only Russia, but also Ukraine, Belarus and a total of 11 other countries. So the talent and resources base on which they drew was far greater. Nevertheless, the fundamental laws of training are the same. I remember reading an interview with Alexander Alexandrov, about two years ago, in which he explained that the time to develop a gymnast's programme was during her early years in the sport. The gymnast would generally only be able to do at the age of 20 what she could do at a much younger age. This is rather worrying for the up and coming Russian youngsters, few of whom have much in the way of ground breaking difficulty in their routines, let alone the expectation that they will eventually become Olympic champions.
There is also the question of why the team were playing a safety game when the targets were so meagre; surely now, when 24th is all that is needed, would be a time to test the young gymnasts and give them some experience? Some of the selections for the team final seemed questionable. For example, why not give Alla Sosnitskaya, the team's second all arounder, the opportunity to compete on beam in the place of Kramarenko? Her scoring potential was greater and in the end putting trust in the greater reliability of a veteran was misplaced; it is easy for anyone to fall from the beam as poor Katya did. Newcomer Alla Sosnitskaya was clearly determined to show her grit at these Championships and could have contributed on the apparatus. If not Sosnitskaya, why not Spiridinova? One day she must confront her nerves on this apparatus and realise how talented she is. The Russians are strong on beam; the coaches need to have confidence in their youngsters, before the youngsters can have confidence in themselves.
Nevertheless, I think that the team's performance was a good one; my criticism is not of the gymnasts, but of the safety-first strategy and the suggestion that gymnasts new to the senior team aren't capable of delivering good gymnastics, when clearly they are. Kharenkova, for example, had a shaky beginning in beam qualifications, but her performance in finals was great, judging by the 15+ score she achieved. Yet elsewhere, principally on floor, the feisty girl from Rostov-on-Don seems to have taken a backwards step since 2012; why is this? It is symptomatic of a system that has regularly failed to see its talented juniors reach their full potential; only in 2010, 2011 and 2012 has the transition from junior to senior appeared to realise the promise of the young. Where is Shelgunova, why does Rodionova so steadfastly remain in the shadows; why are so few of the youngsters performing more difficult routines than their predecessors? It's all very well focussing on the need for reliability and consistency when the programme of difficulty isn't good enough to win gold; the gymnasts will only learn to do difficult things by practice. If top difficulty is the expected norm, few will question it and the most capable will emerge. As World Champion Yuri Korolev once famously said, 'he who does not risk, cannot win'.
Of course Queen Mustafina's final day performance put a smile on my face, as well as young Dasha's bronze on bars. But we do have to remember - these were bronze medals from a team that, historically, technically and strategically, should be targeting gold. Vaitsekhovskaya reported Alexandrov as saying that a gymnast cannot live on her past triumphs; the training of last year can only stand her in good stead for a year, two at most. I would venture to argue that this applies to teams as well as individuals. Relying on veterans to shore up the team for two or three years, without finding a new level of fitness and difficulty, is as likely to be a recipe for failure for the team as a whole as for the individuals concerned. Despite the desire to be optimistic, to enjoy Aliya's enjoyment of her good fortune, the truth of the matter is that standards have fallen and Russia is now a bronze medal winning team, rather than a potential competitor for gold. Mustafina says she is going to seek upgrades, but that it will be difficult for her at her advanced age; she is perhaps seeking a new personal coach to help her on the road to Rio. But what is the rest of the team doing? How many more times will they need Nabiyeva to come out of retirement?
AN (IMPORTANT) ASIDE
I want at this point to pay tribute to Russia's main rival, the USA. At present, no one can compete with them. Simone Biles is a magnificent gymnast: powerful, strong and original. I'm going to shock you all by saying that I think that the way she performs her particular brand of gymnastics is artistic.expressive, innovative - and unrepeatable by anyone but her. She is quite the most phenomenal, talented and spontaneous gymnast I have seen in many a year. I like Kyla Ross rather less; she is the product of this Code, more typical of the American school, a careful, accurate gymnast who makes very few errors, but who is less than inspirational in her presentation and originality. Nevertheless, she has deserved the medals she has won at this competition because she satisfies the requirements of the Code, and makes so few errors.
If things continue on this trajectory, the USA will easily win gold in Rio as a team and in the all around, vault and floor. The Chinese might continue to win on bars, and beam will be as open as it always is. Leaving a lovely, but slightly disappointing array of bronze medals for our girls to peck away at.
But, you see, I would hate gymnastics to be all about tumbling and Simone Biles, because I don't think there will be another Simone for another forty years at least and I think that her form of artistry is unique to her. We need Russia for its heritage, philosophy, technical coaching and guts, to compete effectively at the very top level, to round out the picture of artistic gymnastics, before all gymnasts look like poor imitations of Ross or Biles. Russia's nearest equivalent to Biles, Produnova, never had the self assurance of this year's World Champion, but she did bring at least equal power and innovation to the arena, enriched by the expressiveness and technique of the classical tradition that is fundamental to all graceful forms of movement. This is the unique talent of Russia - the ability to combine fierce acrobatic power and originality with stunning artistry and technique; the two are not mutually exclusive. It is called virtuosity - a very rare, if not completely absent quality in today's gymnastics.
One further point I should add as an aside is that the environment in which the Russians are competing is far from good. Even Bruno Grandi has commented that there is a need to overhaul the marking to encourage more rounded, artistic performances by the girls, where difficulty is not the only determinant of medals. But this was a Grandi speech at a competition press conference, and it is hardly unlike our President to make wild promises that then disappear like a wisp of steam over a boiling kettle, or that if enacted contribute still further confusion and compromise to the creaking Code of Points. It is unlikely without a wholesale review and change of philosophy, that any short term solution enacted by the FIG will result in an improvement in standards before Rio.
AFTER
I'm not talking about the Banquet ...
If the Russians respond to their defeat - yes, defeat - in Nanning in the right way, this might be considered to be a turning point in their development as significant as the defeat of the Soviet team in 1979. There is much more work to be done than in 1979, but there is one year more in which to complete the necessary transformation.
The Russian team will now go home and have a well deserved break. I expect there will be a flurry of interviews by Aliya and the Rodionenkos and then silence will fall. I hope we will see some of the gymnasts at the Voronin Cup in December, if it is running. Putin has just announced new plans for the funding of sport in Russia from 2016, including measures to promote mass participation in sport and physical culture. They are also recognising the organisation of sporting mega events as a key capability. I haven't seen any mention of gymnastics in any of the press; this probably isn't surprising as artistic gymnastics is rather small fry in the Russian Federation. But I will keep my ear to the ground. I very much hope that VTB Bank's sponsorship of the sport continues, and that the Ministry of Sport also continues to support gymnastics as it has over the past few years.
I may be alone in considering this week's events to amount to a defeat; Andrei Rodionenko certainly disagrees with me, having summarised the competition as 'a success' for the Russian gymnasts; even if there were mistakes, that's only because the gymnasts are human. It is hard to disagree. But he too recognises the need for increased difficulty amongst the team:
Will there be any lambs to the slaughter as a result of this week's competition? Influential voices have been raised, but frankly I doubt there will be any movement. If the Rodionenkos were to leave, who could take their place? Could a change in strategy be effected sufficiently swiftly to make a substantial change to both the programme and conditioning of the gymnasts before Rio? What if the Rodionenkos are right, and a conservative approach is more prudent than risking going for gold?
We will just have to wait and see.
* Three if one counts the injured Paseka, and four if one thinks of the disappeared Grishina.
The team that prepared for Nanning was, largely, the only one available to Russia. The demographic of Russian women's gymnastics is highly complicated at present, thanks to a slump in government funding and, hence, in youth participation during the Yeltsin years. So the fact that only a few gymnasts are available to the team is a fact of life; there is not much that the coaches can do about that. And it is a good thing to bring through youngsters at this stage of the Olympic cycle - how else to develop strength in depth than to give new gymnasts a chance to compete at the highest level?
Yet the strategy adopted by the team coaches seemed to be predicated on the assumption that Russia would need its veterans to win. This strategy was to balance the insecurity of youth with the maturity of experience; not a bad idea, except for that the main aim seemed to be to keep the gymnasts calm and avoid making mistakes. Perhaps a good way of securing bronze, but not a good way of fighting for gold or silver.
And surely, this was exactly the time when a new generation should enter to challenge and overtake the long standing champions. For example, in 2010 Alexandrov had led a young team to win the World Championships. Half of his gymnasts - Mustafina, Nabiyeva and Dementyeva - were first year seniors who had not competed at worlds level before; the most experienced gymnast, Semyonova, had made her Worlds debut in 2007. With Komova and Grishina due to turn senior over the following two years, it was clear that the new generation was rapidly taking over.
In women's gymnastics, few World Champions continue to win medals at the very top level for more than two or three years. There are always exceptions, of course - Khorkina is one example - but to expect all gymnasts to emulate Khorkina is clearly unrealistic. If the Russians' plans for Rio come to fruition, and all their currently active London Olympians participate, it will be a miracle - the team will have a collective senior experience of 24 years - Mustafina six, Komova five, Paseka four, Afanasyeva nine.
More to the point, the youngsters should now be challenging these gymnastically elderly ladies and making it difficult for them to participate in the training squad, let alone be selected for World Championships. I would love to see Afanasyeva and Mustafina at their third and second Olympics, respectively. But I would hope that they would be there to lead an exciting, vibrant young team who were at least their gymnastic equals. It doesn't seem to be too much to ask, considering the level, if not volume, of talent available to Russia.
Before the Championships then, we had a happy looking team, well balanced and obviously emotionally secure and confident within themselves. The Russian coaches had set modest expectations of them; the consensus was that there was really only Mustafina who would contend for medals. Gainsayers suggested the team might be poor enough to finish in fifth place, but that was an extreme view. The team selection was a solid one, with a good distribution of talent across the apparatus, and even though there was a clear weakness on floor, a reasonable show was expected.
DURING
A reasonable show was exactly what we got from the Russians in Nanning. In podium training and in qualifications the team managed to avoid meltdown, anyway. The girls had the worst draw of any of the big four countries, competing qualifications in the first subdivision, beginning on floor. This made World Champion Mustafina almost the first gymnast to compete in the entire WAG competition and, as things turned out, she was also the last.
The young Russian gymnasts are a delight. Spiridinova is an enchanting gymnast, beautiful in line and technique and clearly able to perform her routines on floor, beam and bars with something approaching ease. She embodies the Russian enigma - an up and coming gymnast who has the basics to a fine point of perfection, then stops. Anna Rodionova, who was in contention for this team but didn't quite make it thanks to a small injury, is a similar gymnast.
The Russian system has always had such beautiful, rather erratic gymnasts. I am not comparing like exactly with like, but Kazakhstan-born Natalia Ilienko, 1981 World Floor Champion, was a remarkably unreliable, remarkably talented gymnast. World Champion Natalia Yurchenko's career was marked by unfortunate falls until good luck collided with her in 1983. These gymnasts shared the fundamentally strong basics of such gymnasts as Spiridinova and Rodionova but were tempered by a system that understood that in order to be able to win, one must risk. Their stunningly original programmes were put together not to provide a comfortable nights' sleep for their coaches, but to challenge for gold medals wherever they went and whenever they competed. The rather lowly expectations of this year's Russian team were that they would do enough to finish in the top 24 and hence qualify to compete at next year's World Championships, in turn a qualifying event for the Rio Olympics. The two Natalias were expected to fight for gold, wherever and whenever they competed, and because it was expected of them, they expected it of themselves.
One could say that the circumstances in which the gymnasts compete today are much different, not least the 6-3-3 format which emphasises the need for reliability; and the relative lack of strength in depth in Russia, which means that the coaches are trying their best to maintain the health and strength of their gymnasts for another day. Russia and the Soviet Union are far from a direct like for like comparison as the Soviet Union covered not only Russia, but also Ukraine, Belarus and a total of 11 other countries. So the talent and resources base on which they drew was far greater. Nevertheless, the fundamental laws of training are the same. I remember reading an interview with Alexander Alexandrov, about two years ago, in which he explained that the time to develop a gymnast's programme was during her early years in the sport. The gymnast would generally only be able to do at the age of 20 what she could do at a much younger age. This is rather worrying for the up and coming Russian youngsters, few of whom have much in the way of ground breaking difficulty in their routines, let alone the expectation that they will eventually become Olympic champions.
There is also the question of why the team were playing a safety game when the targets were so meagre; surely now, when 24th is all that is needed, would be a time to test the young gymnasts and give them some experience? Some of the selections for the team final seemed questionable. For example, why not give Alla Sosnitskaya, the team's second all arounder, the opportunity to compete on beam in the place of Kramarenko? Her scoring potential was greater and in the end putting trust in the greater reliability of a veteran was misplaced; it is easy for anyone to fall from the beam as poor Katya did. Newcomer Alla Sosnitskaya was clearly determined to show her grit at these Championships and could have contributed on the apparatus. If not Sosnitskaya, why not Spiridinova? One day she must confront her nerves on this apparatus and realise how talented she is. The Russians are strong on beam; the coaches need to have confidence in their youngsters, before the youngsters can have confidence in themselves.
Nevertheless, I think that the team's performance was a good one; my criticism is not of the gymnasts, but of the safety-first strategy and the suggestion that gymnasts new to the senior team aren't capable of delivering good gymnastics, when clearly they are. Kharenkova, for example, had a shaky beginning in beam qualifications, but her performance in finals was great, judging by the 15+ score she achieved. Yet elsewhere, principally on floor, the feisty girl from Rostov-on-Don seems to have taken a backwards step since 2012; why is this? It is symptomatic of a system that has regularly failed to see its talented juniors reach their full potential; only in 2010, 2011 and 2012 has the transition from junior to senior appeared to realise the promise of the young. Where is Shelgunova, why does Rodionova so steadfastly remain in the shadows; why are so few of the youngsters performing more difficult routines than their predecessors? It's all very well focussing on the need for reliability and consistency when the programme of difficulty isn't good enough to win gold; the gymnasts will only learn to do difficult things by practice. If top difficulty is the expected norm, few will question it and the most capable will emerge. As World Champion Yuri Korolev once famously said, 'he who does not risk, cannot win'.
Of course Queen Mustafina's final day performance put a smile on my face, as well as young Dasha's bronze on bars. But we do have to remember - these were bronze medals from a team that, historically, technically and strategically, should be targeting gold. Vaitsekhovskaya reported Alexandrov as saying that a gymnast cannot live on her past triumphs; the training of last year can only stand her in good stead for a year, two at most. I would venture to argue that this applies to teams as well as individuals. Relying on veterans to shore up the team for two or three years, without finding a new level of fitness and difficulty, is as likely to be a recipe for failure for the team as a whole as for the individuals concerned. Despite the desire to be optimistic, to enjoy Aliya's enjoyment of her good fortune, the truth of the matter is that standards have fallen and Russia is now a bronze medal winning team, rather than a potential competitor for gold. Mustafina says she is going to seek upgrades, but that it will be difficult for her at her advanced age; she is perhaps seeking a new personal coach to help her on the road to Rio. But what is the rest of the team doing? How many more times will they need Nabiyeva to come out of retirement?
AN (IMPORTANT) ASIDE
I want at this point to pay tribute to Russia's main rival, the USA. At present, no one can compete with them. Simone Biles is a magnificent gymnast: powerful, strong and original. I'm going to shock you all by saying that I think that the way she performs her particular brand of gymnastics is artistic.expressive, innovative - and unrepeatable by anyone but her. She is quite the most phenomenal, talented and spontaneous gymnast I have seen in many a year. I like Kyla Ross rather less; she is the product of this Code, more typical of the American school, a careful, accurate gymnast who makes very few errors, but who is less than inspirational in her presentation and originality. Nevertheless, she has deserved the medals she has won at this competition because she satisfies the requirements of the Code, and makes so few errors.
If things continue on this trajectory, the USA will easily win gold in Rio as a team and in the all around, vault and floor. The Chinese might continue to win on bars, and beam will be as open as it always is. Leaving a lovely, but slightly disappointing array of bronze medals for our girls to peck away at.
But, you see, I would hate gymnastics to be all about tumbling and Simone Biles, because I don't think there will be another Simone for another forty years at least and I think that her form of artistry is unique to her. We need Russia for its heritage, philosophy, technical coaching and guts, to compete effectively at the very top level, to round out the picture of artistic gymnastics, before all gymnasts look like poor imitations of Ross or Biles. Russia's nearest equivalent to Biles, Produnova, never had the self assurance of this year's World Champion, but she did bring at least equal power and innovation to the arena, enriched by the expressiveness and technique of the classical tradition that is fundamental to all graceful forms of movement. This is the unique talent of Russia - the ability to combine fierce acrobatic power and originality with stunning artistry and technique; the two are not mutually exclusive. It is called virtuosity - a very rare, if not completely absent quality in today's gymnastics.
One further point I should add as an aside is that the environment in which the Russians are competing is far from good. Even Bruno Grandi has commented that there is a need to overhaul the marking to encourage more rounded, artistic performances by the girls, where difficulty is not the only determinant of medals. But this was a Grandi speech at a competition press conference, and it is hardly unlike our President to make wild promises that then disappear like a wisp of steam over a boiling kettle, or that if enacted contribute still further confusion and compromise to the creaking Code of Points. It is unlikely without a wholesale review and change of philosophy, that any short term solution enacted by the FIG will result in an improvement in standards before Rio.
AFTER
I'm not talking about the Banquet ...
If the Russians respond to their defeat - yes, defeat - in Nanning in the right way, this might be considered to be a turning point in their development as significant as the defeat of the Soviet team in 1979. There is much more work to be done than in 1979, but there is one year more in which to complete the necessary transformation.
The Russian team will now go home and have a well deserved break. I expect there will be a flurry of interviews by Aliya and the Rodionenkos and then silence will fall. I hope we will see some of the gymnasts at the Voronin Cup in December, if it is running. Putin has just announced new plans for the funding of sport in Russia from 2016, including measures to promote mass participation in sport and physical culture. They are also recognising the organisation of sporting mega events as a key capability. I haven't seen any mention of gymnastics in any of the press; this probably isn't surprising as artistic gymnastics is rather small fry in the Russian Federation. But I will keep my ear to the ground. I very much hope that VTB Bank's sponsorship of the sport continues, and that the Ministry of Sport also continues to support gymnastics as it has over the past few years.
I may be alone in considering this week's events to amount to a defeat; Andrei Rodionenko certainly disagrees with me, having summarised the competition as 'a success' for the Russian gymnasts; even if there were mistakes, that's only because the gymnasts are human. It is hard to disagree. But he too recognises the need for increased difficulty amongst the team:
We will all have to work very productively in the lead up to the Rio Olympics. We plan to significantly complicate our programmes, and raise the base level of our combinations. Gymnastics is developing very rapidly. There is especially a boom observed in the men's gymnastics. Competition is growing rapidly, and it will be even harder. Next year the eight Olympic teams will be selected and it will take an incredible effort for all teams who wish to participate.I only hope that their incredible efforts will take effect in time to qualify for Rio.
Will there be any lambs to the slaughter as a result of this week's competition? Influential voices have been raised, but frankly I doubt there will be any movement. If the Rodionenkos were to leave, who could take their place? Could a change in strategy be effected sufficiently swiftly to make a substantial change to both the programme and conditioning of the gymnasts before Rio? What if the Rodionenkos are right, and a conservative approach is more prudent than risking going for gold?
We will just have to wait and see.
* Three if one counts the injured Paseka, and four if one thinks of the disappeared Grishina.
Stunning article. I believe all of the gymnasts that competed at these world championships should rest for a bit and then train in almost silence. I think that Russia should send some of their 'b team'( if you can even call them that) gymnasts to competitions such as euro's/ world cups next year. Not only to preserve the medal contenders and give them time to focus on upgrades but also to give the other gymnasts a taste of the international scene. which may in result give a handful of them the motivation needed to train harder and become world class athletes. I do believe there is a problem with depth, however, it's with the depth of world class gymnasts not with gymnasts in general. The Russian camp should look into why these girls aren't capable of being world class rather than making excuses for themselves...particularly in the media. I don't even know if this is making sense. I just understand why I see almost as many gymnasts at a Russian cup as I do at a classics yet it seems that there is excuses made that the Americans have more gymnasts to play with.
ReplyDeleteSide note: I have no problem with Rod's. I'd just appreciate it if they would humble themselves and maybe not always make a statement. No response is sometimes the best response.
Indeed, silence is an irrefutable argument. However, this security approach of Rodienkos can end very badly. Although Komova return, without increasing Mustafina´s d-score and other team members d-scpre can end in a resounding failure. How long time Mustafina will carry the team on her back? Without Mustafina and iher amazing medals today, the Russian would result indeed a fiasco. Why do not invest in the new juniors? They are very promising. But without investment in coaching and physical preparation, Russia will continue to fail to turn their juniors in champions seniors. PS: I have to redeem myself. Really, Simone Biles is lovely. It is very nice to see her compete. Strength, agility, friendliness and smiles.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Biles. Last year i wasn't a fan. But now I am a devotee. What was really great about this competition was seeing gymnasts like Biles, Iordache, and Mustafina who are really compelling and artistic individuals. They will be icons of the sport.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an excellent article that really gives you something to think about. It is very accurate and I hope some of these things come into fruition for many of the top nations who are having similar problems. I like to see many girls with different styles but I do think it comes down to the perfect balance of difficulty, reliability, and expectation. I think Worlds has shown us where a lot of countries are as of now this quad but each country has some exciting juniors who will hopefully exemplify some of the traits you've listed above to contend for medals. I always want my country to do well but there are always those girls who you can't help but root for because of their brilliance (Biles), or bravery against all odds (Mustafina), or sheer charisma that commands attention (Lordache). It makes competition interesting and hopefully it will evolve to include more stand outs before Rio.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I don't see how all of you are now praising a girl that is practically doing the same routine from last year and can't still hit her leaps. Her tumbling is nice but that's it. I would rather see power tumbling instead of her FX.
ReplyDeleteNow, the Russians aren't in a apocalypses yet but they will be if they don't fix the vault and floor gap. Better juniors are coming out so will we see what Russia does with them.
I am looking at a picture from Floor final and it looks to me that Biles is at 180 degrees on her leap. And so what if it is the same routine as last year, no one has seriously come close to challenging her on it, why should she change it?
Deletehttp://usagymnastics.zenfolio.com/p790596690/h1aac50dd#h1aac50dd
I'm talking about her dance, presentation and execution not the tumbling. Nothing has changed.That's a 180 all right but look at it! I don't even know why bother to show this. Also, I would like to see the ones on beam.
Delete"Why should she change it?" No reason to since that is what makes you win now, but people here apparently think she has changed which she hasn't at all.
Well I can agree with you on presentation. I guess I did not understand your definition of "hit her leaps". However, if you are looking for her to have the same posture and definition as the Russians, that is not something the Code of Points values highly, so she does not focus on it; plus she does not have the ballet training. She is still artistic in her own way, her presentation.
DeleteAnd I should have added about why upgrade her floor routine by saying she focused her energy on upgrading other aspects of her all-around, namely her beam routine, which last year earned her a lucky bronze medal (lucky because of the falls of the two Chinese women, Iodache and Rodianova also falling; as well as the generous acceptance of her protest to her D score).
Note: I like how the judges were more harsh on all the D scores challenges and only accepted a couple that I saw. (on Men's side)
Also, the link I provided earlier shows pictures from the whole world championships and I will link one of Simone on beam from team final since you asked for one of her on beam. Looks 180 again there.
Deletehttp://usagymnastics.zenfolio.com/p272294929/h7fb68a9#h7fb68a9
That's better than the one floor. I still would like to see the ones she did on the beam final specially the ones she tries to make connections.
DeleteIt looks like she doesn't hit them or maybe is just gravity pulling her fast...
She doesn't have the lines Aliya or Kyla or even Larisa has. As in, her body is not made to look like theirs does. She has a lot more visible muscle and so her legs will never look like a perfectly straight line. However, she absolutely does hit most of her leaps in 180. I can understand if people just said "I don't really like the way Simone performs" but to completely say she lacks artistry is just not correct. She is not balletic, but she is definitely artistic. She has showmanship, she really performs her routines, and she is technically very sound while having big D scores. Her toes will never point like Aliya and she will never have that slender sleek look, but her form is 100% as good as Aliya's if not better (Aliya's legs on twists, for instance).
Delete"She doesn't have the lines Aliya or Kyla or even Larisa has. As in, her body is not made to look like theirs does. She has a lot more visible muscle and so her legs will never look like a perfectly straight line."
DeleteThat's because she has trained to build bigger muscles. She wasn't born like this. You can be born with better genes for one thing or the other or both, but are not burn with muscles or lines.
"She is not balletic." Then what is she? Exactly, just a girl with power doing everything the code ask for and nothing more. On floor we only see a muscular girl trying to dance to something that requires years of training going side by side, but you can see it hasn't been done otherwise she would had more flexibility, fluidity and be capable of performing more detailed movements.
"She has showmanship" and many stars in entertainment do as well, but that doesn't mean their singing or acting can be consider good (and don't tell me is subjective when you can hear when someone can or can't hit a note) This days you can sell anything to the public.
"but her form is 100% as good as Aliya's if not better (Aliya's legs on twists, for instance)." Helicopter legs or not I take Aliya. While Biles hits the requirement that doesn't take away her form in many beam and floor skills. I'm not going to bother with bars but while we are at it this apparatus and beam is where Biles could be defeated in the AA as long as someone performs a strong vault an a decent floor. Larisa with an Amanar could have done it.
I think people just need to be honest and say they don't like Simone's body type because this "bad form" and "she doesn't hit her splits' talking point in nonsense. Especially when you dig up photo's like the poster above. Simone is never going to have pretty toe point (like myself, her feet are flat) or be slender like Aliya. Simone does need dance training but she is never going to look like a ballerina, and she shouldn't be penalized or called "not artistic" because her body isn't waif-like.
DeleteBut Tipp nobody has been able to say what exactly she is besides just saying she has good difficult skills and good execution. That is all. Showmanship or selling the routine is something the Americans can easily do by choosing a very hype type of music and dance like nobody is watching. The same type of music and choreography that American fans to try to pass as "hip-hop" or even worse "contemporary." Not even close.
Delete"Simone does need dance training but she is never going to look like a ballerina, and she shouldn't be penalized or called "not artistic" because her body isn't waif-like."
And you think the Russians look like ballerinas? They have good lines but not lest get out of reality. Also, I don't see how Biles would had never been capable of achieve them during her early training. Now I don't see how she could do that but is never too late to try to improve specially her dance and choreography that could be put better for the few dancing skill she has.
About penalizing for not having pointed toes I agree that not everyone has the right type of feet but this is an excuse now for the Americans because they can't all suffer from flat feet. Like let's not lie to ourselves. I think there are many things that can be penalized for not being performed right so it is just not the feet.
Since we are on the topic of toe points, I will post links to more pictures and I would appreciate some details on the differences (I am not a gymnastic expert, just an avid fan). The camera angle for the two Americans is slightly below the gymnasts while the picture of Aliya is slightly above her; this may affect our view of the toe point. All are performing the same leap though both USA women are leading with their right legs while Aliya is leading with her left. I do not see any differences in toe point, all I see is difference in arm angles.
DeleteThe suggestion above is that all USA gymnasts have poor toe point "About penalizing for not having pointed toes I agree that not everyone has the right type of feet but this is an excuse now for the Americans because they can't ALL suffer from flat feet."
Thanks
1. Alyssa Baumann USA on Beam: http://usagymnastics.zenfolio.com/p272294929/h2817916#he496010
2. Kyla Ross USA on Beam: http://usagymnastics.zenfolio.com/p272294929/h2817916#hd3e4c2d
3. Aliya Mustafina Russia on Beam: https://pp.vk.me/c620431/v620431262/1873c/cunqW1GZLe8.jpg
I'm not a gymnast, but I am a dancer, and the difference is extension through the ankles. It's quite difficult to tell in these photos, but Aliya points the whole way through the foot. From videos, Alyssa and Kyla's toe point is frustrating because they both have the build to have beautiful lines but break that line by scrunching their toes over rather than pointing (Kyla most noticeably). She also has really stiff upper body posture. The Russians have this extension (with the exception of Kharenkova, who also suffers from scrunchy-toe syndrome) and they seem to work on it from a young age. Here's a good explanation: http://thepushyqueenofsluttown.tumblr.com/post/70043302487/do-you-mind-explaining-what-a-constitutes-a-good-toe
DeleteThat being said, while great carriage and good toe point makes for an aesthetically pleasing gymnast, it doesn't matter if you can't stay on your feet on floor or adapt your difficulty to the COP, which IMO favours amplitude over pretty much everything. Simone doesn't have the best toe point, no, but she has great tumbling form, extraordinary power and an engaging style and will be on top for quite some time because of that. The Russians need to work on their conditioning more than anything, because as much as I love their poise, and as much as fans of classical gym may gripe, the American priorities and way of training is clearly the most fruitful at this point in time.
Thank you for the explanation. I will try to pay attention to that when I watch. :)
DeleteGood article :) totally agree.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I am just surprised than Valentina hasn't said any declaration/comments like she used to said.
I hope Aliya gets motivated with these 3 bronze medals she got (I know it is Bronze but still medals) to keep going and upgrade his vault and bars for the next competitions.
Aliya can be an exception like Khorkina, still winning medal after many years in the sport.
I think Simone is quite similar to Shushunova in body shape and also gymnastically. A powerful gymnast with excellent form, extremely well balanced skill on all four apparatus, virtuosity, and her own style of artistry that plays to her strengths. Plus, a wonderfully beaming smile. I also love Simone's sportsmanship - she cheers for everyone and you can tell how much all of the other gymnasts like her.
ReplyDelete"I think Simone is quite similar to Shushunova in body shape and also gymnastically." Nope. If Shushunova would have been that muscular and doing those tumbling pass that you didn't even see the men doing at the time she would have been accused of doing drugs and even thought she wasn't as artistic in terms of dancing and presentation like the rest of the Soviets, compare to Simone, Skinner and the rest of the American she was an artistic gymnasts.
DeleteI didn't say I think they are the same. They share a short, stocky body type and muscular legs relative to their competitors. Muscles seem to be more evident in gymnasts today than in the 80s, probably because of the much higher level of difficulty performed now. Obviously, there have been changes to the floor equipment since Shushunova competed. She didn't have the amount of springs that Simone has on the current floor. But Shush was known for her difficult and explosive tumbling, and her floor routine was one of the toughest competed by women during her competitive years. Also, I think Shush was artistic, albeit in a different style than her teammates. I also think Simone is artistic, though her style is not balletic. She is charming, charismatic, shows musicality, and sells her routine.
Delete"They share a short, stocky body type and muscular legs relative to their competitors."
DeleteBut weren't the soviets of the late 80's and early 90's like that? You could say Mustafina has the same leg type with the exception of being taller. Also, being short or taller didn't make such huge difference with the Soviets like it does for the Americans. Short or tall the Soviets had good lines including Shushunova so I don't see how being born short and "stocky" makes her similar to Simone who doesn't have the same lines at all. Born with the same attributes doesn't mean they are going to look the same. Again, it depends on their training reason why I always say "body type" is not an excuse to lack good lines.
"Muscles seem to be more evident in gymnasts today than in the 80s, probably because of the much higher level of difficulty performed now."
Yes, but here is the thing. I remember how the Soviets had strong legs. They didn't have the lines the Russians have right now but they were still good and at the same type powerful. They looked similar to the legs Soviet ballet dancers used to have back then, in fact the whole dance in Russian gymnastics has changed along with the Russian ballet which it has always been praised and consider the best in the world but at the same type criticized for sometimes concentrating too much in the aesthetics.
"She is charming, charismatic, shows musicality, and sells her routine." Like I said in my other post that doesn't make her dance skill, choreography, and presentation good. Selling the routine or not is irrelevant for me because for I see is easier to sell twerking these days than a really good piece of art.
Great Article.
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear more about some of the others gymnasts as well. I have no idea where Shelgunova is. I haven't heard anything about her in a long time. The Russians do need to stop holding out hope on those seniors who are injured, and start making sure these up and comers have the confidence as well as the difficulty. It would be great if Komova and Afan come back but Afan is getting older, and has been out for a while. Komovaa has been out for 2 years and it is hard to come back after so long, but let's see what happens.
Something is off in their training, they don't seem to have the stamina needed to perform a long tournament. Also can't really compare 2010 first seniors doing well and this group, different training conditions, probably a different mentality as well. What I do know is that they need to improve - both difficulty and execution because many countries are as well.
Interesting that Aliya is getting a new personal coach to help her. I like that she sees a need to improve. I agree with Alexandrov, you can't keep doing the same things that you did a year before, things change, the code changes etc. and you have to move forward with it.
If 2016 olympics is only made of the veterans from 2012 that would be sad and showing no growth in the program.
Shelgunova has been injured for many months (elbow). She is now resuming training.
DeleteMustafina says it's more difficult to learn new elements on UB. She blames the new code. She doesn't say why she has removed so many things from 2013.
Finally she realizes that she has to upgrade to win medals. All the fans see that and there was concern! Other gymnasts over 20 and with injuries are performing new skills if they want to remain competitive.
She should realize that focusing on combinations on BB is not safe. She did it at nationals, but not in Nanning.
I love the gym Mustafina's. She is classical, last year she put her in a good Difficult routines. I hope she finds a new coach to help her increase the D-score, so she remains competitive. I think she can do the Khorkina. They are great gymanast.
DeleteI don´t think they will change this code or FiG´s mentality soon.
And as Is ve said, Rodienkos´ silence is irrefutable. What can they say? But they aren´t fair with Mustafina.
And yes, the Russians aren't in a apocalypses yet. But if Rodienkos goes on in this path, they will comeback to 90`. They will not fight for medals, because I belive Romenia and China are improving their gymnasts.
For Mustafina and Russia, right now, Arkayev is their best option. He is 3 years older than Alexandrov and as excellent as Alexandrov. He made the great gymnastics history of USSR. Why not make it again! It is all up to Russia whether to be happy losers team or tensioned golden team.
DeleteIs Arkayev an option?
DeleteI heard Arkayev was quite happy working in his hometown gym. Maybe at this point of life he just want some piece,
DeleteDaria
Challenging Simone will be near impossible but I'd like to see more gymnasts challenge her, or perhaps even beat. Hong Un Jong did it on vault and we all know beam is pretty wide open. That said, Simone is the kind of gymnast that is very rare. So much power and energy is insane and it's great to witness an American gymnast beat the odds and perhaps stick around for more than a year or two/three.
ReplyDeleteDemopraghical issues aside, I do wonder if there is any way the competition amongst the Russian girls can be raised. Besides the fact that the US is more wealthy and gyms are packed, the reason so many of them are great is because they have to do bigger and better every year in order to be considered for the team. If fit, a Mustafina, Afan and Komova are a shoe in for the team. It shouldn't be that ''easy'' for them to be on it.
And I would LOVE to see an increased D-score amongst them all. I'd like to see girls trying for an Amanar, a Cheng (anything but the Yurchenko 5.8 everyone is doing). The team has gone from having two or three outstanding vaulters to having pretty much none at all. And don't get me started on the uneven bars. In 2010, the girls had original, super hard skills on the bars and while it's still not easy what they're doing, it's also repetitive, unoriginal and won't win them any medals in 2016. And thus it makes me happy to hear the news of Mustafina looking for more upgrades and a new personal coach because I do feel that she has more gold medals in her.
Very good article. As an American, I always root for the hometeam as well as gymnast from other countries. What I like about Simone is that although she will never be a ballerina, shes reletively clean and has good technique. None of her skills feel chucked. But Simone needs serious competion not just from her teammates but from other countries as. I would hate to see win every single competition next year and in Rio and hzae no one who can challenge her.I would have to agree with you regarding Kyla. She is a clean, technically correct gymnast. Thats it.
ReplyDeleteOn to Russia. They need to allow Musty to rest for the next couple of months. We shouldnt see her again until Glasgow imo. Russia needs to push the new generation and have them step up. The first step would be sending Alla to scam next year.
As far as in USA challenging Simone, I hope Bailie Key is that gymnast. She'll be a senior in 2015.
DeleteI suspect they will send Tutkhalyan to SCAM if they send anyone at all.
DeleteDo you have the link to the interview where she says she is looking for a new personal coach?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
http://dolly-z.tumblr.com/post/99899648873/aliya-mustafina-october-2014-interview
DeleteValentina has been criticising Sosnitskaya. She says that this year's team is not the team that will compete in 2015. Kramarenko won't compete next year and she has questions(????) to Sosnitskaya.
ReplyDeleteShe never mentions Grishina.
I find Khorkina's remarks very umpleasant, namely when she says that Komova and Afanassieva should consider retirement. Khorkina never had their beautiful lines!
The source: http://www.mk.ru/sport/2014/10/12/aliya-mustafina-ya-vernu-i-vernus.html
ReplyDelete-Aliya, the last day of the competition (BB and FX finals) brought you 2 individual medals. Before that (+serious cold) championship was considered as completely failed one. You’ve never been in such situation before.
-Well, on beam I, as usual, didn’t expect anything. Just wanted to finish the competition worthily (with honor). I was just lucky. And on floor I had nothing to lose, if I did simplified routine, I wouldn’t medal. But I tried to upgrade difficulty and it payed off. And before that… It sounds weird, but I was ready to the competition. I trained well and worked hard a lot. Combinations were consistent, I added some things. But yeah, things turned out as they did, not in the best way. I took on, but you can’t change what had already happened, can you? My current results are the lesson for me; reminder - you should go on (go forward).
-May be not a reminder, but a kick? Didn’t you wait for it? Wasn’t it expected? I think you needed it.
-Going to every competition I understand: nobody can avoid mistakes.
-No, I don’t mean that. I’m talking about difficulty, every gymnast needs a reserve. You still can’t do you old routines, but you also haven’t prepared new ones. European championship was a hint: it’s hard to compete for gold.
-Yes, it’s impossible to fight for gold with the program I’m doing now. Bcz of serious changes in the rules (bonuses for skills) my difficulty has become seriously less, I need to change my routine completely.
-Do you believe that not only can you have all your skills back, but also can come further? (=achieve more).
-I do. I’ve been looking forward to start doing it so far. This year has been very difficult and it has showed me that… I have had a rest at the beginning of this year.
-Why?
-I felt tired after the Olympics. I still did feel it by that time. I started to gain my form back (recover) before Europeans. After it I had a rest, then was in camp for a week, that I had ankle surgery in Germany. It wasn’t serious, they just cleaned my joint. But I couldn’t train for 4 weeks. And I only had 1,5 month left to prepare for Worlds. The main aim was just to have the Europeans programs back, to recover on this level.
-So you are always trying to recover and have something back. And to catch up “the younger version of you”?
-I realized how hard it is. And realized that if I’m looking forward to RIO, I mustn’t allow myself to have a rest. Having rest is not allowed and it’s better not to have any injuries.
-Is there any chance you won’t think about Rio?
-There is no chance.
-Lots of various specialists are working with you, Raisa Ganina, but she …
-She is a choreographer (dancer), can’t manage everything, yes. I know what are you talking about - about a personal coach. I have already started thinking about it. I can’t say more for now. But I am thinking. Bcz it’s really hard. You have nobody to both “push” and “protect” you. Moreover, I always have to make decisions by myself, but it’s not always right (=it shouldn’t be like that).
-Is there any person in your surrounding whom”suits you well”? Or you should look for it?
-I shouldn’t look for this person at all. If everything goes well, he will appear by himself.
-Such a schemer you are, Aliya! Sound mysterious.
-Nobody, except for me, knows what I’m talking about.
-This must be a courageous person. All coaches are joking there is no work until you drink somebody’s blood.
-I just try to achieve what I want by all means. I may not react to a person who is angry with me. But, especially in the last time, if I need to do something I will practice it ten times, I can’t practice bars ten hours and still push myself to do more! Even if I’m told I don’t need it, I still will. I can argue, but I will try until I do it successfully.
-Therefore you may be accused of emotional vampirism?
-Apparently, that’s how it’s called.
Part 2
ReplyDelete-You’ve changed. Not the best championship, but you smile a lot. You’ve become much less defensive outside of the competition hall.
-I know and I can feel it. I’m 20 years old, have been doing gymnastics for many years - I think it’s time for changes. I didn’t start to act right, I started to act naturally. Met new people. I feel like I’ve opened from the different side. And I do like it. Not so long time ago I realized: I need to sacrifice everything for this sport, but I shouldn’t take it as a job…
-…back-breaking? (=very-very hard)
-yes, I shouldn’t take it as a violence. It’s a hobby you want to do. When small kids go to the gym in Russia, they are pushed from the very beginning, they are crying, someone can hold himself, someone - don’t. But in the USA they smile, they enjoy it. Children’s shouldn’t cry. It’s where the journey starts from.
-You just snapped your fingers and said: “Hey, it’s hobby now! I’ll take it easy”? It’s impossible!
- There is a suitable time for everything. Nobody talked to me about it. It has just happened. I come to the gym, nail every skill and I’m happy. The next day I come and can do nothing, and I try to convince myself: it’s ok, there gonna be tomorrow, the new day. Or, as I have already told you, I want to be in the gym until I do everything right, until I complete my plan. I’ll be tired, exhausted, have many corns, but I do like it! I started to do what I like. Or… I started to like what I do.
Looks like Romania has been facing the same issue since at least 2008. When Porgras left the National team, there was a huge gap, that could have jeopardize Romania's bronze at the last olympic games if Ponor did not come back.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Russian team is done. There are still two years before the next Olympics for upcoming talents to peak. Let's remember that Komova passed senior just one year before the last olympics, and that big favorite Justin Wieber did not qualify for the all around ...
Elizabeth there is an awesome interview with Svetlana, http://www.sport-express.ru/velena/reviews/49710/
ReplyDeleteSomeone posted a translation of it on tumblr but also said she isn't a native Russian speaker and paraphrased some parts, but it is a great read. Here is the translation
http://whatshouldgymfanscallme.tumblr.com/post/99939228118/translated-interview-with-khorkina
Maybe you could get the full interview translated and post it please?
Interestingly enough, Mustafina doesn't mention Grishina who was more powerful than some of the girls and had good twisting technique. If the current Young Russians are too frail, there's a problem when they recruit Young girls.
ReplyDeleteNot all the Russian have such good leaps as she says. Pause Sosnitskaya on floor. Otherwise Alla is excellent in many aspects and has improved dramatically.
Regarding body type, Tutkhalyan is a little bit like Biles, maybe cleaner on bars.
I agree with Mustafina when she says that they pay attention to artistry but it doesn't pay off. I think that is what she means. She cannot compete with Biles on terms of acro, and whatever she does, she'll never have the same D-score.
I think the mystery man Aliya is talking about is definitely Alexandrov. I really wish Alexandrov will come back to coach her. Russia should bring Alexandro back for the team to be world chsmpion again
ReplyDeleteOh, please....We want Aleksander Alexandrov back. I´m praying. :)
DeleteThis is like Romania wanting to hire Bela K.
ReplyDeleteRussia need younger coaches.