Skip to main content

Pancake Day at Round Lake is delicious - Ksenia Afanasyeva

Thin blini with jam - a favourite of Ksenia Afanasyeva, especially when made by her grandma

VTB has been doing some great PR for Russia recently, covering some traditions that will be familiar to us in the West as shared rituals.  'Maslennitsa' - Shrove Tuesday - is celebrated in Russia in much the same way as it is in the rest of Europe, by the eating of pancakes ('blini').  Then afterwards there is Lent, 40 days of fasting.

Ksenia Afanasyeva says : 'Maslennitsa certainly isn't the 'right' holiday for gymnasts, but it is delicious! Don't think that we only look at the pancakes or pinch a small piece off the corner.  Since childhood we have celebrated the feast, and made pancakes with mother, but my grandma's are the best, simply delicious.  Since we lived in different houses, it meant we got to celebrate more than once.  

I like thin pancakes with jam.  With caviar or salt fish is still good, but sweet is best.

It is always nice; the chefs at Round Lake make pancakes, and we have them for lunch.  I will allow myself exactly two - I won't worry about the calories, because I will burn them off in the gym.  It is always a pleasure.'



Picture of Ksenia courtesy of her fan group on VK.com

Oh and for good measure, the recently happily pancaked Russian team is back at Round Lake.  Aliya proudly announced herself as the first arrival this morning; and now in this picture from Alla Sosnitskaya's Instagram page, we see Alla with team mates Seda Tutkhalyan, Anastasia Dmitrieva and Angelina Melnikova.  Can anyone say who that is having a back rub?


Thank you Alla!  And GOOD LUCK to the entire team as you continue your preparations for this vital year - we are all thinking of you xxx.



Comments

  1. Based on the hair my guess is that is Masha Bondereva getting the back massage

    ReplyDelete
  2. Definitely Masha Bondareva on the floor there!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nelli Kim - 'Russian gymnastics has closed in on itself' - Lupita translates

Lupita has translated this ITAR-TASS interview with Nelli Kim.  It's controversial, to say the least. Ed's note : much of the initial response to this interview - both here and in the wider gymternet -  has focussed on the detail of Kim's words and especially her comments about Viktoria Komova, and smiling.  But I think these have to be taken in context, and not too literally. Don't forget that just a day ago Andrei Rodionenko complained bitterly about the judging in Antwerp, calling Kim's behaviour 'aggressive'. Kim is responding to this here, and to the wider current context of Russian gymnastics.  What she is essentially saying to the Russian coach is 'get your own house in order, produce confident, disciplined, well trained gymnasts - stop complaining, do your job, and I will do mine.'   She goes about saying this in a somewhat long winded way and says some things along the way that seem contradictory, unfair, inappropriate even for th...

Aliya Mustafina - 'I'm just trying to stay healthy'

A brief interview with the World and Olympic Champion from All Sport is summarised below. Russian national gymnastics continues to prepare for the World Championships, which will be held October 3-12 in Nanning (China). Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina told Mary Staroverova about her health and about preparations for the competition. - In June, I went to Germany to solve the problem with my ankle.  I had a small operation to clean the joints of a build-up of bone particles.  Nothing serious was evident, and the operation went well.  Now I have to tumble.  But there is still some discomfort, a slight pain at full load, and I can not tumble at full force.  For the time being, I try to go easy on my legs.  After the Russia Cup I will have to fully prepare for Worlds. That is just one month.   Even if I'm not tumbling, I will keep myself in good shape, and that should suffice (smiles). - I can't say if it is a different pain to before Europeans, because at...

'Mustafina is no longer in pain' - Valentina Rodionenko

Picture of Aliya Mustafina, courtesy of RGF Valentina Rodionenko has provided some updates on the Russian teams and how their preparation for Worlds (Nanning, China, 3 to 12 October) is progressing, via Allsports (http://www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=84328) - The teams are now at camp in Italy, in two small towns close to Milan, by the sea, where the girls travelled on 29th June and the men on 1 July.  The athletes aren't only training, they can also relax. - Komova is working out at Round Lake, she didn't go to Italy.  We will see how she does at the Russia Cup, which will be held late August in Penza. Tatiana Nabiyeva is looking good in training and the other girls are also working.  Ksenia Afanasyeva won't have time to prepare for Worlds, and Anastasia Grishina's participation is also in doubt, we just don't know if she will qualify for the team.   We have hopes for Aliya Mustafina.  As always, she is our number one.  It would be great if there were t...

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more