16 year old Maria Kharenkova with coach Olga Sagina after yesterday's all around final at the European Championships, in which Maria won a silver medal. Maria comes from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and follows in the footsteps of such gymnasts as Ludmilla Tourischeva, Svetlana Grozdova, Natalia Shaposhnikova, Natalia Yurchenko and Elena Produnova who all trained at the same gym as her.
Maria said: 'I’m a little bit sorry that I lost to the Swiss gymnast [Giulia Steingrueber],
but, on the other hand, I’m not terribly disappointed – after all, she
is a lot more experienced and stronger than I am, and it’s my first time
in the all-around'.
Maria has grown physically and
developed as a competitor since her last showing at the Nanning World
Championships. With her longer limbs is coming a greater grace and
power in her moves. 'You can lose by mistake, but you can't win by
chance', said head coach Andrei Rodionenko in an interview
published today. 'Masha will continue to work, and show a higher level
- there is no limit to perfection'. Full results of the competition
can be found here -
Britain's Ellie Downie, a first year senior, won the bronze medal!
Russia's second all arounder
here, the graceful Daria Spiridinova, had rather a difficult time with
multiple errors on floor and beam and a below power vault leading her to
finish in what she considered a rather disappointing thirteenth place.
'Dasha has only worked all around in this competition, she wasn't fully
prepared for this. She has two apparatus - beam and bars - that will
be good, and on the rest she is really only there to support the team. We tried all
around, but it didn't work', explained Andrei Rodionenko. Daria is
growing taller every day, added Russia's head coach, and the forces of
physiology are difficult to predict.
Spiridinova - known as 'elf' for her pixie-like appearance - will compete later today in the bars final.
I have gone on record on this blog as preferring first year senior, Seda Tutkhalyan, as a strong all around replacement for Sosnitskaya. However, Paseka's inclusion on the team is predictable given Rodionenko's pattern of preference for low risk selections. It is easy to understand that flying in to compete at such short notice could put significant stresses on a young, inexperienced athlete, and it is conceivable that young Seda wouldn't even have the right visa at this time of her career - so perhaps that wasn't such a bad decision. Let's hope, however, that the gifted gymnast is considered fairly for inclusion in the team for the European Games, where her all around talents may provide great support for the likes of Mustafina.
In my opinion, there's a tiny chance for Spiridinova and Kharenkova to make to next Olympic team in the presence of strong AA such as Melnikova and Skrypnik or even Seda, and it will be the biggest mistake above all the mistakes that the Rodionenko's have done to think that "low risk selections" strategy as in fact it will a self-defeat pattern ...
ReplyDeleteJohn
Masha Kharenkova is the only Russian that can compete for gold medal on BB so far on quad. Not even Aliya could challenge the top beamers of this quad like she can. Having on account that her main competitors on this event Iordache and the Chinese are even more unstable than her, I would say she has PRETTY BIG CHANCES of going to O16 just for her beam alone. She would make the difference at a team final (with a big score on a event US does not have the best scores) and get a medal on the events finals. Also she has a pretty decent floor when she hits, so she could so help Russia there too.
DeleteI agree Dasha Spirindinova chances are limited, specially if Mustafina gets competitive at uneven bars again. But she is still a beauty and deserves to make it on this Euros because she can get (and did get) a gold medal thats all that matter. With our best bars workers out, she has been a great replacement.
Angelina gives me great hope. However one can not say how she will cope as a senior as Masha Kharenkova went downhill even since she joined the senior team.
Everyone keeps talking about Seda but really so far she has yet to prove herself capable of big scores, I think she is lovely and would be of great help to the team. But she has been pretty shaky lately and her scores actually not that competitive.
Regarding getting Paseka rather than Seda, many seen the be ruling out Masha Paseka but Russia does need her at this moment (even in the future), even if she is not the queen of vault, she has been giving Russia good results there, helping up team scores and capable of getting medals as well, as proven at O12 with bronze (regardless with was deserved or not she got it) and right now with her gold. An Amanar and a Cheng, even if not that well executed, can give medals. Where would Seda get a gold medal at this competition? Isn't this the goal? to compete to get medals.
And Rodionenko have done many mistakes way worse than not bringing in Masha instead of Seda as last minute plan. Such a drama queen.
I don't get it. Every thing they do gets backlash. If Seda was competing, with the routines she had, not that big of D score and not that well executed either, they would be all on the Rodionenko too for choosing a girl not ready to major competitions yet. They said they are be giving Seda time to upgrade and work on her routines, Valentina said great things about her and already said they are counting on her. There still another Euro competition coming up, and they still could use the athletes they did not use now. Finally it seems we are starting to have a big pool of athletes to choose for.
Maria Paseka is doing her very best to help too. They have been pressuring her with the Cheng vault. Because they know they need big vaults. She has been injured yet kept training it. She deserves this spot.
Anniya
I don't agree, according to what has been said, the Rodionenko "low risk selections" would favour seniors , thus a limited number of young seniors should be taken in account (2 max , unless veterans get hurt ...) Maria won't be part of those anymore ( In Rio 2016, She'll be as experienced as Mustafina was in London 2012 ...). I trully think she can improve her vault ( DTY !!) and her floor ! . By the end of the year, she should hit the 15+ on bars, a serious contender for Rio, Now let's see how Melnikova, Skrypnik, Seda, Komova, Mustafina, Sosnitskaya, Shelgunova and cie do !
DeleteI would have loved to have seen Seda replace Alla, but I do think Paseka was the best choice - whilst obviously young gymnasts need experience, especially internationally, to gain mental and physical strength to compete, the goal is obviously to maximise presence in finals and medal potential. Maria Paseka has medal potential on (at least) two events, whereas I don't think Seda would have made many (if any) finals other than AA, and I don't think she could really fought for a medal there, based on the last couple of competitions we've seen her in. Paseka was a smart move for Russia's EF presence and medal tally, but I really do hope the Rodionenkos haven't written off Seda before she's even begun. I seem to recall comments from Valentina about who she wants to send to Baku and Seda wasn't on that list either - they seem to have a vendetta against her for some reason.
DeleteThey have no vendetta against Seda. She went to Youth Olympics last year. They both have said on several occasions that they count on her. That she has potential and could make it far.
DeleteIs not like Seda is getting those amazing scores and they are keeping her out for no reason. So far she has shown very little. Her nationals were disastrous. YOG wasn't that good either. Compare to Komova when she went. She doesn't have the competitive scores quite yet. Russia can not afford to "written" anyone out so soon on the quad, but Seda is not deserving all those spots you all are claiming she does.
Like at any other country, the ones with better results get to go the competition. Why does Seda deserves to go with awful results and others new seniors don't ?
Tutkhalyan was third in the AA at Russian champs behind Soanitskaya and Kharenkova. She was reserve for the Russian team - Paseka was not even on the training squad. So when Sosnitskaya became injured, the obvious person to take her place was Seda.
DeleteI don't think there is a vendetta, either ... Seda is too valuable a gymnast for that. There are many reasons that the team coaches decided to bring in Paseka and not Seda, and we just don't know at the end of the day. Temperament, experience level, most recent training updates and the availability of travel visas may all have played a part.
So no conspiracy theories ... Just curiosity about what drove the decision .. And also a real desire to see Tutkhalyan selected and given a try out at senior level.
Unlike you, I think she is an exciting gymnast with potential. A bit of experience would be good training for her in my opinion.
But then again Paseka's appearance with a good Amanar says much about the Russians' preparations at this stage ... Or was it really just lucky, as Rodionenko says?
In all cases, only time will tell.
I had thought that Seda would have been a better replacement and that it would have been a good opportunity for her to gain experience as a senior. I do think Seda has the potential to contribute to future Russian teams at Worlds and possibly the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Queen Elizabeth made excellent points about why Masha was likely chosen over Seda. The substitute would have no podium training so she would need to compete Qualifications without any practice. This is not the right situation in which to place a first year senior who would be making her senior international debut, especially since Seda can be a nervy competitor. And as an AA competitor, the lack of practice on all 4 apparatus is that much more daunting, especially since she would not have been expected or prepared to compete. A veteran member of the senior squad was the right choice to make in this situation. Masha is typically a dependable competitor, giving her the competitive mettle and the experience to handle having to qualify without podium training when not competition ready. It is impressive that she was able to do as well as she did with her gold medal on vault. I think her results show that the right choice was made since she was able to achieve success in very challenging circumstances.
I'm starting to think Seda should have gone instead of Kharenkova. Who knows maybe she would have hit both beam and bars to win the AA. Her floor is a mess but is not like Kharenkova hit anyways.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little soon to write either Kharenkova or Tutkhalyan off ... Especially as the average age of gymnasts is going up, and gymnasts seem to go from strength to strength as they grow older these days - Afanasyeva is a case in point. Maria had an unlucky time on beam, and needs more work on bars. That is all.
DeleteBoth she and Seda will live to fight another day.
I often wonder why people are so hard on the Russians. You didn't read people writing off Simone Biles when she had a fall earlier this year. Maybe it is that people just don't see the long picture, particularly if they haven't followed the sport for longer than ten years or so. Minor competitive hiccups do not make someone into a head case who should never compete again - if they did, Khorkina would never have been seen after her first year; indeed, most of the world's gymnasts would retire before reaching the Olympics. Elena Shushunova fell twice on compulsory bars on her way to winning the 1985 World all around title. She fell off bars again at the 1987 Europeans. She was always falling off something or other - it is part of the life of a gymnast. Didn't stop her becoming 1988 Olympic Champion. Kharenkova will recover.
I do wonder why, though, why Rodionenko selected Paseka, if he thought she was so lucky to have landed both her vaults, and - his words - she hadn't been part of the training line up. So did he expect her to fail? Gold and bronze on vault, two Amanars on the team, is a good message to give out to the world in pre-Olympic year. But if Paseka is merely lucky, will he ever take a chance on her again? What if she has used up all of her luck?
Leads me to wonder - did Rodionenko take the selection decision, or was another hand involved? It is difficult to feel whether the statement 'Paseka is a lucky gymnast' is said to discredit with faint praise, or is just a kind of joke that has got lost in the context of the article.
Hi Queen Elizabeth
DeleteIn fact your point about selecting Paseka encouraged me to broach something, did it not Rodionenko who decided last year that no gymnast gonna compete in a major competition without two apparatus at least or did I miss something here? if so why did he renege and how the other gymnasts will perceive such a paradox?
John
"I often wonder why people are so hard on the Russians. "
DeleteI think there are several reasons why some (certainly not everyone is my experience is anything to go by) seem hard on the Russians. The most prominent is that the Russian program's current capacity are leading people to be much more pessimistic/cautious when evaluating them and the gymnasts. Their track record as of the recent past is working against them. You mentioned why people weren't querying Biles capabilities when she had mistakes at Nationals when everyone seems to be jumping on these other Russian gymnasts. I might be inclined to agree with that assessment if it weren't for the fact that Biles and say, Kharenkova, have very different track records as individuals in the context of very different programs. It has been often noted that when Biles makes a big mistake it is more of fluke, unlikely to repeat itself. But with Masha - well, it's more hold your breath and pray. Put on top of that the fact that the American program as a whole is known for it's consistency and you have a somewhat clearer idea of why it seems so many people are more doom and gloom when it comes to the Russians. There are other reasons too.
Personally, I think Kharenkova is much more impressive this year than last. Certainly she has room for improvement on her pet event and on bars where she can obviously do better. Floor and vault I don't see having much more progress since she is already performing at maximum, unless she magically gets more power and better technique. On a good day I think she could outscore Steingruber despite lower overall difficulty, but I'm hardly disappointed. I wasn't exactly expecting her to slay the competition. Dasha performed more or less as I thought she would. She is a great bar worker but an all arounder she is not.
Kharenkova peaked too early this season! Noone can deny that she has improved her execution, especially on bars.
DeleteRead Uliankina's interview and what she says about Paseka. I think they expected her to win a medal on bars as well, but she didn't make the finals.
Regarding Seda, she is probably training but she didn't have full routines prepared for Euros.
And yes, the internet and other gymnastics fans are very harsh on the Russians.
I am both excited and nervous from the results at this years European championships for the women.
ReplyDeleteExcited to see Paseka and Afan look so good. Excited to see Kharenkova do well in AA.
Nervous to see two weak FTY vaults from the two AA competitors.
Excited to see two Amanars from the two event specialists. Excited to see Daria stay consistent on bars.
Nervous to see Kharenkova fall again on beam (she fell at last years worlds in qualification, recovered to help team final). Nervous because I am not seeing consistency from her.
Too many event specialists, weak vaults from AA gymnasts, over reliance on older gymnasts, yet still excited to see what the World team will look like.
Todd
I am really surprised that Maria Paseka bought in two insanely difficult vault to the Championships despite not having much mental preparation prior to the competition. It is too early to say whether she has peaked too early in this season, but I hope that Euro 2015 is not when she is at her top. I sincerely hope that the victory here would motivate her to further improve her programme and that the Russian coaches can be impressed by her performance so that she can be given more focus during trainings and unleash all potentials inside her. Relying in vault along is too risky to have a place in the olympic line-up, I hope she can focus on one more apparatus: bars. Bars demands the use of hands while for vault, the legs. By doing so, Marsha can be more able to prevent injuries.
ReplyDelete