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Sergei Starkin - for the Rio Olympics we will upgrade several routines

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Aliya Mustafina and Sergei Starkin - courtesy of the RGF
 The Russian Olympic Committee's Information Service has just released this interview with the coach of European Games champion, Aliya Mustafina.

- How do you work with Aliya Mustafina?

- We just get on. We had predicted her victory here, knowing that Aliya is not only the undisputed leader of the national team, but also the main favourite in European gymnastics. Today, we are right, and very happy.

- Not everything turned out the way Aliya would like.  Are there no plans to increase the complexity of her programmes?

- Yes, for the Olympic Games in Rio, we plan to upgrade vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. In addition, we want to improve the quality of performance. At this competition we have developed new routines on the uneven bars and the floor exercise. This is a big step forward.

- Mustafina wobbled a little on the beam, perhaps the most difficult gymnastic apparatus. How can you avoid this?  After all, the level of her rivals in Rio will be fundamentally different.

- It can not be prevented 100 percent - artists are just real people, like everyone else.  I can not say that this is some kind of fault. You just have to work long and hard to refine performance in training that then becomes habit in competition.

- Prior to the start of the individual all-around everyone predicted: "Mustafina will be the first." Is this a pressure that the athlete carries on a subconscious level?

- She is very stable psyche, she loves to compete!  In her eyes there is no fear, no doubt, therefore, forecasts and expectations don't really amount to pressure.

- What do you feel during the performances of your gymnasts? What do you think?

- I'm always very excited, and sometimes I think that my nerves will never recover!  

The interviewer says that at the beginning of the interview Starkin was very laconic - but by the end he finished his interview with a sincere smile.

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Comments

  1. Anonymous23 June 2015 at 00:15

    I would like to see her bring back her signature vault. Isnt it the same start value as the amanar?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous23 June 2015 at 08:36

      No, it doesn't. The Mustafina vault is valued out of 6.0.

      Delete
    2. Queen Elizabeth23 June 2015 at 17:48

      It has, rather quietly, been suggested that she may try the triple twisting Yurchenko - better for her as the landing is not unsighted.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous24 June 2015 at 02:09

      I would love for her to do that, but I fear she cannot get 3 full turns around. When she was doing the 2.5 she barely got the last 1/2 turn around and more times than not her body was still twisting as she was landing. We suspect Biles will be working on an upgraded vault, probably a triple twister, so Aliya will need an upgraded vault to stay competitive, whatever it may be.

      Todd

      Delete
    4. Unknown27 June 2015 at 10:06

      Do you think that she should try Rudi?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous27 June 2015 at 23:11

      I think that may be a better vault for her to try

      Delete

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