Angelina Melnikova ... Top scorer in the Russia Cup AA competition today. Daria Spiridonova in second place was the leading senior in the field, followed by Maria Kharenkova. Seda Tutkhakyan in 4th had a fall on floor but would otherwise have finished top. As Melnikova is junior, this probably means that Spiridonova is Russia Cup AA champion! An unexpected but well deserved title for this distinctive and well prepared gymnast. Well done Dasha! congratulations to all the girls - will publish results as soon as they are available.
The Russians during a team talk in training for the World Championships. Courtesy RGF Bronze all the way for Russia then. Beyond the euphoria and surprise of this morning's competition there doesn't really seem to be much to write home about. 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 celebra...

I do believe that Melnikova, Skrypnik will diminish the chances of some of these seniors in the next Olympics year ...
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I do believe that Melnikova and Skrypinik should go to Rio.
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