Skip to main content

Russia Cup preparations and TV shoot ... picture gallery

By
The Russian team is hard at work, seriously preparing for the forthcoming selection for World Championships, and considering the path ahead to Rio.  It is essential that both the men’s and women’s teams finish in the top eight in order to qualify to fight for medals in the next Olympics.

The Russia Cup, an important stage in qualification for the senior national team in Glasgow, begins in Penza, next Wednesday, the 16th September.  Hopefully, there will be live streaming and I will do my level best to keep you informed of all relevant information.  Check my Twitter feed and Facebook page for instant links; it will take me longer to update the main blog.

It has already been established that Aliya Mustafina will not be competing here, and rings specialist Alexander Balandin will also be missing.  After more than a year out of action with a serious shoulder injury, we heard today that poor Alexander has to go for more surgery.  It is hoped that he will be able to participate in nationals next spring.  We wish him a full recovery.  Emin Garibov too has had more than his fair share of injury, but we will see him on three apparatus in Penza.  His participation in worlds is in the balance.

I wonder if Russia can produce any champions in Glasgow.  Competition in the women’s field is fiercer than ever, and the Russians seem more likely to contend for silver and bronze medals than gold at this stage of the game, as Andrei Rodionenko said a couple of weeks ago.  The men’s competition is a different animal, with the specialists playing the main role in title fights.  With more medals to contend on the men’s side, Russia might stand a better chance of gold there than in women’s, this time round.  But it will be difficult.

All Championships are won thanks to the discipline and hard work of the athlete.   What he or she does every day is all that really matters when it comes to those few seconds on the podium.  That’s why it is so good to see a photo gallery today on the RGF website, recording the team’s serious work, alongside a visit from the production team of children’s TV show, SpokinoiNochi, Malishy! (Good Night, Little Ones!).  This popular TV show is transmitted by Russia 1 every weekday night at bedtime, and has run since 1968.  This week, little dog Philya met with some of the gymnasts and observed them in training.  I have picked out a few select images below for you to enjoy and reflect upon.

Emin Garibov with Philya the dog. On his Instagram account, Emin says : '20 years ago, who would have dreamed of being in the studio for a chat with Khryusha, Philya, Stepashka and Karkusha?  It is a childhood dream come true ...'


Maria Paseka's lovely smile and natural demeanour makes her perfect for children's TV.  She's not bad at vault and bars, either!

Head coach Andrei Rodionenko has a lot on his mind at the moment.  Will the Russian team be able to meet its Olympic medal targets in 2016?

Alla Sosnitskaya in a dramatic pose on the beam.  Assuming she has recovered fully from injury, she is one of four gymnasts who will be contending for an all around spot on the team in the absence of Mustafina - Tutkhalyan, Kharenkova and Shelgunova are the other three.

Angelina Melnikova will become eligible for the senior team in 2016, but is training as seriously as if she were qualifying for Glasgow.  She is, quite probably, one more all arounder for Russia, who are building strength in depth.

Ksenia Afanasyeva, with a new, shorter haircut, discusses a fine point of execution with coach Marina Nazarova.  Former teammate and assistant coach Ksenia Semenova looks on.

The serioius minded Maria Kharenkov with her personal coach, Olga Sagina

One of three gymnasts on the team who are trained by Marina Ulyankina, Seda Tutkhalyan has her first big chance to prove her reliability and competitive spirit at next week's Russia Cup.

Ksenia Afanasyeva in typical dramatic motion, her downcast eyes adding to the expression of the moment.


Viktoria Komova does some conditioning with coach Anton Stolyar

The mature and competitive Daria Spiridinova is expected to be a bars specialist in Glasgow, but she still practices floor

The powerful, lyrical Anastasia Dmitrieva provides great back up for Ksenia Afanasyeva on floor and beam

Viktoria was evidently working hard on floor, showing her trademark polish

Evgeniya Shelgunova is assiduous and a good team player.  Will Glasgow finally provide her with an opportunity to prove her worth on the World stage?




Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous12 September 2015 at 20:06

    Thanks for posting! I can't wait to see how they all do. I wish them all luck!

    Russiafan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maggie L12 September 2015 at 22:11

    Alla Sosnitskaya looks suprisingly elegant and stylish in that shot. It certainly makes me excited to see the choreography in her floor routine which in previous years I don't always feel she has looked quite comfortable with when performing it. Perhaps now in the last year or so she has developed her own style and can now come into her own in the performance element on floor.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous14 September 2015 at 08:22

    Queen Elizebeth, why do teams have to qualify as top 8 in order to make the Rio Olympic games? In London, isn't there team qualifications first then selecting 8 teams out for Team final?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Queen Elizabeth14 September 2015 at 08:42

      Quali rules here - http://www.oeft.at/topthemen2015/der-weg-nach-rio/OS-Qualifikationsmodus_Rio2016_Turnsport_FIG-Reglement.pdf

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Svetlana Boginskaya: I was always a bitch* in gymnastics

By
Svetlana Boginskaya, 15 years old, with her medals from the Seoul Olympics Nico translates the latest interview with gymnastics legend Svetlana Boginskaya, during a recent visit to her home country of Belarus. Svetlana Boginskaya: I was always a bitch* in gymnastics, so now I ask for forgiveness from everyone who came in contact with me. The National Olympic Committee of Belarus held a press conference with three-time Olympic Champion in artistic gymnastics, Svetlana Boginskaya. The meeting was devoted to the 25th anniversary of the Olympic Games in Seoul. In South Korea the Belarussian won two gold medals in the team competition and vault. As a gift to the Olympic Hall of fame, the famous gymnast, now living in the United States, donated one of her trophies that she won at the 1990 European Championships and a pennant for Best Female Athlete of the USSR in 1989. How happy we were when we could share with such stars as Boginskaya, Scherbo, and Ivankov,...
14 comments
Read more

Mustafina Interview 2 of 2 : 'I will only perform under the Russian flag'

By
Argumentyi i Fakti interview with Aliya Mustafina Translated by Marina Vulis ‘I have no fear’, says Aliya Mustafina.   ‘My father [Farhat Mustafin, the bronze medallist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1976 Olympics] took me to my first gymnastics class.   In his opinion children need to do sports, and he saw gymnastics as useful for my general development.   He had no goals – just to let us practice.’ It did not end with ‘just practice’ – she became the World Champion at 16, but then had an ACL injury the next year (2011) at the Europeans.   Even just returning to gymnastics is a feat; then she came back to win four medals at the 2012 Olympics. Aliya Mustafina – That injury.   I do not know why I was ashamed – so many people were watching me and I could not even walk.   My parents!   They saw everything on TV (the coach had to carry her from the podium).   Of course I was aware that anything could happen in gymnastics, but I di...
4 comments
Read more

Fact or fiction? The press, gymnastics and pregnancy doping

By
It was a Sunday morning.  I was drinking my coffee and contemplating the day ahead - a workout at the gym, shopping for groceries, an evening reading a book, or catching up on last night's episodes of crime thriller The Bridge .  How nice it was not to have to think about work for a day. Then I saw it - a story about the history of doping in The Observer .  Interesting reading. Of course, cheating is as old as the hills.  It is, unfortunately, human nature for some people to try to gain easy advantage in any kind of competition.  That is why we have laws, rules, ethical guidelines.  People who cheat should face justice and shouldn't complain when they are found out. But the story about pregnancy doping bothered me.  Hadn't that been found to be fictional?  The author began with Olga Kovalenko's allegations made in 1994 - but the rumours had started way back in 1991 with the documentary series More Than A Game .  The practice...
3 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more