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Dmitrieva to replace Mustafina in Glasgow

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    Dmitrieva in training this summer 

The Russian Worlds team line up changed today as Valentina Rodionenko announced via Tass that Aliya Mustafina would be replaced in Glasgow by Anastasia Dmitrieva.  Aliya withdrew her place in the team as she was not ready to compete, but will travel to Scotland as a guest of the Russian team.  'Her support is crucial to our girls in such an important competition', said Rodionenko (source - http://tass.ru/sport/2325851).

Dmitrieva's strengths are on floor and beam.  At best, her flighty double layout on floor, together with elegant presentation, make her a natural for a spot on the senior national team.  If she were to compete at Worlds it would be an opportunity to develop her competitive maturity.  Second place on both beam and floor at the Rusudan Sikharulidze International tournament are her best senior international results so far, and domestically she appears regularly in finals.  At the Russia Cup last month - not her best competition - she finished sixth AA, 5th on vault and 6th on the balance beam.  

Dmitrieva's potential strength - floor - is a weakness for the Russian team as a whole and her elevation from the reserve spot onto the final competing team may make strategic sense if she is felt to be reliable.  The only question would be, who would she replace?  At the end of the day, relying on first year seniors may be unpalatable to the ultra-conservative team coaches - but there always has to be a first time.  Steeling young blood in such a fiery cauldron as Worlds could be exactly the kind of experience those youngsters need to prepare them for battle in Rio.

This may not be the final change to the team roster - nominative registrations can change right up to the 24th October.  The Russian team travel to Scotland on the 17th, and their final selection will take place at Lake Krugloye on the 14th.  A lot can happen in a day in gymnastics, and we have eleven left before the team board the aeroplane.

This certainly makes the Russian team a heady mix of youth and experience, and emphasises the importance of the first and second year seniors who will have an opportunity to learn and to prove themselves at the most important team competition outside of the Olympics.  If the team performs well, it will cement the position of these youngsters and invigorate motivation and competition for the Rio team.  

Mustafina's almost talismanic status is also reinforced here as she is freed to take up a mentoring role to the gymnasts.  Her presence could make all the difference.

WAG team - 

Daria Spiridonova^
Seda Tutkhalyan*
Viktoria Komova
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Maria Kharenkova^
Maria Paseka
Anastasia Dmitrieva*

*First year senior
^Second year senior
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Comments

  1. Unknown8 October 2015 at 10:02

    Am I the only person who feels that Shelgunova got shafted? She dominated the Rusudan Sikharulidze and didn't do that poorly at the Russian Cup. She has one of the highest all around D scores off all the Russian gymnasts. I feel like Russia is not doing anything to develop her internationally, but giving plenty of opportunities to other gymnasts with less potential.

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    1. Rien8 October 2015 at 18:01

      I have to disagree with you. Shelgunova was a promising junior but she is 18 now and never found her way onto the senior stage due to injury. She was a 4th place gymnast this year and has no standout event. Russia has a weakness on floor and Dmitrieva is great there. Honestly, Shelgunova's career is probably over. She has a slim chance at Rio and it is a smart choice to give Tutkhalyan the experience, because she has a great shot at making the Olympic team. All the other members of the team are irreplaceable and have huge potential. It's sad because Russia complains about having little depth, but they've had so many promising juniors fade out due to injury or politics.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9 October 2015 at 03:21

      I feel the same about Shelgunova; I hate to say because she seems like such a hard worker, but she doesn't have a standout event. She is also a little sloppy on all events, so she gets hit hard on execution.

      Russiafan

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    3. Unknown10 October 2015 at 02:33

      In Batumi, Georgia (August 26-31st) Shelgunova beat Dimitrieva on the floor (13.700 to 13.550). In the all around of the same competition Shelgunova beat everyone with a 57.700 (including Seda and Daria) Dimitrieva had a 54.95.

      At the Russian Cup, Shelgunova beat Dimitrieva on bars and beam in the team final. Shelgunova beat Dimitrieva on vault, bars, and beam in the all around and ended up 4th in the all around (Dmitrieva finished 6th). In the event finals, Shelgunova got 4th on bars (Dimitrieva didn't make it to the event finals), 4th on beam (Dimitrieva got 6th), and neither made it to the event finals on floor.

      Shelgunova has similar difficulty to Seda and is as inconsistent at Seda. Shelgunova needs more international competitive experience (just like Seda) so they can both develop into strong gymnasts once Aliya and Komova fizzle out.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10 October 2015 at 03:22

      I don't understand why they do not take Maria kharenkova out as an alternate and let Anastasia Dmitrieva compete. Kharenkova is shaky on beam and mediocre on floor. The bb lineup can be: Vika, Seda and Ksenia while the floor can be Dmitreva, Paseka and Ksenia instead

      Delete
    5. Rien10 October 2015 at 18:39

      Jeffrey,
      I understand what you're saying but here's the thing. Dmitrieva is an asset on floor, the weakness of Russia. When she hits, she is great whereas Shelgunova is sloppy, has poor technique, and doesn't score well on floor. If Dmitrieva can prove herself on floor, she could compete while someone else is alternate, but that won't happen for Shelgunova, she can't contribute top 3 scores on any event, hence she is useless. Shelgunova will be 19 next year, and it is a smart choice for Russia to put their efforts into Tutkhalyan who is young and has immense potential, rather than waste experience on someone who doesn't have a shot at the Olympics. That is just reality, Russia has huge talent this year and it will only increase next year with the juniors who will be eligible. With a 5 member Olympic team, Shelgunova's chances are so incredibly slim. Tutkhalyan has a great shot, and her along with the juniors like Melnikova and Skrypnik will replace Aliya and Komova, not Shelgunova. I don't think she will ever see a world championships or Olympics.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous8 October 2015 at 11:36

    From todays russian news :-) new act of opera buffa about Mustafina future and RIO perspectives from A. Rod http://olympic.ru/news/news-russia/news-federations/andrey-rodionenko-mi-ne-hotim-ekspluatirovat-mustafinu-i-riskovat-ee/

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  3. Anonymous8 October 2015 at 13:39

    I don't understand why they left Alla out? Like she was the original. If not Shelgunova, not Dmitrieva which hasn't proved herself, plus doesnt Shelgunova have a potential 7.0 BB SV?

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    1. Anonymous8 October 2015 at 18:02

      Alla is injured and not ready to compete at her old level. And Shelgunova doesn't contribute top 3 scores anywhere but Dmitrieva is great on floor which Russia needs help on. I think it was a smart choice.

      Delete
  4. Queen Elizabeth8 October 2015 at 14:18

    There's not much new in the ROC interview with Andrei Rodionenko. He says that Aliya just hadn't been able to train and there is no point pushing her and risking her health when the Olympics are round the corner.
    There were three possible candidates for the last spot on the team (I expect Shelgunova, Dmitrieva and ? - can't think who - Sosnitskaya but she is injured - Fyodorova? and Dmitrieva was the best choice at the time.
    Don't be surprised to see the team change again. This happens in all sports and Russia isn't the only country to keep things fluid.

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    1. Anonymous8 October 2015 at 15:18

      Shelgunova won all the tests, between her and Dmitrieva, but as alternate at WC going Dmitrieva... sorry but i don't understand the logic of Rodionenko choice

      Delete
    2. Queen Elizabeth8 October 2015 at 16:22

      Which tests did she win? Could you clarify please? Where are the results of the tests - have they been published somewhere or do you have information? Thanks

      Delete
    3. Anonymous8 October 2015 at 17:25

      By tests i mean Seharulidze, RC and also several tests at Round Lake after Russian Cup. But what we see at WC traveling Dmitrieva instead of Shelgunova... sorry but i honestly don't understand the logic of Rodionenkos choice.

      Delete
    4. Queen Elizabeth8 October 2015 at 17:59

      Oh I see ... Do you know the results of the tests at Round Lake? Please tell!

      Delete
    5. Anonymous8 October 2015 at 21:05

      Neither do I understand what's wrong with Shelgunova. I don't think she is a has been.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10 October 2015 at 03:24

      ohhhh hey Anoymous, please tell us the result of the test at Round Lake!!

      Delete
  5. ossiana9 October 2015 at 17:52

    And what has happened to Afanasieva?

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    1. Queen Elizabeth9 October 2015 at 22:50

      You tell us!
      At last sighting she had a fever; the climate has changed rapidly in Moscow this last week and this is always a time that the athletes fall ill.
      But I wouldn't worry about this unduly, nor would I expect there to be any news or announcements. The teams are too busy to bother much with media, although I am expecting a picture gallery and some pre-Worlds press in the next few days.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous11 October 2015 at 04:57

    Hey Queen Elizabeth,

    Have you seen Aliya's recent instagram post? "Everything has a beginning. Everything has an end" #stepbystep? That's not going to help the retirement rumors :(

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    1. Queen Elizabeth11 October 2015 at 08:19

      And posts like this only spread rumours! A rumour is not a truth, it is unsubstantiated gossip blown up out of all proportion by people not directly in the know (in this case, us fans). We don't know what was going through Aliya's head when she posted this. The account is personal and, like any human, Aliya has many different roles in life. When Aliya is ready to retire, she will not post it on Instagram. She might not even make an announcement at all. My guess is that we will hear whether she is training for the Olympics in a few weeks' time. Probably not the first priority right now for the team to be making press statements and so on. So let's just stay calm and hold our chatter 😁 #keepcalmandsupportaliya.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12 October 2015 at 10:40

    Today news from Russia Shelgunova in and Dmitrieva out from Worlds :-) http://rsport.ru/artist_gym/20151012/870795613.html alsou Mustafina will be star guest bu FIG at WC :-D http://tass.ru/sport/2337986

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    1. Queen Elizabeth12 October 2015 at 13:39

      Can't keep track!! Nervous breakdown!

      Delete
    2. Queen Elizabeth12 October 2015 at 13:44

      I am waiting for this to be confirmed via other sources - it says the make up of the team hasn't changed - there may or may not be more to come.
      It is always a matter of who walks onto the mat anyway ...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12 October 2015 at 14:42

      Tomorrow will be last test at Round Lake and maybe then we will know the final decision from Rodionenkos about who take the reserve spot in team at worlds.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous12 October 2015 at 14:36

    What happened to Dmitrieva? I was looking to may be seeing her floor routine in worlds.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous13 October 2015 at 11:28

    Now Mustafina is retering and going to circus ... it means no Rio for her ;-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Queen Elizabeth13 October 2015 at 17:16

      Dearie dearie me how people jump to conclusions ... Do you mean the video on Instagram of her flying with Zamolodchikova? Just a bit of fun ... Please don't post such alarmist stuff. Unless it comes with an official announcement! Aliya is entitled to play without people telling stories!!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13 October 2015 at 21:21

      Mustafina is now starring in tv show about circus and not training at all... it's means goodbye Rio for her. Thanks Starkin for ruining her perfect career and her bright future in gymnastics

      Delete
    3. Queen Elizabeth14 October 2015 at 07:14

      Could you give a link to the source please?

      Delete

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