'I'm very happy that everything turned out well today ... Each medal is very special. The UK team made mistakes, so there was a wide margin [of victory]... But naturally, [what I did] is not enough for the Olympics. I prepared well for beam and bars but I am not ready for floor, I stepped up to help the team.
... To be honest, I did not look at the scores [when asked how the team reacted to the 6.5 gap before the final apparatus]. Gelya (Melnikova) is a good girl, she did everything and did not falter ... Seda fell on quite a complex element. There is more work to do, but everything else went well.'
[About a protest taken by the coaches on her beam score]. 'I am used to my protests being rejected, everything is normal!'
Via vk.com
In other news, the UEG has confirmed that Spiridonova will replace Melnikova in tomorrow's bars final. No reason is given, but it is generally considered that Dasha has a better chance of gold. This decision also means that four out of five gymnasts will compete in EF.
That's not fair for Melnikova, she also can medal in UB, and I fear
ReplyDelete(and I hope I'm wrong) that there will be psychological consequences on Melnikova.
John
I am sure Melnikova is not too bothered by this. This is not a rare occurance and it is highly unlikely that she will contend for gold, whereas Spiri, the reigning bars champ, will. Though gymnastics a team sport, winning the maximum amount of medals as a team is very important considering that their funding relies heavily on it. Melnikova wants to do whats best for the team, she has already had a magnificent competition and earned herself a Rio sport so psychological consequences seem highly highly unlikely.
DeleteHow can you be so sure about that? and after losing the Gold in UB, don't you think now if Melnikova had competed, she would have gotten the Bronze, and the same medals and outcome for the team medals (one Silver, One Bronze) on UB?
DeleteJohn
Of course Melnikova could have medaled but she would not have contended for gold+. Spiri was one small hop on her dismount away from gold, much better than Melnikova could have done. The decision was a good one. At this point, Melnikovas strength is competing for the team not individually. She is great but doesn't have a standout event that could contend for a gold. Not yet anyway. She had a fantastic first senior competition and received praise from all the girls and coaches. There's no way she suffered psychological consequences over a bar finals.
DeleteAllow me to disagree with you, we both love the russian gymnasts...BUT
DeleteFirst I have no objection if the idea of withddrawal came from Melnikova herself (and I mean the idea and the decision) like what happened back in 2011 when Komova qualified to FX final but she relinquished that place to Afan because exhaustion and small foot injury and I remember that the management said that Komova asked them to do that, is that what happened here?
second, I have nothing against spiridinova, I have somthing against the decision and I feel that there was a blatant favoritism to spiridinova, not her fault though, it's about the management of the team.
Third, if that happened in the American camp do you think that they will do the same thing? in London 2012 you may remember the Wieber didn't qualify because 2 per country rule and Douglas and Raisman came ahead of her, yet they didn't replace Raisman with Wieber who was the the world AA champion in 2011, and that what I admire and call a principled decision.
fourth, Spiridinova contended and didn't achieve the goal, and she had to earn that spot because she is a one mission gymnast and Melnikova's score wasn't a surrogate, and Melnikova needed that personnel medal (even a Bronze) to booast her confidence before the Olympics, where she will compete while it's a way shot for Spiridinova to make the team.
John
Valentina R says that Angelina withdrew because of a hand rip.
DeleteI personally think it was strategic, but there you go.
Does anyone else think that Daria S looked distinctly low and jaded here? I hope she is OK.
Melka is, at this point, as essential to the team as Aliya is, and the TF and QF proved it, whereas Spiri is a one event gymnast who is losing her consistency on her best event. Gelya is going to be just fine.
DeleteSure, Valentina. Suuurrrrrreeeeee.
DeleteI think Daria was under a lot of pressure here knowing she was brought to do one event & defend her title, and she psyched herself out a little which was a factor in her less stellar than usual effort in prelims. I've also seen some criticism surrounding her after she underperformed in prelims, and then more about the decision to substitute her for Melnikova. It really seems like she's getting a lot of flak and it would be hard not to take that personally.
I'm sure the gymnasts are on some level aware of what their fans are saying, and while some like Mustafina can shrug off criticism more easily, perhaps it affects others more. See Komova's infamous outburst during worlds last year after she took a lot of heat for her team final errors. I wonder if Daria might have known that many were not happy she was switched in (the reaction in the vk fangroup was almost entirely negative), so she may feel worse for not having won. Though that is the best routine she has done this year, it was a great effort and the result could have gone either way. I too hope she's okay.
Yes we will have to disagree. Every major country has made a substitution like this including the US. Gymnastics is not a sport based on fairness and doing the right thing. It is a competition and winning is the goal. Honestly I think Melnikova needed a personal LEAST. She "won" the AA and of all the girls is most secure in her Rio bid. She is going barring any disaster and she is arguably the most confident girl on the team and everyone knows her worth. Spiri and Seda neded individual medals to stay in contention for Rio and Musty and Afan needed medals to prove they were overcoming ther injuries and can contribute to the team even in their "old age". Melnikova is the most psychologically sound girl Russia has seen since 2010 Musty and she will have no trouble making a significant contribution to Russian gymnastics.
DeleteYes, I thought something was wrong! She didn't look like her usual self.
DeleteAlfi
"Every major country has made a substitution like this including the US" I don't like generalization I have provided my example (Wieber 2012), so would you please provide yours just to make your point?
DeleteJohn
I agree with the Russian coaches on this decision. Remember 92? I love Galyeva with all my heart but difficulty wise she wouldn't be aiming for gold, she was replaced with Gutsu and she got gold.
DeleteMelnikova didn't have a real chance at winning, with the 14.966 from team finals she would be out of the medals, Downie had a 6.9 SV, Spiri had a 6.7, Angelina had a 6.4.
Such changes been done numerous times, in London Bulimar made beam final but was replaced with Iordache, it didn't work out back then but nothing was working out for Larissa on that competition. I understand it's an unpopular decision because it lacks meritocracy, but athletes think of the team, and this is a crucial moment on the run to the Olympics, coaches are on a run for medals.
The podium was about right by the way, Becky upgraded and she has really mastered this event, without Tweddle team GB counts on Becky mostly, Harrold and Tunney bring good scores for team finals but aren't medal contenders on a world scenario.
I'll have to agree with John on this topic. USA Gymnastics (ie Marta Karolyi) does not remove a qualified athlete from any event final. If the athlete cannot compete or removes themselves, that is another story. If they did use this methodology, then Jordan Wieber would have gone to AA finals in 2012 as she had a better shot of a medal than Aly Raisman.
DeleteTodd
As I said before (my third reply above) I don't mind if the idea and decision came from the gymnast who has the spot as Komova did in 2011
Delete(because her foot injury), and what Bulimar did in 2012, she came out and said that she has decided to give up her spot to Larisa Iordache, because she thought that her teammate had a better chance of medaling than her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnastics_at_the_2012_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_balance_beam#Qualification
Is that the case here? Did anyone heard the Melnikova came out and said something like that?
and in the same competition as I said Wieber didn't qualify and she was 2011 AA champion and she had a better chance than Raisman who lacked a decent score on UB, yet they didn't replace her.
Finally I love Daria's work on Bars and congrats to her medal.
John
Actually Todd, John, USA does make these substitutions too, just not as frequently or perhaps not at an Olympics. London may be a poor example since it is atypical for this to occur in an AA situation, but more prevalent to event finals. US in fact just recently did so at Pac Rims in April by replacing Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez in event finals since they had proven themselves and Martha wanted to give them a rest. There is a video on FloGym with Biles verbally confirming this as the reason. The recent US Classics also had Martha highly encouraging many of the top contenders that have proven themselves already this year to scratch one or two events to preserve their health for the long summer haul. So I think US gym is finally recognizing the need to preserve their proven athletes to prevent injury in the long run since 2012 saw Mckayla Maroney and Jordan Wieber competing in London with stress fractures and broken toes. This may be a strategic approach that other countries take as well, or it may be their strategy to simply rest the "proven" AA's and give those on the bubble another shot under pressure to prove themselves if the country is still undecided as to a member's team inclusion (Spiridonova, Tutkalayan). As Queen E always reminds us, with Russia's quirky media frenzy and the Rod's love of "stiring the pot" we will probably never have direct answers on their reason for anything to be honest, but more or less fan speculation with tidbits of various quotes to feed our eager curiosity. Short story, this does happen and is not entirely unheard of.
Delete-B
The Weiber situation is completely different. Weiber did not make a major mistake that if fixed could have easily earned gold medal. Weiber was past her prime in london and Gabby and Aly were better than her and had the greatest chance at gold. Spiri made a mistake and they knew that if she fixed it, she would contend for gold. As someone said, Romania pulled Bulimar in Londo for Larisa and just this spring, the US pulled BOTH Biles and Hernandez from event finals at Pac Rims to give the other girls a chance to prove themselves. As I said, its common.
DeleteActually -B you have proved my point by saying:
Delete" just not as frequently or perhaps not at an Olympics" and I may add not at Worlds, so it's a minor championship where they try the readiness of some gymnasts.
"There is a video on FloGym with Biles verbally confirming this as the reason" ... so we have the gymnast consent here and like what Bulimar did when she stated that her replacement was her idea (not from the team management). and as I said I have no objection if the decision came with the gymnast consent and expressed publicly, on contrary I see it as a sign of team spirit and sacrifice. but it's not the case here and if anyone has a statement from Melnikova to explain that decision I will appreciate that. I really don't know which part of "gymnast consent" some people don't understand!
Finally, I have heard the weirdest explanation of not replacing Wieber with Raisman from Rein (which is she didn't make mistake to compensate) as if she had had a mistake, they would have replaced her!!!
John
We do not always hear the whole story ... Sources close to the team tell me that Dasha and Angelina agreed the swap between them. I think it was a win win. There is much more freedom on the Russian team than you might imagine - girls will be girls.
DeleteMelnikova is not going to call a press conference to give her permission to Dasha. Please, that is absolutely ridiculous. Just because her she didnt announce to the world that she gave her consent, doesnt mean she didnt. And in the case of Biles, she didnt give her consent she merelu agrees with the reasoning. Exactlt the same as how Melnikova said she had a hand rip. The point with Weibee is that there was absolutely NO reason to switch her. Why substitute an inferior gymnast for a superior gymnast? That choice would have been stupid. Dasha is much better than Melnikova on bars and the choice was smart. The motivations dont matter,'every country has made the same type of substitution and whether or not the gymnasts publically gave their consent is completely irrelevant. The point remains, Melnikova, like every other gymnast who has been in her situation, did not suffer psychological consequences.
Delete"Melnikova said she had a hand rip" please provide a link for your source??
DeleteJohn
It's in Russian so it may be of no use to you but http://m.sports.ru/others/gymnastics/1040726142.html
DeleteRien I think we are what the US gym blogs call "feeding the trolls" at this point since vast assumptions are being made on his part for a situation that seems entirely made up in his mind. We have given examples and pointed out along with Queen E that time and again the Russian gym federation is rather complex and we often do not have the whole story. In this case we have bits of information but like Rien mentions, a press conference is not going to be held to satisfy us fans as to WHY a substitution was made, so we may never know the answer as to WHY. But it stands to reason that these substitutions DO occur and in no way is this going to cause any long term psychological trauma to any gymnast. "This is not the case here". Actually it may very well be. Just as we do not have any written proof that Melnikova herself backed out of event finals, you do not have any proof that she was forced unwillingly into it and is in turn traumatized. In fact, although it is an assumption, I wouldn't be surprised if Melnikova were grateful for the rest since she has performed in several recent comps as an all arounder and Euros had rather rough time scheduling that according to the after interviews with the Rods seemed to tire the girls out. Melnikova has already proven herself and received vast praise from the Rods so her place in Rio is pretty secure baring any major injury. And as I pointed out to John, Biles only relayed the information that MARTHA decided on at pac rims, she did not decide to randomly pull herself from event finals without the suggestion or direction of her coaches. Even though the reasoning does not matter. The fact is a substitution was made, period. And Pac Rims is right on par with Euros as far as importance or the level of competition, or useful in testing new vs established athletes for numerous countries before the Olympics. I am sure there are many more cases of substitutions in event finals historically over time but I am certainly not going to go back through decades of major competitions just to find finite examples to satisfy one person whom can not be satisfied. So no John, I have NOT proven your point, but rather proved my own and Rien's.
DeleteSillyness of this whole thing aside I am thoroughly looking forward to Russian Cup and the anticipation of finding out who Russia appoints to the Olympic team. One of the articles I read below with the V Rod interview had her quoted as saying "even the upcoming tournament will not change for some as we need stability". Queen E, Rien, what are your thoughts or assumptions on this? I know we can only speculate but do you feel this meant that they are going to bar Seda or even perhaps Daria from the Olympics regardless of whether they put in the best performances of their life at Russian Cup? I'm sure it is just the nonsense as usual From Valentina to hype us all up, but that seems a bold thing to say and rather depressing for the girls who are still so very willingly trying to prove themselves to fill the spots that may be required if the veterans are not recovered in time.
-B
B,
DeleteI agree!
As for the Russian cup, I am excited yet also disappointed for several reasons. First I think the consideration they gave Seda at Euros was a complete waste. After 2015 worlds I would have banished her to national events and world cups. Putting her on the Olympic team would completely jeopardize their chances and she definitely needs time to find someverything consistency. Unless disaster strikes round lake (knock on wood) Seda has 0% chance of being on the Olympic team, thus her placement on the euros team was a COMPLETE waste. It would have been much smarter to place both Kapitonova and Skrypnik (in place of Spiri) in order to assess their place on an international team. I see the fifth team mate (I highly doubt Komova will be ready) being one of these girls and having no senior team experience is concerning.
As for the others, I would love to see Melnikova improve her floor and bars, I would love if Musty could do the AA but I'd also love her to focus on floor and bring a 14.5+ routine to Rio, obviously Paseka secure her vaults and have a strong bar routine for qualifications and perhaps team so that Melnikova doesn't have to complete all four events, and I would LOVE for Afan to get back her Amanar and show her usual queen-like self on floor. If Paseka had a decent beam they could honestly do fine in Rio with a four person team but at this point, I think Kapitonova would round out the team nicely. Hopefully no one gets injured and those who are injured heal!
in fact the link you have provided says that Valentina Rodionenko said that not Melnikova as you mentioned above, so you are giving a wrong piece of information, and I'm sorry because I don't want to proceed in such inaccurate conversation...
DeleteJohn
"I have NOT proven your point, but rather proved my own and Rien's"
DeleteI haven't asked/invite you to prove my point and in fact I don't need it.
'I am certainly not going to go back through decades of major competitions just to find finite examples to satisfy one person whom can not be satisfied"
doesn't this statement contradict with the above, or how could you prove something without referring to living examples.
Finally calling some someone "unsatisfied one" doesn't make you the opposite or the good one, as it only reflects what inside you.
John
I didn't know you are allowed to make substitutions like that... I thought the ef spots are nominative. guess not.
ReplyDeleteI don't think melka is hurt by any mean not doing ub final. she knows shes not the best ub in rus. but she is def their best AA right now and that's what most important.
I am glad they won. though I wish GB didn't make so many mistakes to have a more excuting final
Spiri was in the top 8 of bar scores but was not eligible to participate because of 2 per country rule. because of that she can be substituted in the finals. I believe just like Russia did when Komova pulled out of Worlds FX finals in 2011 and Afan ended up winning
Deletebut Afan wasn't in the top 8 scores back then, she qualified in 10th, Komova and Ferrari dropped out so Afan and Mitchell ended up competing, they can do it at anytime.
DeleteAliya is such a rock. It is clear that team Russian only wins when she is there. Her beam and bars were so solid. I am so happy for her. Melnikova is having a great first year as a senior!
ReplyDeleteAnd that's very worrying, Aliya can`t be there forever. Russia hasn`t forge new competitive gymnasts in this cycle, even Melnikova, who is the most remarkable member, can't contend for a medal for Worlds or Olympics right now.
DeleteAliya is not planing to retaire after Rio and planin to apgrade difficulti on UB and BB by Rio times :) http://tass.ru/sport/3340548 http://tass.ru/sport/3340436 P.S. about todays performances i anderstand one important thig, Aliya is not practice gym, she practices ART! Long life to Queen Mustafina!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Just to contextualise, Aliya said that she is not currently thinking beyond Rio and will decide what to do about her career after the Olympics.
DeleteNo, she said that rn her focus is Rio, and she not planing to retare after rio, and decision on the continuing her career after will not affect rio result
DeleteHello, since my post on the article prior to this one was not approved, perhaps I will try the next blog entry to get it approved here. I had commented on the performances after the team final. I am overjoyed to see that Russia won gold, but am sad to say I think it is over for Seda. I have read so many countless posts on the topic the past couple months and it seems like every time Seda falls in competition it is swept under the rug by a cult following of fans as her "tough potential" because she's still so good right? I always found it weird since everyone was so hyper critical of even small mistakes made by the other Russian girls (quite the backlash for Spiri this comp on her bars low score, critical comments past few months on Komova, Kharankova, Kapitanova, even the readiness of Mustafina). However the few who are so in love with the performances of Seda seemed perhaps naive to her faults. I think she is talented in the respect that all elite gymnasts are far more talented than myself, but I do not care for her performances at all. Her artistry is lacking, her expression is vague at best in all performances, attitude in question, and she has trouble hitting full split in leaps even which is unheard of for Russia who has such tremendously good execution. Now with the consistency issues that cannot be ignored I cannot see her on that Olympic team one bit. But I'm sure others will still make a case for her....
ReplyDeleteI was so very pleased to see the strength of Mustafina in this comp. I was worried with her stamina on floor but she pleasantly surprised us. I think with her readiness level that was an excellent performance both days, and I can't wait to see her floor routine at it's full potential. I love the music choice for her and the fluidity of the routine was excellent!
Happy also to see that Spiridonova finally had a better day in event finals. Was a missed connection the issue with her low score during quals? I couldn't seem to find reason for such high deduction that day as her routine looked pretty solid.
Okay, so Seda's not my favorite and I do not want her in Rio, but I don't think she's ever done anything to put her "attitude in question". Typically when she falls, she then comes back and fights for the rest of her routines - just look at the team final. Falls off her first event, but fights on floor getting what I think is the best score she's ever gotten in a major international competition, and putting up the best vault score for the team too. Her biggest problem is she still can't seem to get through a competition without falling on something, usually one of her first events. It's almost like she has to fall before she can focus, but to me that's different from an "attitude problem".
DeleteI think Seda also has a lot of defenders because people are worried that the coaches will give up on her (since it's known that she is already not Valentina's favorite by any means), and Russia does not have the luxury of giving up on gymnasts. Sometimes they do turn it around eventually, like Afanasyeva, who was horribly inconsistent for years before becoming a much more stable competitor around 2011.
I'll just briefly say, Seda fell once on an element that is very complex. She has to work in this, but the Russian team cannot afford to exclude her. A decision will be taken about who will be in the final training squad after the Russia Cup, which takes place in just over a month. Until then we will not know who Russia has available for selection for Rio.
DeleteIt's fairly obvious that Seda has problems hitting but she contributed more to the team here than she detracted, and without her they would not have won gold. Seda always wants to do well and is part of the glue that holds this team together. Her selection for Rio will indicate that one or more of the more established gymnasts have fallen out of contention, but she is improving all the time and always fights to the end.
Thank you, first anonymous! Like honestly how can people count out all the girls you mentioned but no Seda when she didn't add much to the team? Ksenia can replace her on floor and Vika and even Daria on beam. I personally want her out of the team for Rio. She can't make up her lack of artistry with big or decent scores that she could get with less difficulty so I don't see a reason for her to be consider unless Russia is desperate for healthy and ready gymnasts. Sorry, I thought too she was going to be the next best thing out of Russia but she is getting worse instead of good. Artistically, I defended her when she was junior because one, not all girls are natural at this specially at that age and two, Russia has many well known gymnasts who got better later on in their careers (Afan for example)but with Seda I don't even know anymore.
DeleteI agree with you. As I said, I am in awe at ALL elite gymnasts who have ever performed on the international stage and the dedication that they have. However, in such a competitive and driven sport there are distinctions and unfortunately along with the positive comes the negative. I feel like with Seda there is a sort of glaze that has washed over her fans. Fans have been so quick to condemn the other seniors on the Russian team with even one mistake or injury but with Seda the answer is always "well she still contributed brilliantly". My answer is how????? She has fallen at every meet nearly. So beam falls aside, then the arguement seemed to always be well she mixes brilliant difficulty on floor with artristy of a Russian. Again.....what artistry? She is jumping up and down in the corners like a collegiate gymnast, her leaps are not 180, her spins she falls out of, and her tumbling is uncontrolled and floor and bars seem to still score in the 13's? I guess I just don't see it but must be missing something since everyone keeps insisting that she is a wonderful asset to the team. I do agree with you that as a junior I was truly rooting for her as she had so much promise and was doing so well. Seems like she has regressed terribly every meet however. And my biggest complaint is she has developed the typical Russian "lack of fight". Slightly off on an element means let yourself fall waif like to the side off the beam without even TRYING to stay on and give a sour look like the beam was out to get you. Perhaps US gym has some very poor form issues but at least they are extremely consistent even during the biggest of skills and they FIGHT for their balance issues to prevent falls. To the second anon, I have already seen several instances on camera at major comps where Seda has pulled what many used to criticize Aliya of....after a poor routine brushing past the coaches and teammates with a sour look and going and sulking in the corner instead of stopping for coach critique or getting ready to cheer on your next teammate's routine. Apologies for the rant but it has just baffled me the outstanding issue over this one athlete.
DeleteBut to always end on a positive of course, I am pleased that Russia won Euros and pray this gives them the confidence they need going into the Olympics to pull for a team medal. If they can improve floor and really learn to fight on beam hopefully they will keep a silver in their sights. Praying that Aliya stays healthy as well as I am so looking forward to her floor routine at full readiness!
Here you can read Vaytsehovskaya after Euro and befor Rio predictions on team Russia :) http://www.sport-express.ru/artistic-gymnastics/reviews/1007561/ and here new and not so crazy like always V.Rod interview after ECh Bern http://rsport.ru/interview/20160605/932745032.html
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the links! This is really helpful to me (and the translation help above).
DeleteWell in 2 words :) V.Rod tells that after Ech, they decided some persons, who will be in the team in Rio(if everything will be fine), but not tells the names( i think M&M duo + Afan) , also that Aliya prepared( not ready yet new and diff UB set, but it need some work ) about Ksenia that she done wery good,
Deletedespite that injury, she helped team, defend Spyridoz silver like judges foult : / But most importantly, she said that Rio team will need a reliable team members. For some peoples Cup will not change anything.... Also that it was hard to perform in such rithm like: late in the nigth TF and early in the morning again finals. Some good words about David and VTB sponsors of RGF
Vaytsehovskaya says Aliya is on the right track in RIo and that it is important not to ruin Melnokova( she has good senior debut) lake it was with Grishina. That Belyavskiy gold/silver is important for mens team and most important that is all hazy with the Rio team composition
DeleteThe thing about Seda is she cannot consistently perform on beam. To be honest she potentially has a shot for rio if and only if she can contribute a good score on beam. Unfortunately she falls over and over again in international competitions. Yes she falls on a very difficult acro element but we are looking for the actual scores, that's it.
ReplyDeleteQueen Elizabeth, could you make a small article on mag's EF so we can compliment Belyavskiy on his charm, form, precision and medals ? ...
ReplyDeleteLol. Soon :-)
DeleteThis time Andrey Rod beaten his wife for a dork interview after womens Euros.. it is so so so confusing and again by his words Spiridonova is the real winner of UB gold :/ and also somerude words about Rebecka >:( http://stadium.ru/reportsandcomments/experts/117/06-06-2016-andrei-rodionenko-o-chempionate-evropi-voprosov-poka-bolshe-chem-otvetov
ReplyDeleteExcuse me but this sounds like pure jealousy to me. Becky won the Longiness Price for elegance, it shows some people are appreciating her lines.
DeleteI was cheering for Daria but Becky had higher difficulty and let's agree, when higher difficulty hits higher difficulty wins.
I read Mustafina has upgrades on bars, I don't know if Daria has any but I do know that Fan Yilin had a 7.0 at Chinese Nationals and that would beat Becky.
http://gymnasts391.blogspot.dk/2016/05/fan-yilin-2016-chinese-national-ub-ef.html
In London He Kexin had 0.1 advantage on Mustafina, Komova and Tweddle. Mustafina won on execution but between Daria and Fan Yilin there's 0.3 and that seems hard to beat.
Madison Kocian is the top US bars worker with a has 6.7, I think the second best Chinese bar worker on the Olympic team is Shang Chunsong.
Am I forgetting anyone?
And some
ReplyDeletestrange and absurd words from A Rod http://tass.ru/sport/3343425 http://tass.ru/sport/3343378 PS in one Rod tells that Mustafina and Afanaseva should(!) retaire
promptly after Rio and in another that only
between 5 girls from Bern team plus Paseka and coz Komova they will choose the team for Rio, at Russian Cup at the and of june
Thank you for the links! TASS is usually reliable but I will let a few reports appear before I put it on the blog - sometimes reporters get things wrong, or the translation makes things sound harsh. Becky's win was on difficulty and the margin of victory was very narrow - it went her way this time and you could only feel pleased for her.
DeleteI understand and don't think that Andrey is right, but A.Rod tell to
Deletepress that between Becky and Dasha should be 2 points
difference in ex score :/ even Aliya said Becky won gold completely fairly
BTW all links to articles is published od RGF website
DeleteI will write a round up of all these articles but am still working on the MAG article.
DeleteRe the scores - I think the execution scores were very 'boxed' right through this Euro Champs - and I think it was about the same in MAG. I thought that Belyavski was unlucky to miss a medal in floor EF - but their MAG coach, Alfosov, was clever enough to keep quiet about it. These things happen in every competition.
DeleteAnonymous:
http://www.sports.ru/others/gymnastics/1040780163.html
Please read the article carefully - it is not what AR said
His words are diplomatic and wise
LOL @ second anon, I kind of wish that Aliya would just handle all the press. They always ask her questions trying to get her to criticize her competitors or the judges when she doesn't win and she is usually clever enough not to fall for it. They must have really loved Khorkina, who never made an effort to be diplomatic!
DeleteIt's tricky because this is a subjective sport, so I feel like if you think you deserved more your coach should be able to say so (better than having it come from the gymnast), as long as it's not nasty towards competitors. As an example, were the Russians supposed to just take Jordyn Wieber's highly controversial win over Komova in 2011 lying down? No way!
What's unfortunate is that the non-nasty part rarely happens, and so we get things like Valentina's comments about the British team in 2014, which were unacceptable. And you also have to balance speaking up with being diplomatic enough to not lose your goodwill with judges in the future.
And some video reports one from Round Lake befor ECh ( inc. Aliya, Ksenia, Seda, Angelina, Dasha
ReplyDeleteinterview), also Grebs to( he is adorabl :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQRq5qXatgM and Paseka status from herself, Khorki to was
interviewed. Amd second
interviews from Latynina and Shevchenko ( both tell that Mustafina a very important part of the team and they are happy that she is back, also Latynina tells that Aliya nead is necessary to increase diff on floor :P https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0xQgqi1Na8
Lol, I think it is very obvious to Aliya that she needs to increase her floor difficulty!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_KfnGBtVeA
ReplyDeleteJust watched this Lorde video. She reminds me so much of Aliya!
Aliya photoseth for the Marie Claire magazine July issue https://pp.vk.me/c604426/v604426804/13080/7OqAMX9veF0.jpg and interview https://pp.vk.me/c604426/v604426804/13091/xEzZCDr0SsI.jpg
ReplyDeleteQueen Elizabeth, here you can find new and big video interview with Aliya Mustafina (text version is attached ) http://mir24.tv/news/sport/14596761 PS Aliya so smart and beautiful, she has a bright aura =)
ReplyDeleteHere a lot of great photos from Sambo 70 visiting Girl and Boys teams at Round Lake http://xn---70-5cdf9dpu.xn--p1ai/events/fotogallery/3513?year=2016
ReplyDeleteNew and big interview from Vaytsehovskaya wiht Starkin, about Aliya and Denis, Rio plans etc. http://www.sport-express.ru/se-velena/reviews/1013866/
ReplyDeletebtw in new interview Starkin says, that Aliya will teste herself in full AA at Russian Cup
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am on holiday atm, but if you go to the RRG Facebook page a reader, Alexandra, has added some more notes on this interview.
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