Start lists are now available for tomorrow's senior team and event quals. At present, the Russian roster looks like this -
Beam - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Mustafina
Floor - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Mustafina
Vault - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Afanasyeva
Bars - Melnikova, Spiridonova, Mustafina
Things can still change, dear reader, but this is the most reliable official news we have.
It will be good to see all five members of the team compete - I am relieved that Mustafina isn't doing all four but worried for her legs on floor; delighted to see Melnikova and Tutkhalyan making such a strong contribution; and pleased that Afanasyeva is having a chance to try out her training, despite what might be a small injury. Spiridonova is also looking good for bars, in fact to me she is underused here.
Good luck! Udachi! To all the team. We are very excited to see you compete and do well!
The start lists can be found here - http://gym.longinestiming.com/File/00000F0201000000FFFFFFFFFFFFFF00
So are they keeping Afan for just securing DTY on VT?
ReplyDeleteJohn
Given how she looked on floor I would give Spiridonova the nod on floor over Mustafina.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteDoes anyone know why Ksenia is not doing floor?
ReplyDeleteWell Ksenia has small injury and only can do dty on vt, now Aliya must work a miracle...
DeleteGod save Aliya!
ReplyDeleteThese girls are always so unprepared before any meet. If they are injured or not ready then don't go !
ReplyDeletewhy is the only one who didn't fall in podium training on beam the only one who isn't doing beam? I agree that Daria is underused. I think that Spiridonova should be on beam instead of Seda because we all know she'll fall sometime within the championship. I think that Spiridonova is looking a lot stronger than she has before; I don't know why her and her enlegance and technique aren't on beam.
ReplyDeleteI am far from a Seda fan, I dont think she should have been chosen over Kapitonova or Skrypnik, but I will defend her over Daria. Daria is VERY weak on every event besides bars and scores in the 13's. AND she is as inconsistent as Seda. There is no higher chance of Daria not falling than Seda and if Seda hits she can score a whole point higher than Daria could and contend for a beam medal. Daria has impeccable technique and that toe point is gorgeous, but she just doesnt have the difficulty or consistency. Even with a fall Seda scores nearly the same as Daria with no fall. And Darias floor is even weaker than her beam and Seda is not horrendously inconsistent on floor. They really should have brought Skrynik or Kapitonova who are fairly equal on bars with Daria but much better on the other events.
DeleteI don't know Spiri difficulty score on beam but I know Seda's is about the highest in the competition.
DeleteJust having watched Aliyas beam, bars and floor now it worries me.. she is such a great talent and fighter but things are just not right. =( I want to transport her to a great coach( coz Starkin is bad one) with a great physiologist with loads of support and let her flourish.
ReplyDeleteWhat I feared (and I have said it)has become true, first an injury to Paseka and now Afan, and instead of saving Alyia they will encumbered the burden on her shoulder, that's not right...
ReplyDeleteJohn
It breaks my heart to see Aliya so out of shape, in pain, and tired. She should only do bars and beam. Put Spiri on floor, this team can absorb a 13+ score on floor. All the best to her and Russia. I still think they can win gold. I am really hoping that Seda hits all her beams!!!
ReplyDeleteMustafina doesn't look like where she should be this close to the Olympics, but who am I to say...
ReplyDeleteThey will win Gold tomorrow...however, it is making me sick that GB is a threat and scored over Russia in QF. Looking back, I know London was one of the best teams Russia has had since the collapse of the CCCP.
ReplyDeleteGB edged out Russia by a hair. GB killed it in fx which is what carried them over. looks like without afan fx, this is RU Achilles...
ReplyDeleteI hope all Seda fans in this blog can finally see the truth after today. Russia is going down the same path as Romania after Mustafina retires.
ReplyDeleteSeda contributed today and will continue to do so. The final is tomorrow.
DeleteYou obviously didn't see the junior competition or appreciate the work of the other gymnasts on this team. GBR is on the rise and Russia have some work to do. But there is over seven points between them and Romania. Mustafina will leave a legacy and Russia will continue to fight.
Queen Elizath, how big is the change that ksenia will do floor in the team final the fact that she did two type of vaults in qf, would mean that she doesn't have a major injury
DeleteUnknown, we can't assume any of this. Let's wait and see the start lists, out later today.
DeleteAliya's coaches need to pace her properly. She did wonderfully on beam and bars in team qualifying, but still looked tired and shaky in podium training.
ReplyDeleteUsing Seda on floor and beam is already a big gamble, why add the chance of Aliya injuring herself on floor? She hasn't regained full difficulty and her score won't be that much higher, so why not just use a healthy gymnast who'll score in the 13s? The coaches' focus on beating GB is making them short-sighted.
Whoa Aliya scored higher than Spiridonova on Ub , both in difficulty and execution... seeing as the all-rounder can beat the specialist, I'm guessing Spiridonova won't get a placing on the team in Rio?
ReplyDeleteThe final selection for Rio will be made after the Russia Cup in late June and even then there will be scope for changes as the Games don't begin until August. The competition format at the Okympic Games is different. We'll just have to wait and see.
DeleteThis is for people who don't like Seda.
DeleteShe fell on a difficult element that nobody performs like she does. At least she takes some risk.
Mustafina's bars and beam: we have seen these routines for many years. She was soooo overscored... Why criticize gymnasts who try to perform new elements or an original floor choreo?
I think Russia's floor issue is of major concern since 2012 the Russians as a team have been struggling on floor. Sadly I too share the sentiments on Seda she is given opportunities and has yet to seize them she has failed to qualify for any EF's. I think its time the Russian's invest in a sports psychologist its clear they have the talent but there is a deficit in the mental toughness. Good to see Melnikova hitting but she needs some work on refining her skills, which will come with time. Sadly I don't think she has enough time to do this refinement to be an AA medal threat in Rio.
DeleteHello everybody I just can't understand Spiridonova UB e-score : I can't see any error ... Nor Melnikova FX e-score which seems very low (Except her last tumbling, she hits everything ?) ... Anybody could enlight me ?
ReplyDeleteThat's the right angle, you can see that Spiridonova bends the elbows to the racks and tears ligament simplifying her ub set https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r87aYb_GQKY About Melka i only can say that she loses a D/e score at her turns, bcz they daungreided them :/
DeleteWhat really hurt Spiridonova was not her E score but her D score. She downgraded by 0.4, god only knows why.
DeleteStart lists for the final are now out. Same as qualis for Russia and, I think, GB. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE GYMNASTS! Udachi, Rossiya! Davai!
ReplyDeleteI hope someone can help me here, but I also don't understand why Melnikova scored so low on floor. Other than her last tumble, she didn't have any major mistakes. Is she not getting credit for her leaps? and for her spins? Her spins look complete to me. Her leaps lack amplitude.
ReplyDeleteShe's losing credit for the turns for sure and I don't think her first leap is being credited as a 3/2 split. She def lost the double turn coming out of the triple wolf, and the double Y turn wasn't fully around. She hides her mistakes quite well but they're still noticeable if you pay careful attention. The latter was worse because she already has a single Y earlier in the routine which was already counted once. Plus she had a 0.3 neutral deduction for going OOB. Without the deduction, she would've scored about 13.8 with a 5.8D when her max D is about 6.2. With the max D, she would've scored about 14.2. I'd say her scoring potential would typically be around the 13.9-14.3 range.
DeleteMany thanks. Your explanation makes a lot of sense. I didn't think about the Y turn.
DeleteI'm very worried for the Russian women. Great Britain qualified higher than them (=_=)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Russians won! Thank goodness! I could not stand British women's type of gymnastics. People always complains about American gymnast but at least they have more grace and virtuosity than the British. BTW SEDA FELL AGAIN. NO WAY SHE SHOULD BE SENT TO RIO. Kapitonova is more reliable and prettier to watch anyway.
ReplyDelete