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...
She deserves a break or retirement. This is the perfect time. End on a high point. What a great gymnast. One of the greats.
ReplyDeletean interview from Aliya’s coach that says she will be taking 2 years break after Rio and then start preparing for Tokyo
ReplyDeleteShe should retire on a high! Again, she is the only Russian gymnast who brought Russia's beautiful anthem to be played, and prevented the US from sweeping all gold medals. Valentina should build her a statute in Round Lake.
ReplyDeleteShe deserves a break, but I hope to see her back soon. She doesn't strike me as the type of gymnast to stay away too long :)
ReplyDeleteThere's something nice about having the complete set of medals and she's done it in two olympics! So happy for her. Her determination and grit is inspiring. She definitely deserves a break, but of course I would love to see her continue.
ReplyDeleteNow the Americans are saying Madison should have won gold. *roll eyes*
ReplyDeleteWhen Madison stuck the landing on the dismount I really thought the judges would give it to her despite the few less then perfect handstands. I'm so glad I was wrong because despite the small step on the dismount Aliya was much cleaner. Madison's bar work looks so much more frantic and rushed compare to Aliya's
DeleteThey really haven't been though (aside from Shawn Johnson on twitter, who is getting yelled at by the majority of people for it lol). The US commentators quite fairly pointed out where Madison's deductions were on the broadcast. Anyway, people will always have opinions when a result is close, don't take it personally. I'm just happy both women gave us a great battle, and a well-deserved win for Aliya.
DeleteIt's a shame Daria didn't do well as she could have won bronze, but I also liked the routine from the German gymnast Scheder, and it's always good for the sport when we see diversity in the medal winners, as is often the case with the men's events.
I agree that the commentators fairly judged the bars final. When I watched it live on streaming website, the commentators correctly pointed out Madison's errors and said that with Aliya's 6.9 difficulty they predicted Madison would be just below her and she was. The streaming coverage had two American gymnasts (Jonathan Horton and Courtney Kupets). When I watched the prime-time telecast on tv, Tim Daggett and Natia Liukin also noted Madison missed a couple of handstands and were fine with her placement as 2nd.
DeleteWhichever Americans are saying Madison should have won, were at least not the Americans who commentated on the broadcast.
Todd
Yes, I think it is mostly American four year fans that were upset by the placement. Even those who are die hards for the Americans, but watch the sport yearly were saying the judges ranked correctly. Some even stated that they were surprised Kocian's e-score was higher than Mustafina. Anyways, I am happy that Aliya successfully defended her title. I think it's special that she is actually one of only about hand-full of women to successfully defend their title at the Olympics.
DeleteThose of us who follow, know that Mustafina put up the better performance. It was exceptionally close and to the e4y fan, I think they saw basically identical sets with one who stuck a landing and one who hopped. It was a fantastic final, and my favorite this time. The fight for gold and silver was truly great. They both executed difficult routines beautifully, and I truly enjoyed the battle between the Germans for bronze.
DeleteSo impressed with Mustafina! She was really magnificent! To see her come back 4 years after London and almost replicate her success there, and after so many injuries, I find very inspiring! I really like seeing the adult/matured gymnasts like Mustafina, Raisman, and Douglas.
ReplyDeleteNew and big video interview from RT TV with Aliya Mustafina from yesterday in russian house (ROC) in Rio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZ3pAKQOdk P.S. She says in the end that Rio Olympics has not been the last in her career ! :P Also Aliya is such beautiful, true Queen!God save the Queen!
ReplyDeleteAll hail Aliya Mustafina!
ReplyDelete