Skip to main content

Bronze - worth its weight in gold for David Belyavski


David spoke to Russian newspaper Kommersant after his medal-winning performance on uneven bars yesterday.

'I had some health problems, but it's pointless to talk about them right now.  I went out and competed. First of all, the team's silver is far more important than my individual reward.  We had all wanted this medal for our team, and had worked for it for a long time.  


Today - it's a funny feeling to be happy with bronze - for a long time we have wanted an Olympic medal in this apparatus.  I can do the exercise better.


Oleg Verniaiev really gave a convincing performance, he was spot on.  If you can manage your nerves, you will be the winner.  We get on really well with the Ukrainians, they are our friends.  


Now I will take a break, rest up, get married, and then come back. One more Olympic cycle will be enough for me.'

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3065529

Comments

  1. Hello Queen Elizabeth : )

    I am wondering what your final thoughts are for team Russia at the Olympics now that it is over. I am happy for the results. Team silver, AA bronze, vault silver, and bars GOLD! Seda was consistent for the team and hit both her beams.

    The negatives - it is so clear that Aliya carries this team and that they can't win as a team without her. It is unfortunate that she was in better shape last summer than this summer and I am wondering how with all the experts in Russia how they managed to mis-manage her progress (but she still has a GOLD!!!-I can't let it go). Team USA was too dominant with or without the generous scoring, the results would have been the same. It is clear that the Russian can't keep up with the difficulty. They really need to focus on strength training. The US girls are muscular!

    Overall, team Russia did the best they could and won every medal that they could have. The men were fantastic too! I hope that they bring changes to the top management, because it is not working.

    cheers! Russiafan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will write more when I can. On the face of it, Russia did OK. The men have made progress. But honestly, the women hav fallen behind. Where will they be next year, without Aliya? By now the team should have overtaken her and all the old favourites.
      It is not right - Russia is a leader in gymnastics thinking and they shouldn't be trailing the Americans in women's gymnastics. We need a revolutionary thinker with vision. Winning gold as a team should be the goal. This won't happen overnight and it probably won't be total dominance. But a closer fight between Russia and the USA should be possible, and the team needs stronger reserves.
      The Rodionenkos have maintained the programme, but they haven't developed it from its grass roots. They ended up doing exactly what they accused Alexandrov of doing - took Mustafina to one side for special training as she was the only one likely to be a winner. Grebyonkin should take a lot of credit for his work, as should Alfosov for the men.
      I have a lot more to say and will post in the coming weeks.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the reply. I can't wait to read more on your thoughts. This is my favorite website for gymnastics!

      Delete
  2. Just FYI, you said he won on uneven bars. It made me giggle a little and imagine a super tall dude trying to do a pak salto.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad to oblige you with a giggle. Doh... Too much blogging!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Svetlana Boginskaya: I was always a bitch* in gymnastics

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,...

Natalia Yurchenko - an exclusive interview

Natalia wins gold at the World Championships in Budapest, 1983 1983 World Champion Natalia Yurchenko speaks directly to readers of RRG in this exclusive interview.    Early years: In the summer of 1976, at the age of 11, I was accepted to a sports boarding school in Rostov-on-Don. I remember it was a 4-level building with the cafeteria on the first floor, academic classrooms on the second floor, rooms for girls on the third floor and rooms for boys on the fourth floor. There was one TV on the ground floor and the kids who stayed at school over the summer (about 20-30 kids), were able to watch the Olympics. Nadia Comaneciā€™s outstanding performance made us feel jealous because usually the Soviets were the unbeatable favorites. We did feel some relief with amazing performances from Nellie Kim and Ludmilla Tourischeva. Besides Ludmilla, there was a gymnast from Rostov-on-Don, Svetlana Grozdova! And, we were really thrilled to see the very little and cute Maria Fi...

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more