Skip to main content

Bronze - worth its weight in gold for David Belyavski

By

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
Labels:

Comments

  1. Russiafan17 August 2016 at 18:28

    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. Queen Elizabeth17 August 2016 at 19:04

      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. Russiafan19 August 2016 at 01:32

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

      Delete
  2. Mary18 August 2016 at 03:27

    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. Queen Elizabeth18 August 2016 at 05:20

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

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who really won the WAG All Around?

By
You will find a link to the FIG's newly published book of results at the Olympic Games here .  This year, they have broken down the judge's execution scores so you can see exactly how each judge evaluated the gymnasts' performances.  It makes for interesting reading - if only I had more time to analyse each judge's marking.  A skim reading already highlights multiple inconsistencies in individual judges' marks and makes you wonder why they bother with the jury at all. I have taken the time to look at the reference judges' scores for the top four in the women's all around.  The FIG explains here what their role is, and how they are selected.  I even used my calculator, which is a risky thing in my hands.  My, how I wish we could have seen a similar document for the Tokyo World Championships. I wonder if anyone can explain how, if the FIG's Code of Points is so objective and fair, it is possible to come up with two different results using two differ...
70 comments
Read more

UPDATE 23/9 - Russian WAG team for Nanning confirmed

By
Daria Spiridonova will compete at her first World Championships this autumn.  Picture : RGF Natalia Kalugina has confirmed the Russian team for Nanning : Aliya Mustafina, Maria Kharenkova, Tatiana Nabieva,Ekaterina Kramarenko, Alla Sosnitskaya, Daria Spiridonova.  Reserve : Polina Fyodorova Here is a paraphrased translation of a comment by Natalia Kalugina on her Facebook page : 'Aliya has confidence in competition and she is, kind of, a coach to this team.  In Europe she succeeded in this role and she has told the coaches that she even liked it. The main fighting force will be Kharenkova, Sosnitskaya and Spiridonova.  Accordingly, the strongest apparatus will be beam (Marina Bulashenko With God!).  The Chinese women, of course, have been known to win that apparatus, but if one falls, they all fall.   Alla Sosnitskaya could compete in the vault final, and - in theory - on the floor. On bars, of course, Russia will probably lose to the Chinese women, but the...
57 comments
Read more

No Paseka for Russia in Berne

By
Barely two weeks will elapse before the WAG European Championships begin in Berne, Switzerland, and the news we had been fearing has been confirmed : world vault gold medallist Maria Paseka is  off the Russian team while she nurses a back injury.  This leaves Russia significantly weakened for the coming competition, with co-star Viktoria Komova also missing from the line-up.  It is a little disappointing, but it seems the right decision to rest the gymnasts so that they can be at their best when and where it really matters. Who will replace Paseka?  Valentina Rodionenko says that the youngster Natalia Kapitonova, who trains in Penza, has been chosen on the basis of her solid performances at national championships.  Well, we will have to wait and see - these announcements often turn out to be unreliable.   I personally would prefer to see the dynamic Seda Tutkhalyan be given a chance at this level, but Kapitonova has certainly shown herself to be more reliab...
41 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more