Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

World and European champion gymnast Elena Eremina, 16. Elena, and her team mates Lilia Akhaimova, Valeria Saifuluna and Tatiana Nabiyeva, all hail from St Petersburg where they train together under the same roof with world class coaches such as Alexander and Vera Kiryashov. Their predecessors include Olympic champions such as Elena Shushunova, Elena Davydova and Alexander Detyatin Now, it seems, the club is experiencing some problems - their facilities at a 'new' gym are very poor - no pit, they are landing on concrete floors, the apparatus are old, and there isn't enough space for a busy gym with lots of children.   The big problem is that the local St Petersburg admin refuses to help with the refurbishment of the gym.  So Elena, via her Instagram account, is asking us to post and repost her message explaining the situation.   This is a recurring theme in Russia at the moment as we take on board the surprising decision to close the gym in Leninsk-Kuznetsk.  I hope that Ele

Moscow's Sambo club, a multi sports complex with a strong gymnastics history, is currently being demolished and rebuilt with new, improved facilities.  This is not the only example of ongoing sports development in Moscow as the new Dynamo complex, sponsored by VTB, approaches readiness.   Sambo has produced many world and Olympic champions, i ncluding Maria Paseka, Seda Tutkhalyan Alla Sosnitskaya and Elena Zamolodchikova. I  remember a time when Zamolidchikova could only practice her vault with full run up by beginning it in the corridor beyond the main gym, so this development has to be positive!   The club is also home to Greco-Roman wrestlers, with Seda's father, Gurgen Tutkhalyan, as a coach. Renat Layshev, who is an MP in the local Moscow Duma , and Director General of  the sports club, posted these pictures on his Instagram account. Ooo - I almost forgot to mention - figure skaters Evgeniya Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova also compete for the Sambo club!  See them fight for

Valery Liukin has resigned and the vultures are after his entrails.  But is blame the answer?    We have all been mesmerized by medals.  We are all involved in the unhealthy culture of sacrificing young women in the pursuit of extraordinary achievement. Nassar and Karolyi could not have existed without our interest.  We have long known of the inhumanity inherent in elite sport.  Is it really our place to condemn those who fed our fascination for so long?   Liukin has done the honest thing and resigned.  In the past he has apologized for any wrongdoing and seemed prepared to make changes.   He is right when he says we are all looking for someone to blame.  Emotions are running high.  I do not for one moment believe that Liukin is guilty of anything worse than unwise, misplaced, thoughtless words.  He is guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  But no crime has been committed and there are many who have far more difficult questions to answer. Well now a new head coach can b

In my gymnastics collection that is still gathering dust in my spare room, I have a few copies of a publication called 'Flying Squirrels', produced by a freelance journalist called Keith McCaffety.   This photocopied 'All American Gymnastics Newsletter' was kindly sent to me by friends in America; I never subscribed to the publication directly. The February 1992 edition included a story about international gymnast Erika Stokes and her experiences in elite gymnastics, including a short section on her life at the Karolyi Ranch.  I seem to remember many more similar stories with details of how the gymnasts were treated there.  Remember, the Karolyis defected to the USA from Romania in 1981.  By 1984 they had made an Olympic Champion of Mary Lou Retton, and by the end of 1991 they had their first World All Around Champion, Kim Zmeskal.  The article about Erika was published in February 1992. The same edition records a threat of legal action from the USA Gymnastics Feder

The major centre of gymnastics in Kemerovo Oblast, Siberia - the Mametyev School of Gymnastics in Leninsk - is to close in July 2018, reports the RGF. No announcement has been made in the Club's own website and the reasons for the closure are unclear.  National team members, Anastasia Ilyankova and Nikita Ignatyev, train at the Club and have their families and homes in the district. Leninsk's greatest hero, Maria Filatova, had recently returned home to Leninsk after a long struggle to secure her Russian passport.  Filatova, who owns and runs a Gymnastics club in Rochester, New York, is much loved wherever she goes and was a trailblazer of difficult and artistic gymnastics during her competitive years.  She has always been loyal to her hometown, creating distinctive choreography for 1992 CIS and Russia team member Tatiana Ignatova.  There is a 2016 documentary about her emotional return to Russia on  Youtube . Other gymnasts who have trained at the Club include Valentin Mogilnyi