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, Alexei Tikonkikh, Maxim Devyatovski. Andrei Cherkasov and Igor Pakhomenko.
Photo of Ilyankova in Leninsk, courtesy of the gymnast's personal Instagram accoynt.
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