The final composition of the teams for the BRICS Games (12-23 June, Kazan) will be made at the training camp at Round Lake that began 23 May, says Valentina Rodionenko. Already selected are Angelina Melnikova, Sergei Naidin and Daniel Marinov. Belyavski, Nagorny and Dalaloyan will be at the training camp. Denis Ablyazin injured his knee at Russian Championships and is unable to compete at present. Viktoria Listunova is not expected to compete. She still has back pain and doctors have advised only light training for the time being. Vlada Urazova is also out with an injury.
Gymnastics has lost some of its appeal over the past few years, whilst Russian athletes have been out of competition. This might be an unpopular opinion, but it reflects the reality of international gymnastics without around a quarter of its leading protagonists. The international competitive field has not raised its performance in the absence of Russia's leadership; gymnasts from the top ten or fifteen have floated upwards in the ranks to fill gaps in the medal placements, and we see mediocre performances gaining gold, silver and bronze medals. Gymnastics has lost some of its imagination and vision without Russian athletes. This doesn't detract from the efforts of the world's best gymnasts. Gymnastics quite simply needs the special abilities of Russian athletes to provide competition for our international contenders and drive the sport to ever greater things. In particular, artistry has been almost entirely lost without Russian athletes to provide a good e...
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