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Dmitri Zanin on Melnikova and the Russian team in Zagreb

Melnikova’s gesture on the podium, the "Slavic face," the coldness of rivals—Zanin captures the details of gymnastics at the Euros. Natalia Maryanchik, sports.ru  Жест Мельниковой на подиуме, slavic face, холод соперниц – детали гимнастики на Евро от Занина - Дальний лес - Блоги Sports.ru The European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb concluded with a triumph for the Russian women, even though Melnikova and Kalmykova only made it to the tournament following intervention by the Foreign Ministry and competed practically straight off the plane. Melnikova and Kalmykova took first and second place in the all-around event. Competing under a neutral status, the Russian women won the team competition. Melnikova also claimed gold in the vault, as well as bronze on the balance beam and in the floor exercise. Match TV commentator Dmitry Zanin, who covered the tournament, recounted that Melnikova was moved to tears during the vault medal ceremony. He described her standing in h...

Alexander Alexandrov in his own words 5: The London Olympics, and beyond

Part 1 Part 4 Russia's gymnasts and coaches celebrate at the London Olympics, 2012.  Courtesy RGF/Elena Mikhailova RRG: In your opinion, did the Russian WAG team fulfill its potential at the London 2012 Olympics?  Were there ways in which the team could have done better?  How was the team spirit - amongst the gymnasts and amongst the coaches? AA:  I have a somewhat double feeling/opinion about this.  In my mind, I believe that we were capable of taking first place.  At qualifications we were losing to the US by 1.5 points.  When finals started, we were a bit behind, but gained some positions compared to the qualifications round.  Unfortuantely, we were not able to hold on and lost by a large margin. Anastasia Grishina: 'scared' and poorly coached in 2012, but great potential for 2013 I don't want to point any fingers, but again our unstoppable Rodionenkos had worked for four years with the coach of Grishina and allowed him to train ...

No Paseka for Russia in Berne

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...

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