Nagorny on US treasury sanctions list

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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...

WAG Senior start lists are out - Afan does one, Mustafina three

Start lists are now available for tomorrow's senior team and event quals. At present, the Russian roster looks like this - Beam - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Mustafina Floor - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Mustafina Vault - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Afanasyeva Bars - Melnikova, Spiridonova, Mustafina Things can still change, dear reader, but this is the most reliable official news we have. It will be good to see all five members of the team compete - I am relieved that Mustafina isn't doing all four but worried for her legs on floor; delighted to see Melnikova and Tutkhalyan making such a strong contribution; and pleased that Afanasyeva is having a chance to try out her training, despite what might be a small injury. Spiridonova is also looking good for bars, in fact to me she is underused here. Good luck! Udachi! To all the team. We are very excited to see you compete and do well! The start lists can be found here - http:/...

The State of the Art - Gymnastics in 2013

Just picked up Peter Aykroyd's 1987 book International Gymnastics: Sport Art or Science?. Seeing it reminded me that gymnastics is in a constant state of flux and change; its identity has been subject to debate and conflict since the earliest days of competitive gymnastics, well before it existed in the form we recognise today. I want to try to talk about the state of the sport today, how it compares to past models, how it arrived at this point, and what are the questions arising. I make no apologies for publishing the picture comparisons on this page, which were created by Lifje. Some have seemed to find them rather challenging in the past, but they are not airbrushed or altered in any way. Yes, the pictures are purpose selected for the sake of comparison, but they express a truth about the direction the sport has taken over the past few years. They are not so much about Russia versus America as artistry versus athletics. I do not pretend...

Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

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