Nagorny on US treasury sanctions list

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Nelli Kim - 'Russian gymnastics has closed in on itself' - Lupita translates

Lupita has translated this ITAR-TASS interview with Nelli Kim. It's controversial, to say the least. Ed's note : much of the initial response to this interview - both here and in the wider gymternet - has focussed on the detail of Kim's words and especially her comments about Viktoria Komova, and smiling. But I think these have to be taken in context, and not too literally. Don't forget that just a day ago Andrei Rodionenko complained bitterly about the judging in Antwerp, calling Kim's behaviour 'aggressive'. Kim is responding to this here, and to the wider current context of Russian gymnastics. What she is essentially saying to the Russian coach is 'get your own house in order, produce confident, disciplined, well trained gymnasts - stop complaining, do your job, and I will do mine.' She goes about saying this in a somewhat long winded way and says some things along the way that seem contradictory, unfair, inappropriate even for th...

'Mustafina is no longer in pain' - Valentina Rodionenko

Picture of Aliya Mustafina, courtesy of RGF Valentina Rodionenko has provided some updates on the Russian teams and how their preparation for Worlds (Nanning, China, 3 to 12 October) is progressing, via Allsports (http://www.allsportinfo.ru/index.php?id=84328) - The teams are now at camp in Italy, in two small towns close to Milan, by the sea, where the girls travelled on 29th June and the men on 1 July. The athletes aren't only training, they can also relax. - Komova is working out at Round Lake, she didn't go to Italy. We will see how she does at the Russia Cup, which will be held late August in Penza. Tatiana Nabiyeva is looking good in training and the other girls are also working. Ksenia Afanasyeva won't have time to prepare for Worlds, and Anastasia Grishina's participation is also in doubt, we just don't know if she will qualify for the team. We have hopes for Aliya Mustafina. As always, she is our number one. It would be great if there were t...

The sad demise of artistic gymnastics

This picture, of 1985 Soviet World Championships team member Irina Baraksanova, is a symbol of what is now lost to gymnastics as a whole, and Russia in particular. Black and white, the picture was taken at another time when imagery came at a premium, technology was simple and memory and emotion played an important part in documenting sports history. A similar picture taken today might be more colourful and have a sharper focus, but lack the nostalgic significance, the scope to challenge the imagination. For all its lack of precision and technical sophistication, this box brownie snap captures the feeling of a unique moment. Baraksanova, in common with many of her team mates, used floor exercise to tell an enigmatic and gentle story built on line, air and just a little bit of acrobatic magic. The position of the head, the asymmetry of the position, the downcast eyes, all speak to me. She combined grace and power, innovation and tradition to make the ...

Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

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