Skip to main content

News from Moscow - national teams - Yana Vorona - Elena Gerasimova

By




First of all, the gymnasts are continuing to work on their applications to compete as neutral individuals in FIG competitions.  I know for sure that the applications will include Viktoria Listunova and Angelina Melnikova.

Please bear in mind that Russia still won't be competing as a team.  There will be limits on the numbers of gymnasts they can send to each competition, but I don't know how this will be decided or how the qualifications to Worlds will work.  Or if qualified individual gymnasts will even be allowed to go to the Olympics.  Will the gymnasts take their own personal coaches with them, or will the national coaches accompany them?  It's all a mystery.

The national team rosters for 2025 have been published and not much has changed.

The list of coaches seems almost identical.  Head coaches are still the Rodionenkos, Alfosov remains as head of the men's team and Bulgakova is still looking after the women.  Mustafina has kept her job as head of the junior women's team.  Afanasyeva is still working as a choreographer on beam and floor for the women.  Marina Bulashenko, a beam coach from way back when, is also listed on the senior team.

The men's team has lost some big names.  Nagorny, unsurprisingly, is no longer on the team; I guess he finds his work in the media more interesting at the moment.  Daniil Marinov seems to be the top male gymnast in the main senior team.  Belyavski and Dalaloyan have both been shifted downwards as part of the senior reserve.  My guess is that they lack the motivation to train for competition, without the excitement of a team event. 

Some familiar names that are no longer there include Yana Vorona, who now works in the circus.  Elena Gerasimova has secured a job as a coach at one of the Moscow clubs.  Denis Ablyazin is back in training after his shoulder injury, but isn't good enough yet to appear on the national team.  

A positive aspect of Russia's hopeful participation in world competition will be that old friendships between our countries can be revisited.  Gymnastics has always been such a nice sport, on a personal level.  To a certain extent I think that the IOC got it wrong when they 'cancelled' Russia's participation at the last Olympics; surely sport is a great vehicle for promoting peace and friendship.  But then again, perhaps Putin spoiled all that.  

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nagorny blusters about the return of Russia to international competition

By
Former Olympic and World Champion Nikita Nagorny spoke to TASS on the 23rd December.   Nagorny speaks for himself here, trashing the IOC/FIG ban on Russia’s participation in international competition and suggesting that world sport is running back to Russia with its tail between its legs, desperate for his country’s return to World and Olympic tournaments. Of course, I personally would like to have the Russian teams back - but only after peace has been restored!  I’ll be delighted if Melnikova, Listunova and their like can secure neutral status to compete as individuals, and I do think that the sport will be the brighter for their originality, technique and artistry.  But the world can do without Nagorny’s bullish pretence about the whole situation - which is all very sad and difficult for everyone.   I prefer the RGF’s official, calm and professional approach to Nagorny’s rather charmless blustering.  The fierce confidence that made Nagorny such an exciting gy...
Post a Comment
Read more

Russian gymnasts to apply for neutral status

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more