Angelina Melnikova will be the first Russian WAG to compete internationally since the IOC ban in 2022 when she appears at the World Challenge Cup in Paris on September 13 and 14 this year. Travelling with her will be coach Konstantin Pluzhnikov and judge Elena Redyanova. Angelina says she will compete AA with a relatively simple programme. I’m glad Angelina is making this start for Russia. It’s a real tribute to this young woman that she is trusted with the first effort at coming back after such a long time, and I hope people welcome her back warmly. Angelina will be competing as a neutral athlete, of course. She was awarded this status after a fair and rigorous process of evaluation by the FIG. Here is what Angelina said today to Match TV: Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Angelina Melnikova told Match TV how she reacted to being admitted to the FIG World Challenge Cup tournament in France. ❓What emotions did you experience from the fact that you w...
Reporting and analysing Russian gymnastics since 2010. Includes original and exclusive interviews with leading coaches and gymnasts, and historical issues dating back to the Soviet Union. The first blog to report extensively on the sport using Russian language sources.