Skip to main content

Melnikova and Belyavski look forward


Metaratings.ru has published some great quotes from the two champions.  Belyavski won’t compete in Jakarta but still has interesting aims and ambitions.


David Belyavski : ‘Retirement? I'm still 33. In modern Russian history, not a single gymnast has won a medal at a national championship after age 30. I continue to do so every year. We'll see how long I can last. But my main motivation is my daughter, to whom I'm proving by my own example that if you truly and sincerely love what you do, it will always reciprocate. I'll strive to ensure that she and all the fans see me compete again. 


Has the level of competition been maintained? The level has dropped in the all-around. It will be tough for the guys at the World Championships. The level has improved in some events, and dropped in others. But the team is working hard, so I'm confident that the best is yet to come," Belyavsky said.’


Angelina Melnikova


My form is good, but not the best. A long period away from international competitions has had an impact on both my physical and mental fitness. However, I'm confident that my current form will allow me to compete and perform my routines well, both in terms of difficulty and execution.


"How can I avoid a fall like I did at the Russian Championships? It's a sport, and there are many factors that can cause an athlete to make a mistake. In preparation for the World Championships, I'll be paying extra attention to the balance beam, and I hope everything goes well in Indonesia," Melnikova told Metaratings.ru.’

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Who really won the WAG All Around?

You will find a link to the FIG's newly published book of results at the Olympic Games here .  This year, they have broken down the judge's execution scores so you can see exactly how each judge evaluated the gymnasts' performances.  It makes for interesting reading - if only I had more time to analyse each judge's marking.  A skim reading already highlights multiple inconsistencies in individual judges' marks and makes you wonder why they bother with the jury at all. I have taken the time to look at the reference judges' scores for the top four in the women's all around.  The FIG explains here what their role is, and how they are selected.  I even used my calculator, which is a risky thing in my hands.  My, how I wish we could have seen a similar document for the Tokyo World Championships. I wonder if anyone can explain how, if the FIG's Code of Points is so objective and fair, it is possible to come up with two different results using two differ...

Simone and the others - results and reflections

In the end, it was as predicted : Simone and the others, with Simone's teammate, Alexandra Raisman, providing the back up.  I do not need to point out that, by definition, the Americans are scoring significantly higher marks than the rest of the field.  Congratulations to them! Aliya Mustafina finished in third place.  The 2012 bronze medalist led the competition after vault and uneven bars, but had a very nervous outing on beam that might have taken a less experienced gymnast out of the medals.  A bravura performance on floor brought Aliya back though to confirm her third place all around.  From her senior debut in 2010 to today, Mustafina has continuously set high standards of grace.    It is the first time since 2000 that a gymnast (Amanar) has medalled in the all around at two consecutive Olympics, and  if Aliya can medal on Saturday's uneven bars final, she will once again be Russia's biggest medal winner of the women's gymnastics.  Russ...

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...

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more