Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Such a lot is said about artistry these days - but you don't really see much evidence of it in the gymnastics.   There are flashing moments of brilliance that some people enjoy - for example, a gymnast like Brazil's Flavia Saraiva is a favourite for her spirited and expressive floor and beam.  Others might prefer the structured work of a gymnast like Kyla Ross.  For me, though, the idea of consummate artistry has been lost almost totally - the last time I saw anything like it was in 2012 when Komova performed her floor so brilliantly in the all around final.  But without a mechanism to reward artistry - something that is absent from this Code of Points - there really isn't much point even trying any more. Aliya Mustafina was interviewed recently while on holiday in Italy and expressed the opinion that artistry was something that was inborn, rather than trained.  She uses a metaphor to describe this - some gymnasts have five gears, not four, and the abilit...

Daria Skrypnik became the standout individual gymnast today at the European Youth Olympics, taking a medal in every event - gold in team, all around and bars, bronze on beam and silver on vault and floor.  In fact the Russian girls did very well, with every single gymnast earning a medal besides her team gold - Eremina a bronze on vault, and Ilyankova bronze in the all around and bars.  An emerging team in this competition were Belgium and in particular rising star Axelle Klinckaert, who won both golds on this final day, on beam and floor, as well as the silver in the all around (very close - tie break with Skrypnik). In the men's event, I think it is fair to say that Britain had the upper hand, taking the team gold.  Their leader was Joe Fraser who won the AA and parallel bars gold.  Hamish Carter took silver on floor behind team mate Gianni Regini-Moran.  It was quite a surprise, given his team's record on the piece, when Russia's elegant Alexander Sychugov wo...

The winning team on Saturday night: National Junior team coaches Olga Bulgakova and Artem Voinov with Angelina Melnikova, Daria Skrypnik, Anastasia Ilyankova, and Ekaterina Sokova.  Picture courtesy of Sportivnaya Gymnastika on VK.com Event final results are now available at http://internationalgymnix.ca/fr/resultats/resultats-2014/dimanche-9-mars-2014/ and can also be seen below, with the help of a good magnifying glass. Congratulations to all the girls, who competed so well and will have learned a lot from their experiences.  It is so good to see that the team managed to medal in every single competition.

A member of Russia's junior team warms up, under the watchful eye of former Russian national, 2010 World team champion Ksenia Semyonova who is judging at this competition.  Thanks to Gymnix's Facebook page for the picture. The popular Gymnix International competition takes place this weekend, and Russia has sent four of its most promising juniors to experience overseas competition.  Some of the gymnasts have been competing in regional competitions in Russia recently, and the results are gradually becoming available at the excellent Videos of Russian Gymnastics blog  http://russiangymnastvideos.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/2014-russian-federal-okrug-championships.html Videos of some of the junior routines from these Russian regional competitions, including those of Russian gymnasts slated to compete at Gymnix, can be found on this YouTube channel  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QXYvURQMTE8 Here is a copy of the participants list for the junior competition which can also be fo...