Does Ukraine have a future in men's gymnastics, or will its athletes move overseas to pursue their talents? Oleg Stepko's personal photograph as he prepared to travel to Baku Many of the stories to be found on this blog are about a relatively unspoken fact of life of the sport - the migration of gymnasts, coaches and officials from their home countries overseas. While we discuss the personalities, we do not consider the phenomenon of migration and its influence on the sport particularly deeply. This is a little surprising, as migration has shaped the sport significantly since 1991. In particular, coaches from Russia and the states of the former Soviet Union - and their families - have figured as the main protagonists in the worldwide development of the sport. In America, the phenomenon began earlier - during the 1980s - as Romanian head coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi defected to the States, and went on to build the nascent characteristics of Amer...
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. I read, I argue, and I have opinions. Be warned.