State of the art gymnastics facilities at the Europa Gym Centre, Crayford I thought it timely to reprint this article, originally published last September 25th, to remember the friendship that exists between Russian and British gymnastics. It is 10.30 on a Saturday night, and Len Arnold OBE is shifting mats with the lads. The 58 year old gymnastics coach and social entrepreneur is Head Coach and manager of the Europa Gym Centre in Crayford, an impressive state of the art training facility that opened in 2012 and which today (7th September) hosted the London Open, a major event in the British gymnastics calendar. This year, the competition acted as a final trial for the British senior men who will travel to Antwerp for the World Championships later this month, and amongst the competition were two youngsters from the historic Nikolai Tolkachev Gymnastics School of the Olympic Reserve, Vladimir, Russia. The Russian boys' presence was more than a mere opp...
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.