Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Alexander Alexandrov, courtesy of Sports Express Alexander Alexandrov is not the first coach to leave Russia, and will not be the last.  Not too long ago, it was confirmed that over 320 coaches had already left the country to work overseas. There has been a subtle changing of the guard in Russian gymnastics coaching as a new generation of coaches has stepped up to replace the former Svengalis who shaped the sport during the 70s, 80s and much of the 90s. Take a look at the list of coaches on the RGF website.  Very few of the 'old guard' Soviet Russian coaches survive.  Chief coach Andrei Rodionenko is one of remaining few, but his personal style has always been cool, managerial, and rather distant, somewhat atypical of his peers.  The new generation of coaches are generally set in his image.  We are saying a long goodbye to the charismatic paternalism, the sartorial individualism of the Soviet personal coaches.  In its place we have the cool profe...

It's worth gaining access to a hard or digital copy of this month's (January/February) International Gymnast magazine to read John Crumlish's interview with Mustafina and Alexandrov. Crumlish highlights how Alexandrov and Mustafina have built a strong working relationship in the two years they have been together, with Alexandrov likening aspects of Aliya's personality to his former protege, 1983 and 1987 World Champion Dmitri Bilozerchev. He also comments on how Mustafina's father, an Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling [note: I believe he still coaches the sport] has been figural in her development as a competitor. He attributes the Russian team's recent success to the influx of talented newcomers onto the team and the increased levels of difficulty they bring. He also values the rejuvenation and refocussing of the coaching team. Looking forward, but echoing a similar interview International Gymnast published with Leonid Arkaev back in 1988 or 19...