The winning team in Montreal! Clockwise from top left : Daria Skrypnik, Anastasia Ilyankova, Angelina Melnikova, Ekaterina Sokova, Ksenia Semyonova Russia's newly blossoming youngsters scored a win in Montreal this weekend by taking the team gold in the International Gymnix Junior Cup, by a narrow margin over hosts Canada. A tightly contested all around saw Angelina Melnikova take silver and Daria Skrypnik take fourth. Canada's Woo Rose-Kaying took the gold medal, and her compatriot Olson Shallon bronze. These are excellent results for such tender flowers in one of their earliest international competitions and I look forward to seeing the girls as they grow and develop their skills. Certainly, they must have the motivation to continue strongly into today's event finals, where at least one gymnast has qualified to every final, and all team members will compete (Vault - Skrypnik, Bars - Melnikova and Skrypnik, Beam - Ilyankova and Sokova, Floor - Skrypnik and...
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.