Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

With Evgeny Grebyonkin, Aliya's bars coach since childhood.  Aliya's personal coach, Sergei Starkin credits Grebyonkin with Aliya's continuing gold medal potential on the apparatus. President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, has been in the audience at the gymnastics and presented the gymnasts with their medals.   The beautiful face and unmatchable gymnastics of a unique, charismatic champion.  Is it goodbye ... or au revoir?

At 4 o'clock this morning BST, the IOC Executive Board made an announcement to the effect that three individuals appointed by them will have a final say on which Russian athletes can compete at the Rio Olympic Games. 'Participation of Russian athletes in Rio The EB decided to delegate the final decision on the acceptance of entries of Russian athletes to a Review Panel composed of three IOC Executive Board Members: Uğur Erdener, Claudia Bokel and Juan Antonio Samaranch.  The Review Panel is due to make a final decision in the coming days.' RRG's take on this This latest, very last minute twist in the controversy surrounding Russia's participation in the Games, suggests that the IOC has a degree of concern over the likely consistency of decisions taken by the sports' governing bodies to whom they delegated decision making only a few days ago.   It is difficult to see how an appointed panel of three individuals will have time to consider the data pres...

. Video interview with Valentina Rodionenko and Nikolai Kuksenkov Translation by Liubov Baladzhaeva Interview took place before the IOC decision to allow clean Russian athletes to participate in the Games, but after the publication of the McLaren report and WADA's recommendation of a blanket ban. Valentina Rodionenko: right now the gymnasts are training with even more motivation, despite the doping scandal, and they really want to go to Rio. If they’re banned, four years of training would be for nothing. Four years of their life were spent on preparation and they didn’t do anything else.  But we’re going to fight, because Russian people only get stronger facing hardship.   Meldonium isn’t a performance enhancing drug, it’s used for recovery only, it shouldn’t even be considered doping and banned. No one really tested if it enhances performance, but it got banned nevertheless. There are changes on the doping list all the time, you blink and another substance gets banned...

Natalia, seen left here in this personal picture with team mates Angelina Melnikova and Maria Paseka, is a relative newcomer to the senior national team, but not its youngest member - having turned 16 in May (Angelina only celebrated her 16th birthday a few days ago).  She is Russian Cup champion on the uneven bars - and strong enough in the all around to provide a good back up, as first reserve, if back up is needed. The famous gym club in Penza - home to 2014 World floor champion Denis Ablyazin - is where Natalia has trained since childhood under the direction of the Starkin family - who also direct the training of Russian team captain, Aliya Mustafina.   Despite her relative lack of experience internationally, Natalia has shown herself to be a steady and optimistic team mate.   The flight to Brazil - over 12 hours - was the longest of her life.  At first she slept, but she also read, watched movies and listened to music.  She says that the team weren't too wo...

In an interview with sports analyst Alexei Zubakov, Russia's head coach Valentina Rodionenko has commented on the state of WAG Gymnastics at the Rio Olympics, following on from yesterday's qualifying event.   'We are very sorry ... for four decades one of Russia's main opponents was the Romanian national team.  Brazil will miss the Romanian style of gymnastics.  Undoubtedly, the absence of their leader, Larissa Iordache, affected the team's performance. ... In the team competition USA and Russia will compete for first place, and for third - China and the UK.  The remaining teams at the moment are a long way behind the strongest four. ...There is a clear favourite in the men's competition, Japan.  Also competing for medals will be China, UK, USA, Brazil and Germany.  Russia will also be competing for a team medal. http://vpsfund.org/115-6/