Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

It had somehow escaped my attention that yesterday was the birthday of two Olympic Champions from Moscow, 1980 - Alexander Detiatin and Elena Davydova.  Happy Birthday to both of these amazing gymnasts! Alexander Detiatin had competed at the Olympics in Montreal in 1976 as part of the Soviet Union's plan to begin to challenge the unbeatable Japanese team.  National coach Leonid Arkayev had faith in him as one of a new generation of ambitious young men, and his plans first came to fruition with a gold in the team event in the 1979 World Championships, the USSR's first since 1958.  Detiatin also made his mark, taking first in the all around competition.  His victory here asserted his leadership of the Soviet team, an incredible feat considering his team mates included such legends as Nikolai Andrianov and Alexander Tkachev.   Then in 1980, he became an international legend when he won the Olympic all around title. Like Detiatin, Elena Davydova was one ...

I love all of those Soviet era sports documentaries - the moodiness of the black and white photography, the silences, the variations in tone, in light and shade, the mystery of it all.   There haven't been many films to match them since the end of the Soviet era, and I think this latest video short, authored by Denis Mahafrov, is probably the nearest modern-day equivalent.  Do take some time to view it on Youtube if you can - find the link at the bottom of the page. Roman Lebedev, 'Romka', is a junior gymnast who trains in one of the SDYUSHOR sports schools in St Petersburg.  This short (12 minute) documentary shows him both in training and in his everyday life.  He hasn't yet made the Russian youth team - I don't know if he is even old enough to be considered - but he is an astonishingly serious and hard-working young man whose home is decorated with the many cups, medals and diplomas he has earned during his life so far.   There are interviews with his mother,...