Maria enjoys a quiet moment at the Banquet following last week's European Championships. Courtesy RGF European Beam Champion Maria Kharenkova has been congratulated on her gold medal by officials from the Rostov region of the Russian Ministry of Sport. 'I must say that the victory of our athletes confirmed the validity of the creation of the Rostov regional gymnastic training centre', said Yuri Balakhnin, head of the regional Ministry of Sports. 'We've got a strong tradition and a wonderful coaching school. I remember that at the Olympic Games of 2012 in London our rhythmic gymnast Ulyana Donskova won gold. Now Maria Kharenkova has made a serious step to get onto the Olympic team.' (Source: http://championat-rostov.ru/news/view/1657/). Rostov's pedigree is indeed rich : Maria is the latest in a long tradition of fine gymnasts and coaches from the region. Her coach, Olga Sagina, also counts 2012 European team silver medallist Anastasia Sidorova a...
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.