Thanks to M for providing the link to this excellent Sports Express interview by Elena Vaitsekhovskaya. Lupita here translates - enjoy! Alexander Alexandrov and Aliya Mustafina in training shortly before the Games began. Courtesy of the RGF In interviews that were aired before the Olympics, the Russian head coach - Valentina Rodionenko- often mentioned that Aliya Mustafina was not the same gymnast she had been in Rotterdam. That she hadn’t recovered completely after her injury. That she had started to fear competing and complex elements. In London she could win bronze on bars: this would be the limit of her dreams. Yet, Mustafina came back as a heroine. She rescued the whole team; she competed on all four events, although she had only expected to compete on two in the team final. After the team’s silver, she won bronze in the AA, gold in bars and another bronze in floor. No other gymnast was able to win such an amount of medals... * * * ...
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.