Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Clockwise from top left : Afanasyeva, Komova, Paseka, Mustafina and Grishina grace the Olympic rings The sun is shining in London ... our team have arrived and are settling in at the Olympic village.  The event has almost begin, and with Gymnastics Examiner's Blythe Lawrence promising quick hits from podium training, it won't be long before speculation reaches new heights.  How we engage in this speculation is largely a personal matter.  The All Around has recently published an impressive table of statistics which allows for an entirely scientific, reasonable projection of the USA as the women team title's most likely winners.  I wouldn't dispute this on the basis of the evidence presented, but I would add that there are arguments against using science to predict anything, particularly in a sport such as gymnastics.  What would be the point of having a competition if we knew in advance what would happen?   Russian national champion Aliya Mustafina agre...