Aliya shows off the team#s patriotic manicure! Picture courtesy of the RGF Veronika has kindly translated two TV interviews with the Russian WAG team in Baku. At the moment, the videos aren't available in the UK as they have been geoblocked, but I have provided the links below. Now read on ... Interview with Dmitry Zanin (correspondent). A couple of years ago an interview with Aliya was a difficult test for a journalist, but now everything is quite different. - So was your job simply to win and nothing else? Or just to compete with all your strength and show everything that you can do? Aliya - Not at all, you can't set a target to win or to take first place - the task was the same for everyone. We had to compete our programmes, perform well enough and then the result will follow. - How is your health, how much of your programme is ready, do you have pain? Vika - No trouble or pain, I am about 70% ready. It is hard to compete...
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.