Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

2012 Olympic silver medallist, and multiple European medal winner in her native city of Moscow in 2013, Nastia Grishina, has retired, confirms head coach Valentina Rodionenko in an interview with Albert Starodubtsev of Tass. 20 year old Grishina, a beautiful beam and floor worker who was once considered to have significant all around potential at world level, married recently.  She has been studying journalism at a Moscow University. Rodionenko wasted no time in ascribing Grishina's waning as an international star to her changing coaching arrangements since the Olympics.  Regular readers of this blog will know that Sergei Zelikson, whose tenure as Grishina's personal coach was terminated suddenly in 2012, was recently re-appointed to the national WAG team as tumbling coach.  'The leaders of the Moscow Gymnastics Federation made a fatal mistake a few years ago, when they decided to transfer Grishina to a different coach', said Rodionenko.  'You couldn't take Gris...

Valentina Rodionenko has confirmed that Mustafina is back in training.  Tass This year the Ministry of Sport has published the full lists of gymnasts training with the national team - youth, junior, senior reserve and senior.  You can find the full lists, including the coaches, in Russian language here , and there is a transcription of the gymnasts' names in English at JAS's blog, Videos of Russian Gymnasts . As usual, you will find that there is a little delay before the lists catch up with the reality.  For example, Maria Bondareva's name still appears on the listing for the senior reserve team, but sadly, she announced her retirement for medical reasons some months ago.  The senior lists otherwise include all those in training for the Olympics.  You can read what I think of the early announcements of the Olympic teams here .  The full Olympic teams will include only five gymnasts, so competition for places will be fierce and, no doubt, health wil...

Tatiana Nabiyeva celebrates her golden week in Penza Tatiana Nabiyeva shone this week in the Russia Cup, taking five of the six available gold medals (all around, team, vault, uneven bars and beam; she withdrew from the floor competition for which she had qualified), thereby establishing herself as the current spiritual leader of Russia's gymnastics team.  This is a dramatic turn around for the 18 year old from St Petersburg.  Before this summer's Universiade, Nabiyeva's last all around competition of any note had been the 2010 World Championships, where she finished in seventh place.  Since then, she has battled chronic back pain, a significant growth spurt and a drubbing from Russia's head coach Valentina Rodionenko for what she called her 'obesity', sitting out last year's Olympics as reserve before digging herself out of a rather doubtful place in Russian gymnastics' history to a hopeful position as we approach the 2013 World Championships. As a...