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...

Isa Alexandrova has kindly translated Alexander's interview word for word.  It gives a  different emphasis in some places to my summary, and adds some more information, so I wanted readers to have access to this right away.  With many thanks to Isa. 1) Alexander didn't quite imply that he is ready to come back to Russia by the end of this year if there is an offer. He said that "it is still hurtful for me to think the way I was treated in 2012. However, enough time had passed, that I was able to better analyze the situation, and I understand that perhaps I did some things not the best way. At that time, I was working for the "final result" and did not pay attention to much else. Mutko and I had a conversation before I left, where he let me know that he didn't want me to leave. Now, the only way I could talk about my coming back is when and if he calls me. I am not going to invite myself back. I am ready to come back to Russia if I am wanted, but I do...