Skip to main content

Rodionenko : Mustafina is in optimal form, but not at her maximum

The Russian Gymnastics Federation has a translation of a short Allsport interview with national team coach Andrei Rodionenko, all about Russian Championships so far, the condition of Mustafina and other team members :

The Russian Senior and Junior Championships in Artistic Gymnastics are under way in Penza. 2010 World All-Around Champion Aliya Mustafina became the 2012 Russia All-Around Champion with a score of 59.533 across the discipline's four events (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise). Kseniya Afanasyeva won the silver medal (58.387) and Anastasia Grishina won the bronze (57.699).

Combined men's and women's national gymnastics teams Andrey Rodionenko shared comments on the results with AllSport.

"All the main results are on the score board", Rodionenko said smiling, "Mustafina is first, Afanasyeva is second and Grishina is third. It's all very clear and easy to understand."

— Has Aliya Mustafina completely recovered from her injury?

Well, to a certain extent. Not completely, but significantly. Aliya has made a very big and very positive step forwards. But she is still not doing the routines she used to win in at the 2010 world championships. You could say that Mustafina is in optimal form, but not at her maximum.

— What about the other girls?

The same for them. The gymnasts are in the shape they should be in according to plan and in terms of routines and in terms of readiness.

— Why didn't 2011 World Champion Viktoria Komova compete here?

Viktoria has an individual plan. We did not envision her competing at this competition. She is recovering and treating all her little pains and so she will begin competing a bit later. Komova's main meet will be the Russian Cup in June. All our athletes have individual training plans; that is the only way we can prepare a competitive, fighting team.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

WAG Senior start lists are out - Afan does one, Mustafina three

Start lists are now available for tomorrow's senior team and event quals.  At present, the Russian roster  looks like this - Beam - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Mustafina Floor - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Mustafina  Vault - Melnikova, Tutkhalyan, Afanasyeva  Bars - Melnikova, Spiridonova, Mustafina  Things can still change, dear reader, but this is the most reliable official news we have.    It will be good to see all five members of the team compete - I am relieved that Mustafina isn't doing all four but worried for her legs on floor; delighted to see Melnikova and Tutkhalyan making such a strong contribution; and pleased that Afanasyeva is having a chance to try out her training, despite what might be a small injury.  Spiridonova is also looking good for bars, in fact to me she is underused here.   Good luck!  Udachi!  To all the team.  We are very excited to see you compete and do well! The start lists can be found here - http:/...

No Paseka for Russia in Berne

Barely two weeks will elapse before the WAG European Championships begin in Berne, Switzerland, and the news we had been fearing has been confirmed : world vault gold medallist Maria Paseka is  off the Russian team while she nurses a back injury.  This leaves Russia significantly weakened for the coming competition, with co-star Viktoria Komova also missing from the line-up.  It is a little disappointing, but it seems the right decision to rest the gymnasts so that they can be at their best when and where it really matters. Who will replace Paseka?  Valentina Rodionenko says that the youngster Natalia Kapitonova, who trains in Penza, has been chosen on the basis of her solid performances at national championships.  Well, we will have to wait and see - these announcements often turn out to be unreliable.   I personally would prefer to see the dynamic Seda Tutkhalyan be given a chance at this level, but Kapitonova has certainly shown herself to be more reliab...

Visa Delays Leave Russia’s European Championship Plans in Doubt

 Visa Delays Leave Russia’s European Championship Plans in Doubt Russia will probably be unable to field full-strength teams at next week’s European Gymnastics Championships, according to the Russian Gymnastics Federation (RGF). Croatia has still not issued visas to most of Russia’s leading gymnasts, coaches and medical staff due to attend the championships. The applications were submitted several weeks ago; Angelina Melnikova even delivered hers in person. The team is booked to travel tomorrow and faces a seven-hour journey, including a connecting flight. With so little time remaining, Russia is unlikely to be able to send its strongest teams to Zagreb. As the European Championships are an important qualifying event, this could seriously disrupt the federation’s plans. The RGF regards the delay as a deliberate obstruction. Without several of its leading gymnasts, Russia’s chances of finishing first in the team competition—and thereby qualifying a full team for the World Championsh...

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more