Skip to main content

Kharenkova takes two medals on final day of Cottbus

By
Russian gymnasts in Cottbus last weekend - from left to right - back row - Polina Fedorova, Maria Kharenkova, Daria Spiridinova; front row - Yulia Inshina (Azerbaijan), Anna Rodionova, Marina Nekrasova (Azerbaijan)


In her first senior international, Maria Kharenkova secured two medals last Sunday, taking a silver on beam, and a bronze on floor.  Not a bad result considering the jitters she suffered in the early part of the competition, and one that underlines the worth of a strategy that favours the selection of young gymnasts for these smaller competitions.  Russia now enters the pre-Europeans preparation with two more tried and tested medalists on its roster (Rodionova, remember, gained a silver on bars on Saturday), and this can only add to an impression of strength in depth, greatly needed in the run up to the major competitions this year and beyond.  

Kharenkova's performance was not as confident as she had presented during her medal winning routines at the 2012 Junior European Championships, but she still has some impressive routines and the fact that she made fewer errors as she progressed through the stages of the competition suggests she may have a 'big match temperament' and is still finding her feet at senior level.  Russia has found it difficult to transition its junior gymnasts to senior level in the recent past, so any indication of progress from this youngster from Rostov on Don is a matter for optimism.

Less encouraging is that Russia could field no gymnast at all on WAG vault ...

In the men's competition Ablyazin made a small but costly error and couldn't follow through with a second day gold to match his first day victories.  However, he did enough here to signal his determination to use this year to best effect as he prepares for the a Rio Olympics.

Russia continues with its preparations for Europeans with the Russian Championships in Penza, beginning on the 1st April with the first stages of the women's competitions, junior and senior.  Good luck to all the gymnasts!  

You can view videos of many of the best routines from Cottbus (MAG especially) at this YouTube channel http://m.youtube.com/user/jackmcpheepr/videos?sort=dd&shelf_id=2&view=0

Judith Radloff, hero of the gymternet, was present at the competition and took the trouble to video routines live - a big thank you, Judith!  Her videos, including Maria's floor and beam finals, can be found here https://www.facebook.com/judithradloff?ref=ts&fref=ts.

You will find the final results here, or can view them below.  http://cottbus-2014.dtb-liveticker.de














Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simone Biles - 'on her way to Olympic gold' in the opinion of Russia

By
Prosport is carrying the following article about Simone Biles, who they tip as a favourite for Olympic gold.  I thought I would share it here (Google translate in italics) as it gives an interesting perspective on where the Russians feel the sport is heading.  Elena Zamolidchikova and Alexander Alexandrov are both extensively quoted. Atypical American. Simon Biles on the way to Olympic gold Simone Biles, American gymnast, turned 18 on March 14, 2015. Shortly before this, the first in US history absolute Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton called Biles perhaps the most gifted athlete in the history of the sport. In 2014, Simon became the first gymnast for 40 years to win four gold at a World Championships. But Biles is not only talent. This is the first gymnast in recent years from the United States, who is not going to earn on its potential Olympic success. Text: Alexander Vladimirov March 15, 2015 9:35 The article on Prosport/Photo: Lintao Zhang / Getty Images / Fotob...
42 comments
Read more

Russia - back to training

By
Valentina Rodionenko reports that the men's team is in full training at Lake Krugloye. Denis Ablyazin hasn't needed a break and is training 'at full strength' - (and if you subscribe to his Instagram account you will see him practising routines on p bars and high bar). David Belyavski joined training a little late, as he has been abroad on his honeymoon. Maria Paseka is returning to training on the 4th December after taking treatment for a back injury. Rodionenko says that Aliya Mustafina is excused training for the time being - Liubov Baladzhaeva helped with the translation here.  Apparently the gymnasts, as salaried athletes, cannot just take time off without permission from the Federation.  I understand that this means no change to Aliya's competitive status, ie she will not be training or competing for the time being, until such time as she gets bored and decides she wants to make a comeback!  From her Instagram account, Aliya is currently suf...
30 comments
Read more

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

By
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:/...
34 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more