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
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