Grebyonkin - all the top gymnasts will be in Penza, except Afanasyeva

Young gymnasts line up prior to the first major Championships of the year

In an interview with Itar-Tass national head coach Evgeny Grebyonkin has given us some clues as to the competitors in Penza this week.

'All of the strongest gymnasts will take part in Penza, with the exception of Afanasyeva, who has only just begun full training again after a foot operation', he says.  'Komova, Grishina and Mustafina will compete for the top places.  Tatiana Nabiyeva has been unable to decide about the future continuation of her career, and this competition will help her draw a conclusion.'

The Antwerp World Championships, back in October, was the women's last major competition.  Since then, Viktoria Komova has recovered from a foot injury she suffered at New Year.  Earlier this year, Aliya Mustafina took a two month break, and she is now working towards achieving optimum form at the European Championships.  She has recovered from her break, but won't be doing anything new here.  They will see how things go, then take some decisions.

Afanasyeva has had two leg surgeries, and the doctors have been advising caution.  If she is ready for Sofia that will be fine, if not it doesn't matter, but they hope she will be ready for Worlds in the autumn.

Kharenkova will compete in both the all around and event finals and will contend for a top place on the senior team.  'Masha made us very happy', says Grebyonkin about Kharenkova's performance at the recent Cottbus Cup, where she brought home medals on beam and floor.  Grebyonkin also mentions Anna Rodionova as an improving gymnast who won a medal on bars at the same competition.  She has added three tenths to her uneven bars D score and unfortunately injured her foot before Cottbus but will be competing here, and the coaches will be watching her closely to see what conclusions they can draw.

http://itar-tass.com/sport/1089651