Thanks Allthingsmustafina!
Aliya Mustafina: the important thing for me is to help the team now
An interview with Allsport special correspondent Maria Staroverova
'At the European Championships I will be performing on three events - the uneven bars, balance beam and vault' said Aliya Mustafina.
Her ankle hurts and the pain worsens when tumbling so now she can hardly tumble at all. The most painful things are dismounts on floor and on beam; she can only do these into a pit. At present she isn't even dismounting off beam, to try to save the leg. She can do bars without any problems.
'Don't you want to miss the European Championships and recover better for the World Championships?'
'No, for me it is very important now to help the team, I understand what the situation is. Almost all our key gymnasts are injured and having operations, so the team needs me to perform and support the girls. I really like them, all the girls are young, they are all good. I am pleased to be able to advise them, where necessary. And they listen attentively. I am very pleased to be with them as a team.'
'These young girls are new, they have not yet performed in a major competition, and we do not know how they will be. They may be nervous, and on the other hand they could get it all together and do everything perfectly. We don't know what to expect.'
See Aliya in training in this Russia 2 news report, from 18.30 - http://2.russia.tv/video/show/brand_id/44443/episode_id/986359/video_id/998642/viewtype/picture
Aliya and Kharenkova in training - http://youtu.be/qKIeeKwRjlY
Bracing myself for the worst with every competition. Gymnastics being such a huge part of her life it is understandable that she wants to compete rather than feeling pressured but she does seem to be admitting the latter this time. It is so sad that a sport that can be so beautiful is actually all about whether such young athletes are injured or not. Aliya's story just seems to exemplify everything that is good and bad about gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteBy reading this article , I am very sad and very worried about my favorite gymnast : Alya Mustafina . " Simply Her ankle hurts and the pain worsens When so now she can hardly tumbling tumble all. At at present she is not even dismounting off beam , to try to save the leg".
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that the health of Mustafina is not being properly cared for or preserved and Rodienkos are not worried about her health , nor with the future Alya as a gymnast of the Russian team .
This leaves me deeply upset because it seems that nobody sees that Mustafina is not spared and cared for her legs , she may be forced to withdraw from the club, before the Olympic Games .
Rodienkos will be so cruel to use Alyia until it totally and wear have to retire before the next Olympic Games ?
As the Russian team can do this with Alyia and drop as many responsibilities in a gymnast who can barely make a simple disassembly ?
Why use Alyia , standing with legs and ankles spending rather than saving your health , and take aim at World and Olympic Games ?
Queen Elizabeth , please comment on this article and the statements of Mustafina ! Tell us what is happening and what can be the future of Alya . Will only am I so pessimistic ?
WTF is your problem? Aliya is almost 20 years old, she CAN TAKE CARE OF HERSELF! Stop this whole poor Aliya thing. She is an adult and she is set on making it one more quad, she is going to Euro because SHE wants to and she is doing gymnastics because she WANTS to. It is a sport, most of athletes work through pain and injury, she is not the only gymnast competing with pain, Iordache also has a chronic injury and is always on pain when competing, Ponor said her back was killing her at London, Mckayla had a broken toe the entire Olympics, Chelsie Memmel competed most of her career in between injuries...
DeleteWho said she is not cared for? Are u crazy? Russia has one of the biggest gym training centers of the world, bigger than US. They have access to doctor, phisios, therapist and so on...Do not kid yourself thinking that Aliya is the poor girl being tortured by the head coaches. If much is the opposite, the need her so much right now I bet she could get away with pretty much anything at this point.
Bottom line, she is an ADULT, with lot of TALENT, GREEDY AND DETERMINATION and she deemed herself good enough to compete.
It is possible to express strong opinions without debasing yourself by use of profanity and insults. Any further posts of this kind will be deleted.
DeleteIn my opinion only one medical team to asses the extent of damage that a championship can do for the health of Alyia Mustafina .
DeleteShe can compete . Until winning . But what will be the sequel of this effort , in my opnion unnecessary , for the future of Alya in gymnastics ?
I also think Mustafina is very young , very impulsive and very stubborn , and , as it is important for the Russian team in the next Olympics , since Russia has problems in depth at the gym and still depending on the part of senior gymnasts . Probably the next Olympic team will feature Komova , Mustafina and Grishina , if , and only if , they are able to remain healthy and competitive .
So , I see that for the Russian team should be a greater interest in preserving the health of their champions . Therefore the will of Mustafina would be secondary to the interests of the Russian team .
Then the Rodienkos should think about what is best for the Russian team in a scenario later on, as the World Cup and the Olympics .
This , combined with medical opnion , to my way of thinking , makes own willingness to Mustafina secondary and uninteresting for the Russian team .(google translator)
Glaucia, I'm no wiser than you really and trying to remain optimistic :-}
ReplyDeleteI suspect Aliya may miss Worlds. This isn't the end of the world. I would rather, given this interview, that she didn't compete at all this year. But Aliya is Aliya, I just hope she is making her own decisions.
Russia may still benefit from this Championships if they discover new talent. The girls always seem very balanced and philosophical and I think we fans just need to learn this approach too to survive the coming challenges. Women's gymnastics isn't going Russia's way at present, but it is not as if any other team is especially prospering. The sport as a whole is at an all time low. Men's gymnastics, on the other hand, is fascinating, really spectacular and competitive. Let's just hope for a happy life for all the girls and come what may, we will support them.
Glaucia & others, why do you keep on insisting that Mustafina is being pressured? In December she told Rodionenko she wanted to quit and after her exams she came back saying the team needed her for Euros.One thing is the mismanagement of the Federation, and another different thing is Mustafina's stubborness and obstination. She wants to compete and the team is so weak that she cannot be replaced. For outsiders it would be smarter to train, be fit and compete at Worlds. Not, it seems, for Mustafina!
ReplyDeleteI hope Aliya knows what she is doing, she really should be resting if there is so much pain, or at least only do 2 appratuses (bars and beam because the floor tumbling is definitely not for her with that ankle). Too often she has to be the main gymnast doing things as everyone else is always injured. Now she has to go because no one else is left and she is risking herself. The coaches need to stand firm and tell her not to compete from time to time, but the only one who would probably do that was Alexandrov.
ReplyDeleteI am eager to see these younger up and coming gymnasts and hope Russia can perform well. After Euros Aliya needs to rest to get her ankle better.
Alexandrov was Mustafina's coach when she competed at the American Cup in 2011. She was told not to perform all her difficulty on floor, but she did as she wanted and fell. Alexandrov explained this in an interview.
ReplyDeleteHe was also her coach when she got injured in Berlin. Nobody is perfect!