Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

I woke this morning to find a message from Caroline Teiler telling me about a new, English language subtitled, version of the iconic 1978 Soviet documentary 'You Are In Gymnastics', available on Youtube .  I would like to thank Caroline and Miss Lyra, the originator of this translation, for taking the time and for sharing.  I have pored over the videos of this programme, atmospheric and telling even without the words, and now this translation adds dimensions of the historic and insightful. The key 'players' you will recognise are senior national coach - Aman Shaniazov, national coach with responsibility for high level difficulty - Vladimir Zaglada, personal coach to Elena Davydova - Gennady Korshunov, Mukhina's personal coach - Mikhail Klimenko, personal coach to Shaposhnikova - Vladislav Rotstorotsky, team pianist - Evsey Vevrik and, last but certainly not least, choreographer - Emilia Sakalova.  At work on the apparatus you see the team in development for the 1

Aliya Mustafina at a recent event to celebrate Gymnastics Day in Moscow.  Courtesy RGF. Via Sports Express : http://www.sport-express.ru/velena/reviews/50647/ This is a summary/paraphrase of the original interview. - It seems to me that you have matured greatly since ... - Rather, I have just learned to work independently, without relying on anyone.  - To be left without a coach in a sport like gymnastics, is not the simplest test for an athlete. - First it really was very hard. I could not force myself to work and for a long time was unsettled. - In a recent interview, you said: "you need to give yourself to this sport, and not perceive it as servitude and abuse". Do you think that way? - Yes. It was just a year ago. I started to train every day and thought: why do I need it? Everything hurts, everything goes wrong. This went on until I had the surgery to clean my joint. It was then that I realized a simple thing: If you want to continue to train and serve, you just have to

1988 Olympic Champion Shushunova, a power gymnast with artistry, who scored three tens in the team final in Seoul. In 2006 the Code of Points was overhauled and changed, almost beyond recognition to the public eye at least.  The maximum mark of 'ten', the symbol of perfection that was for many the brand of the sport, was lost. It was an inevitable change; a ceiling mark of any number was quite simply no longer practical.  However, the concept of the round ten did bring with it an important principle - the idea that judges were marking whole routines.   And the loss of that ceiling and of the idea of the mark as a representation of the 'whole' brought with it the possibility of skewing scores in favour of those gymnasts who attempt high levels of difficulty.   I'm fairly certain that this was an unintended consequence.  It is a consequence that makes it possible for girls with a mediocre level of gymnastics to contend for medals, provided they can bash together a rea

MAG team captain, Emin Garibov, will return to full training in January after a break to rehabilitate a shoulder injury Albert Starobutsev of Tass has confirmed via an interview with head coach Valeri Alfosov the status of gymnasts competing for the senior national team.   In addition to the return of the two stars Garibov and Balandin, he also explained that Russia's only gold medallist at the recent Nanning World Championships, Denis Ablyazin, is resting following an operation on his nose.  He also gave details of Russian participants at some upcoming end of season competitions. 'In April this year, Garibov had an operation on a sore shoulder.  This was a serious surgical procedure and excluded the possibility for the gymnast to compete this season. Balandin also has  problems with the shoulder joint , and had to undergo surgery shortly before the World Championships in China, which was held in early October.'   ' Balandin will begin to tr

Elena Produnova, whose powerful gymnastics was performed with great virtuosity Apparently, Bruno Grandi has been considering his own future, and recently announced that he will not be standing for re-election as President of the FIG following the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.  What a pity, the sport will miss this man who since 1996 has provided such immaculate administrative and creative direction.  Under his leadership, men's artistic gymnastics has gone from strength to strength with strong programmes developing in many countries.   The team, all around and event finals at World Championships were highly competitive and exciting and the sport promises much for the forthcoming Olympics.  There is innovation on every piece of apparatus, and the competitive field is deep and diverse.  The sport is hugely watchable.  Of course, public opinion - the fans, increasingly a mass market rather than the specialist niche that once characterised the gymnastics audience - should guide the