Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Aliya manages a troublesome line of questioning during this Russia 2 interview A great series of short interviews with some of the main players in last week's European Games - Nikita Ignatyev, Sergei Starkin and Aliya Mustafina.  Many, many thanks to Olesya Mikheeva who did the translation.   Nikita : Right away, I got a little upset, you know, falling on one of the easier elements.  I had already done all the hardest stuff, I probably let myself go emotionally for a second and lost concentration. Nikita : "I'm very happy because it's my first me dal in the all around, usually it's even hard to qualify into it." Sergei : "New programme on bars, new programme on floor, and after this competition we'll correct form to prepare for Worlds, so I think in the fall she'll have different form and a stronger programme." Aliya : "I won't keep this music for long. I'll perform to it at Worlds but then I'm going to change it." Inter

Seda Tutkhalyan in the first day of the team competition at the European Games, 2015, her first major senior competition Seda Tutkhalyan in conversation with Oksana Tonkacheva . 'I'm learning to cope with the excitement. Unfortunately, I often get nervous before the competition. Even though the coach and the girls try to calm me down, I still cannot forget about everything, laugh, talk, as some can.  ...  I try to smile when on the floor, but I can't always - because what if something doesn't work, how will I be able to smile then?  It should always be a sincere smile.   Lena Zamolodchikova is my idol in the gym.  She was able to do everything - combinations with a smile, she was able to communicate with the audience.  ...  My whole family - mother, father and two older brothers, are my most loyal fans.  When I won the all around at the Youth Olympics, my brothers wrote to me, 'Well done!  We are very proud of you!'.  Vaik - the eldest, he is 24, he is

Gymnastics revolves around the Olympics.  Competition and training therefore runs in a four-yearly cycle.  Gymnasts regroup and rebuild in the first two years of the cycle, peak in Olympic year and set the scene for their possible victories in pre-Olympic year.  So what happened in competition in 2013 and 2014 was relatively unimportant, but now, in 2015, the gymnasts have to begin to show their mettle.  Countries have to qualify for the Olympics at this winter's World Championships, and individual gymnasts must demonstrate over the coming year that they are ready to be selected for their respective teams.   For Russia, qualification is the prime concern this autumn.  In Glasgow we will not see the full 'finished' article by any means and the gymnastics will to a fair extent carry the 'work in progress' label.  What did the European Games tell us about the state of their readiness for this important competition?  Viktoria Komova Andrei Rodionenko has

http://www.sport-express.ru/artistic-gymnastics/reviews/888435Aliya Mustafina, "I already have all the awards? And how TWO Olympic gold?" Aliya Mustafina. Photos REUTERS  VLADIMIR IVANOV 2 2 1 1 EUROPEAN GAMES In European games Olympic champion won the first absolute confidence around, and then won the gold in the uneven bars and was second in the floor exercise Vladimir Ivanov Baku According to 20-year-old athlete, the first for yourself tournament of the season she was ready by about 55 percent. It is not surprising: in late December in Munich Mustafina took a course of treatment for a back injury, and soon after started working with a new coach - Sergei Starkin. But their first joint pancake turned out not lumpy, but it is a smooth one. Photo - REUTERS - How was the process of switching from Starkin? I ask because in the autumn, while still in search of a coach in an interview with "SE" you said, "Any new specialist probably will begin to change something in

"Revival" gymnasts Mustafina and Komova - the main outcome of the Games in Baku, said the coach BAKU, June 20 - R-Sport, Simon Galkevich. The main itogomEvropeyskih Games in Baku is a "rebirth" of gymnasts Aliya Mustafina and Viktoria Komova, said the agency "F-Sport" the head coach of the national team on sports gimnastikeAndrey Rodionenko. Mustafina at the Games in Baku won three gold and one silver, at Komova - one gold in the team all-around. Mustafina because of a back injury missed the European Championship-2015. At the end of December last year, the gymnast was treated in Germany and on his return to Russia continued rehabilitation. The only start Komova after the 2012 Olympics was the Cup of Russia in August last year, the gymnast during this period underwent several operations. "We purposely put one team at the European Championship and the other - to the Games in Baku, to see what we have. The main outcome of the European game - that's w

Nikita Ignatyev: I'm not "profukannyh" happiness!   Bronze medalist of the men's individual all-round refuses to be humble   In ten years, without parents, he moved to Leninsk-Kuznetsky. For the sake of sport. Trained and studied - the ninth grade is almost as "excellent" finished, and the eleventh - by five and four. "Everybody says that the gym, any sport, learning to combine with hard, it's true. After training, you come - did not want to. But we must find the strength in yourself, open a book, read at least a couple of paragraphs ... The guys often out of laziness do not learn. " Like this. And it just from a military family. "As a military family has a certain order and discipline. I was a child accustomed to much. My mother, for example, in the morning with cold water hosed. At first I - br-rr-rr ... and then used. Ill, by the way, it is very rare. Dad - a good man, but never with me not lisp, does not indulge the whims and tried to

Andrew Rodionenko: technically Komov capable of much, but she needs psychological support   Today, June 20, at the first European Games in Baku (Azerbaijan) ended the tournament in gymnastics. Results of the tournament to the special correspondent of the press service DSP Mark Skoda led head coach of Russian national gymnastics Andrew Rodionenko. Agency of the sports information "All Sport" quoted Andrei Rodionenko. - European Games in Baku - is preparing for the World Cup - said Andrei Rodionenko. - Only in this light, they considered, and nothing else. - Preparation for the World Cup is going according to plan? - Something turns out better, something - is worse. At least, it was clear who is something we have to work. It can show just the only such competition. - At the World Cup squad will be the same here? - This will depend on the Cup of Russia. His place in the national team athletes will earn there. At the Cup of Russia are all equal. - How to evaluate debut Seda Toutk

Komova and Mustafina - two great champions on one team.  Courtesy of the RGF Not so very long ago - April 2014 to be precise - I published an article on this blog entitled ' Does Komova need gymnastics? '.  In a fairly roundabout way, I questioned Viktoria Komova's desire to continue as a gymnast. It seemed that everywhere one looked, people were demanding her comeback to big time sport, assuming that gymnastics would be all she wanted to do.  I thought that perhaps the gymnast had decided to give up; did she have the desire to continue?  The most likely outcome, surely, was retirement, a focus on a new life path.  I hoped I was wrong, but thought I was right. Now, I am glad to say, it is clear that I was completely and utterly wrong.  At the European Games Komova has shown that she is in the process of perfecting what could end up as one of the most prodigious sporting comebacks of all time.  Read this interview with Championnat , in which she describes the challen

Aliya Mustafina and Sergei Starkin - courtesy of the RGF  The Russian Olympic Committee's Information Service has just released this interview with the coach of European Games champion, Aliya Mustafina. - How do you work with Aliya Mustafina? - We just get on. We had predicted her victory here, knowing that Aliya is not only the undisputed leader of the national team, but also the main favourite in European gymnastics. Today, we are right, and very happy. - Not everything turned out the way Aliya would like.  Are there no plans to increase the complexity of her programmes? - Yes, for the Olympic Games in Rio, we plan to upgrade vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. In addition, we want to improve the quality of performance. At this competition we have developed new routines on the uneven bars and the floor exercise. This is a big step forward. - Mustafina wobbled a little on the beam, perhaps the most difficult gymnastic apparatus. How can you avoid this? 

Aliya Mustafina today with her gold medal.  Courtesy of the RGF . It wasn't a classic all around competition.  The format saw to that, with many of the best gymnasts left behind on the bench thanks to the one-gymnast-per-country rule.  It would have been nice to see Komova, or Germany's Elisabeth Seitz on the competition floor, but that wasn't possible.  We did, however, get to see some vintage Mustafina along the way.  Another gold medal for the gymnastics Queen only serves to underline that her multifarious victories have been anything but fluke. Russian Aliya Mustafina came to the competition as the strong favourite, but she must have had a few sleepless nights during the break since Monday's team final.  You can't rely on anything in gymnastics; competitions are regularly decided by the most ridiculously small decimal margin.  In this case, any slip could have allowed Switzerland's Giulia Steingrueber to repeat her gold medal from the European

Aliya Mustafina won gold in the AA again today, in Baku at the European Games.  This makes her a gold medallist at all the different types of major multi sports events and gymnastics championships she has presented herself at since turning senior in 2010.  Olympics, Worlds, Europeans, Universiade and, now, European Games.   So much gold has to be more than simple coincidence. Congratulations Aliya, and Nikita Ignatyev, who won a bronze in the MAG AA!  Well done Russia!

Aliya shows off the team#s patriotic manicure!  Picture courtesy of the RGF Veronika has kindly translated two TV interviews with the Russian WAG team in Baku.  At the moment, the videos aren't available in the UK as they have been geoblocked, but I have provided the links below. Now read on ... Interview with Dmitry Zanin (correspondent). A couple of years ago an interview with Aliya was a difficult test for a journalist, but now everything is quite different.  - So was your job simply to win and nothing else?  Or just to compete with all your strength and show everything that you can do? Aliya - Not at all, you can't set a target to win or to take first place - the task was the same for everyone.  We had to compete our programmes, perform well enough and then the result will follow.  - How is your health, how much of your programme is ready, do you have pain? Vika - No trouble or pain, I am about 70% ready.  It is hard to compete in an international arena

Photograph of Aliya Mustafina by Platon Shilikov, courtesy of Bolshoi Sport As I mentioned early in May, Aliya features in a special interview/photo feature in this month's edition of the Alexei Nemov backed glossy magazine Bolshoi Sport.  You can access a digital copy at http://www.bolshoisport.ru/issues (no 6 (93)) or buy hard copies at Zinio - http://ru.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=sch&productId=500305166  I will be trying to buy some copies of the magazine myself in the next few days. The interview is very interesting - I have summarised most of the key points below. I should add to this some exciting news that Veronika heard this morning on Russian TV (from videos currently geo-blocked in the UK) - Aliya has said that for Rio she is working on upgrades on vault (the Amanar, maybe?), bars and beam.  Along with her double straight and turn combination on floor, that's a significant workload Aliya has set herself!  She is very inspirational, and this is exciting ne