Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

The coach of Chinese gymnasts believes that Paseka and Nabieva made the team stronger Russians worked as coaches in the Chinese women's artistic gymnastics team from October 2022 to August 2023 KAZAN, November 22. /TASS/. Russian artistic gymnastics world champions Maria Paseka and Tatyana Nabieva, who worked as coaches with the Chinese women's team, made the team even stronger. This opinion was expressed to TASS by the coach of the Chinese team, Zhou Shiping, during a match between the junior artistic gymnastics teams of Russia and China in Kazan. In October 2022, Paseka and Nabieva left for China to work with the country’s women’s national team. In August, after the expiration of the contract with the Chinese Gymnastics Association, they returned to Russia. “Paseka and Nabieva worked very friendly together with our Chinese coaches. They helped our athletes a lot. The gymnast who worked with Nabieva became first at the World Youth Championships in the balance beam exercise. Sh

Aliya Mustafina is now national coach with responsibility for the junior WAG team.  She runs a happy ship; her gymnasts are confident and there is a good team spirit evident. The leader of the team, Zlata Osokina, couldn’t compete in Kazan against China this week as she was resting an injury.  Her absence was precautionary.  Now read on as Aliya Mustafina sums up how the competition went. Source : TASS.  Google translate. ‘Two-time Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Aliya Mustafina admitted that it was more difficult for her to perform as an athlete than to participate in competitions as a coach. She told TASS about this during a match between the junior artistic gymnastics teams of Russia and China in Kazan. 💬 “Now, probably, everyone will be surprised, but it was more difficult for me to perform,” said Mustafina. “I don’t know why this is so, they usually say, on the contrary, it would be better if I went out and did it myself. It was more difficult for me to perform than now t

As usual, Valentina Rodionenko has an opinion on the current Canadian Gymnastics suspension of Elena Davydova, and has a verdict to deliver on Elvira Saadi, too.  Davydova has been invited to return to coach in Russia - she still has her apartment in St Petersburg, apparently. Remember that Andrei Rodionenko headed up Canadian Gymnastics’ training for eight years until moving back to Russia in 2006.  Valentina’s opinion of the relative merits of Elvira and Elena’s coaching styles may have some basis in fact. Read the whole story in English (Google translate from the original Russian language source - TASS) below. ‘Valentina Rodionenko: “Davydova needs to return to Russia, we will be happy to take her” Valentina Rodionenko believes that Elena Davydova needs to return to Russia. Two-time Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics Elena Davydova was temporarily suspended from coaching in Canada “Elena Davydova needs to return, we will be happy to take her. Lena left Leningrad for Canada in 1

Given Valentina’s record of disagreeing with absolutely everything, it is unclear whether her words bear any authority.  I would feel inclined to listen for an announcement from Andrei Rodionenko or to wait and see if any of the athletes appear at the Cairo World Cup next year.  This is probably just hot air. Here is a Google translate of the TASS report:   The national team's coaching staff opposed the return of Russian gymnasts under FIG conditions Valentina Rodionenko noted that the International Gymnastics Federation surpassed the IOC in terms of rigidity admission criteria MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. The coaching staff of the Russian artistic gymnastics team categorically disagrees with the conditions under which the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) invites Russian athletes to compete in tournaments under its auspices. The senior coach of the national team, Valentina Rodionenko, reported this to TASS. “We do not agree with any of the admission criteria that FIG has d

 Tatyana Nabieva and Maria Paseka spent a year in China, working as coaches for the country's women's national team. We spoke with Tatyana about her experience working with Chinese gymnasts and memories of the trip. ❓ How did the idea to go to China even come about? Was this a long-planned invitation from the Chinese side? 💬 This was a complete surprise for me. I was in Dagestan, I had my plans lined up, but Masha called and asked if I wanted to go to China to work. I enjoy risk, so I answered: “Why not, let’s go!” ❓ You went to training camps in Russia for many years as a gymnast and even as a personal trainer. What was your job in China? 💬 Let me correct you, in Russia I only went to a training camp once as a personal trainer, replacing my coach. And we were invited to China as specialists to work on individual apparatus. We worked with the Chinese women's team in Beijing. ❓ What kind of equipment did you work with and did you have any specific task formulated before st

May I recommend this book to you.   Anya is a young girl living in the dark, cold climate of Norilsk, Siberia.    The pollution makes it difficult for people to live healthy, happy lives and her family is riven by illlness and hardship and in particular the disappearance of her mother. Anya is a talented gymnast and she is ‘adopted’ by the state system.    Her coach, Anatoly, is brusque and unforgiving.    He recognises the same ambition in Anya as he has for himself, and propels her through years of relentless training to the very top of the sport, a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics.   There is more to the book than that, though; the cultural and political environment of the Soviet Union is clearly portrayed from the point of view of an ordinary citizen.    The harsh conditions for workers in Norilsk, the queues and the poverty, are well known but the book sensitively reveals the lack of options and freedoms that made life so tough.    Anya’s monthly stipend as a national team member m

Russia is responding to the publication of the FIG criteria with some hostility.  I picked up on the article below this morning; Championnat, the publisher, is part of an internet company that is half owned by Sberbank, and Sberbank are half owned by the Russian government.  While on the one hand President Putin is saying that it's entirely athletes' own decisions whether to compete individually, we can see that Russian society is turning against the outside world, and will be aggressively anti individual participation in the Games.  It will take a very brave individual athlete to apply for neutral participation next year.  The environment is becoming increasingly hostile for those who wish to apply to compete internationally.  We are hearing that a gymnast (Maria Paseka) has been subjected to public derision because of her decision to coach in China (she has now returned) - since when was coaching overseas an act of national betrayal for a Russian coach?  President Putin is li

 From 1st January next year Russians and Belarussians will be eligible to compete in FIG competitions, subject  to extensive conditions.  You can read the conditions in full here ,  The rules are strict and rigorous.  If a gymnast has a connection to the military or to any state organisation, they can't compete - this rules out such gymnasts as Viktoria Listunova, whose club CSKA is a sporting branch of the Russian army.   Any act of support for the war or implication of support for Russia in their War against Ukraine will rule the gymnast out of competition.  This rule counts back to the very beginning of the conflict.  Any hint of support for the war or Russian state at any time will rule out the gymnast.  The gymnasts and their coaches cannot make negative comments about other competitors, or about the organisation of competitions. The rules apply to doctors, coaches, physios and heads of delegations.  Valentina Rodionenko has already ruled herself out of travelling to any compe

 Google translate :  “In China they say: if you are Russian, you are our friend.” Gymnast Paseka trained the top team for a year, but returned Maria Paseka is the face of our gymnastics of the last decade. In 2012 and 2016, she won a total of 4 Olympic medals (two each in the team and in the vault). She performed the most difficult jumps and was an important element of the team medal. Paseka’s last start at the World Championships was in 2019, when she was already 24. She could have continued to compete, but the pandemic hit. But it was no longer possible to return after a long break. Last year, Paseka surprised me: she left to work as a coach for the Chinese national team. In the talk show they called her a traitor, but a year later Maria returned. “The Chinese didn’t accept us at first.” How did Paseka make Chinese coaches believe in her methodology? “A year ago, an acquaintance called me,” Paseka said. “I was at a time in my life when I really needed money. He said that there is a j