Melnikova’s gesture on the podium, the "Slavic face," the coldness of rivals—Zanin captures the details of gymnastics at the Euros.
Natalia Maryanchik, sports.ru Жест Мельниковой на подиуме, slavic face, холод соперниц – детали гимнастики на Евро от Занина - Дальний лес - Блоги Sports.ru
The European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb concluded with a triumph for the Russian women, even though Melnikova and Kalmykova only made it to the tournament following intervention by the Foreign Ministry and competed practically straight off the plane. Melnikova and Kalmykova took first and second place in the all-around event. Competing under a neutral status, the Russian women won the team competition. Melnikova also claimed gold in the vault, as well as bronze on the balance beam and in the floor exercise. Match TV commentator Dmitry Zanin, who covered the tournament, recounted that Melnikova was moved to tears during the vault medal ceremony. He described her standing in her black leotard beneath an unfamiliar flag and to the sound of an unrecognizable tune, reflecting on the lack of basic respect shown to her. Due to a new rule prohibiting all three medalists from standing on the top tier of the podium together, Melnikova was unable to take a photo with her rivals—unlike athletes at a subsequent ceremony who did manage to do so. Zanin noted that Melnikova had competed under five different flags throughout her career, yet under the Russian flag only once. He also mentioned that Melnikova displayed a "Slavic face" during the tournament—a steady gaze and an impassive expression—which the gymnast herself attributed to the composure that comes with being 26. Zanin likened Kalmykova to a flower bud, describing her as intelligent yet tense on the competition floor; she even apologized to him for a comment regarding her laughter. He described Roshchina as emotional yet restrained, noting that these young gymnasts live within the insular world of the Ozero Krugloye training center. Zanin also observed a certain coldness from their rivals: in a survey, only two of the roughly 12 foreign gymnasts named Melnikova as an athlete they found interesting to watch, while Elena Kola and Manila Esposito gave perfunctory answers. He believes that the European Championship victories should not be directly projected onto the World Championships: the young Russian gymnasts lack the international competition experience they missed out on over the past five years. Zanin admitted that he has come to especially value every performance by Melnikova and does not yet see gymnasts of the same caliber coming up through the ranks.
The European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb could have been a disaster for our team, but instead turned into a triumph.
It all came down to a visa issue: Angelina Melnikova and Anna Kalmykova only managed to make it to the tournament following intervention by the Foreign Ministry and were forced to compete practically straight off the plane. Yet, this didn't stop them from delivering a spectacular performance:
● Melnikova and Kalmykova won gold and silver in the all-around;
● Russian women (albeit competing under a neutral status) won the team competition convincingly;
● Melnikova claimed three medals in individual apparatus finals: gold on vault, and bronze on the balance beam and in the floor exercise.
We spoke with Match TV journalist Dmitry Zanin, who covered the tournament. Here are the key takeaways from an insider’s perspective.
"I felt a bit like a country bumpkin standing next to them."
– You were one of the few people who had the chance to watch the European Championships in person. Which of our medals was the most emotional for you?
– Angelina Melnikova’s victory in the vault, of course. From a purely sporting perspective, it was completely predictable, but I was deeply moved by what happened during the medal ceremony.
That was when Angelina burst into tears.
I looked at her and wondered where she finds the strength to train for that Cheng vault—which is truly difficult, and one she’s never quite confident about, and she has so little physical reserves left—yet she goes out there and wins with it.
And then, in a moment like that, she stands on the podium in her black tracksuit, while yet another obscure tune plays and yet another obscure flag is raised...
What else must she do to compete in a proper uniform, hear her country’s anthem, and see her flag? To have the things that everyone else takes for granted?
You know, we aren’t asking for anything extraordinary. We just want basic respect.
– What’s the story behind Angelina not being allowed to even stand on the same podium step as the other medalists for a photo?
– That’s another example of how accustomed we’ve become to living in a mindset of constant restrictions and the fear of "what might happen if..."
Before the medal ceremony, the girls were told about a new rule: three athletes were forbidden from standing on the top step together—the idea being to avoid provoking anyone or getting into trouble. But the photographers didn't know that. So there was Angelina, while the photographers were signaling for them all to get together on the top step.
The girls were flustered; Angelina was trying to explain: "I’m sorry, but we aren't allowed to do that."
Then came the next medal ceremony—for the uneven bars, an event where none of our athletes were competing. The medalists there simply stood together and posed for photos. They had been warned too—the rule applies to everyone—but the difference is that we keep these prohibitions in mind in any situation; it’s as if a red warning light goes off in our heads. Athletes from other countries, however, tend to think: "That’s a strange rule—what are they actually going to do to me if I break it?"
It is deeply saddening to realize that such restrictions have become the norm for us. And what hurts me the most personally is that the vast majority of Angelina’s career unfolded during this period. She competed under five different flags, and only once was it the Russian flag. The others were anything from the international federation to our own Olympic committee. She listened to all sorts of tunes instead of our national anthem.
And yet, she is a great gymnast—truly unique. Did she really not deserve better?
– Angelina is usually very reserved and focused. But it seemed like she was more emotional at this tournament, especially after all the visa-related drama.
– Angelina is always focused primarily on herself. Even in team competitions, she isn’t the type to go around hugging everyone or trying to hype them up... She gives her absolute best, fully aware of her responsibility to the team. But off the competition floor, her attitude is that everyone is an adult and knows how to get into the right mindset on their own.
At the European Championships, the top three athletes on a given apparatus were seated in a special area. Every time the cameras cut to Gelya, she had that classic "Slavic face"—a steady gaze and a completely expressionless face.
I even asked her about it, and we had a laugh. Gelya said, "People probably think I’m mean or arrogant, but that’s just my resting face. I’m 26 now; it would be strange if I still let everything get to me the way I did at 17."
Gelya is a consummate professional who always knows exactly what she needs. For instance, before the competition started, we had a 25-minute live broadcast—the kind we usually do for biathlon. I suggested doing a quick interview at the hotel before the individual event finals. But Angelina, though always open to such activities, politely declined. It wasn't the right moment to expend emotional energy unnecessarily.
It’s no secret that Melnikova keeps to herself within the team. That’s understandable given the age gap—after all, there’s a huge difference between 26 and 17 or 18—as well as her approach to gymnastics. We were filming at the training center once, and I was amazed to see that during the second training session—while the other girls were just finishing their warm-ups—Angelina had already wrapped up and was heading home.
But she has an impeccable sense of her own body. She knows it’s better to do a 40-minute session with three perfectly executed sets than to grind through 133 sloppy ones and risk injury.
– Let’s talk about the other girls. Take Anna Kalmykova, for instance—she’s 17, but she’s always in Melnikova’s shadow.
– I’d compare Anya to a bud; we’re all waiting for it to bloom. She’s a very springy gymnast with powerful tumbling skills—she seems to have everything needed to really shine. Yet, out on the competition floor, she’s like a bundle of tension. She steps out there not to soar or fly, but to work. And somehow, something is always missing.
Anya comes from a highly educated family—cultured and well-mannered; her parents are lawyers. Her coach, Elena Baidina, once told me how she tried to shake Anya out of her shell by yelling at her for a sloppy approach to an exercise. Afterward, Anya came up to her and said, "Elena Petrovna, please forgive me."
Baidina was taken aback!
Here’s another telling story. Last year, we were filming at the training center before the World Championships. During an interview, something funny happened, and I burst out laughing. Anya said, "Dmitry, do you realize you laugh like a seagull?" That made me laugh even harder—it was a great joke!
Later, I shared this on my Telegram channel: "Anya Kalmykova said I laugh like a seagull—does it really sound like that?" A couple of hours later, Anya herself messaged me... do you know why?
– She asked to have that part cut from the interview.
– "Dmitry, if I offended you, I’d like to apologize. Sincerely, Anya Kalmykova."
See how telling that is? She and her coach have the vibe of the old Moscow intelligentsia. Honestly, I feel a bit like a country bumpkin when I’m around them.
– Lyudmila Roshchina. She’s the same age as Kalmykova, but people talk about her less.
– Lyusya—as the team calls her—is from Anapa. She’s very emotional and charismatic, though there’s a sense that, like Anya, she holds herself back a little.
But you know, we shouldn't forget that these are girls who have been living at the Ozero Krugloe training center since they were ten or twelve and hardly ever go anywhere. They are confined to their own little world—a world Melnikova, incidentally, broke free from long ago.
And I hope that, through her own example, she proves that life is far more interesting and doesn't end with gymnastics.
"I’ve come to appreciate every time Melnikova competes"
– What did you think of the atmosphere at the European Championships? After the whole visa saga, how were our gymnasts received?
– Several strangers came up to me and said something along the lines of: "When the news broke that Melnikova and Kalmykova hadn't been granted visas, we were stunned—what is the point of a tournament that doesn't let the very best athletes compete?"
There was a real outcry in the gymnastics world. Many felt it devalued the European Championships, and that barring the planet's best gymnast over mere bureaucracy was sheer stupidity. So, when Angelina finally arrived, people were genuinely happy to see her.
One day, I was loudly cheering for Gelya from the stands, and a foreign journalist sitting nearby turned to me and said, "Don't worry at all—she’s 100% going to win! She’s the most amazing gymnast in Europe." I’m not even sure where the woman was from, but she spoke English.
But there’s another side to the story, too. The European Gymnastics Union posted a video on social media asking the girls: "Which gymnast do you find most interesting to watch?" They interviewed about a dozen foreign athletes. How many times do you think Melnikova was named?
– Six.
– Two! And that’s not because Angelina isn’t liked or valued, but because people are afraid of saying the wrong thing.
After the competition, I personally asked the French gymnast Elena Colas and the Italian Manila Esposito—who won the European Championships twice in Melnikova’s absence—about Gelya. I received extremely guarded, cold responses—just standard, perfunctory phrases.
Right now, no one knows how to act, what can be said, and what shouldn’t be... And that is, of course, very sad.
– European gymnastics and the global stage are on completely different levels. To what extent can victories at the European Championships translate to the upcoming World Championships?
– Of course, there will be far more competitors at the World Championships. But our girls are incredibly strong—so strong that, even last year, any one of them could have won the all-around title at Worlds. They wouldn’t have needed to do anything superhuman; they just needed to execute what they already know how to do.
The problem, however, is that the ability to perform what you know at the crucial moment is something that comes with experience. Angelina Melnikova has mastered this, whereas the younger girls are still getting used to it. The atmosphere at international competitions is nothing like what they experience in Russia. Packed stands, English being spoken all around, immense pressure. Even the arena itself is set up differently!
Take Lyusya Roshchina, for instance: last year she traveled abroad for the very first time, and went straight to the World Championships. How could anyone fault her for not doing something right? Right now, our girls are gaining the experience they missed out on over the previous five years. Unlike their rivals, they didn't have junior competitions or the chance to calmly test their routines in front of judges. They were thrust straight into major tournaments where the demand for results is immediate.
But it doesn't work that way. It takes time to believe that you can be the best in the world.
– What is the main emotion you’re taking away from this European Championship?
– You know, when Melnikova walked away happy after her beam routine in the final, I found myself wondering: how many moments like this do we have left? Angelina is in great form—she’s joyful and truly loving the gymnastics.
Honestly, I didn't even care what place she took on the beam. One medal more or less from the European Championship is unlikely to change anything for her. She’s had a million competitions and a million medals in her life.
But the main thing is that Angelina still finds the motivation to compete, and she enjoys it. She steps off the beam, claps hands with her coach Konstantin Pluzhnikov, and looks pleased with herself... She is in her prime, in top form!
How many more times will we see her step onto the competition floor? Maybe fifteen, maybe fewer... And I don’t know if we’ll ever see another gymnast quite like Angelina—not just in terms of titles, but regarding her status, influence, global renown, and the mindful, deliberate way she approaches her work. There is no one like her on the horizon right now.
I found myself realizing that I’ve come to cherish every one of Melnikova’s appearances on the competition floor in a special way. This is something to be savored right now.
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