Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

The decision by World Gymnastics, and European Gymnastics, to lift restrictions on Russian athletes has triggered a wave of emotion and optimism across Russia’s gymnastics community. After years of competing under neutral status, the return of the flag and anthem has been hailed as a symbolic victory—one that restores national pride and renews motivation among athletes and coaches alike.   Pride and Determination Alexei Nemov, one of Russia’s most decorated gymnasts, expressed his joy at the restoration of national symbols: ‘I am very glad that we got back the flag ànd the anthem.  But we need to go there and reinforce this with good results on the podium.  Performing under the flag of one’s country gives confidence, but the flag ànd anthem alone will not give you medals.  The most important thing is quality preparation for international competitions by each individual gymnast.’ Nemov’s statement captures the balance between patriotism and professionalism—recognizing...

All the latest people news from Russia!  With thanks to the gymnasts and coaches whose social media posts fuel this article. The teams from Russia are enjoying a recovery break in Antalya, Turkey, this week and last. Elizaveta Us took this selfie with Liudmilla Roschina, Milena Kaiumova, Anna Kalmykova, Viktoria Listunova, Alena Glotova ànd Zlata Osokina. Senior coach of the junior team, World and multiple Olympic Champion Aliya Mustafina is also with the team, and has her daughter with her. Meanwhile, in his home town of Ekaterinberg, David Belyavski is training every day to prepare for his national championships. He expects to compete on parallel bars and pommel, although he admits he doesn't really know ... it depends how his training goes. David is now 34 years old and a dedicated father to his daughter, Alyssa, 8. Alyssa too trains every day, as a tennis player, and has already taken part in her first tournament. David says that he wants her to understand that if she love...

🥇🇮🇹 The teams of Angelina Melnikova (ASD Libertas Ginnastica Vercelli) and Arseniy Dukhno (Pro Karate) once again took first place in the second stage of the Italian Serie A1 Club Championship in Biella Angelina and Arseniy successfully represented their clubs as foreign players, earning their teams important points for victory.  Angelina Melnikova (ASD Libertas Ginnastica Vercelli) Vault  14.1 (D 5.0) UB 14.5 D5.9 E 8.5 Bonus .1 Beam 14.05 D5.5 E8.55 FX 14.05 D5.3 E8.55 B .2 AA 56.7 Arseny Dukhno (Pro Carate) FX 15.75 D5.9 E8.85 PH 13.85 D5.3 E8.55 SR 12.65 D3.9 E8.75 V 14.45 D5.2 E9.25 PB 13.55 D5.6 E7.95 HB 13.55 D5 E8.55 AA 82.8

First of all, TASS have been discussing Angelina’s plans for the year.  She wants to have a corgi dog, but for now can’t as she’s busy with gymnastics. https://tass.ru/interviews/26678443 Gymnast Angelina Melnikova: I want a dog, but so far I only have a cactus In an interview with TASS at the "Forum in the Big City," Olympic gymnastics champion Angelina Melnikova discussed why she loves International Women's Day, her favorite flowers, traveling, her athletic plans, and shared the secret to her perfect figure. We're talking on the eve of March 8th, which is associated, among other things, with flowers. So, my first questions are about them. Which flowers do you like the most, and which don't you? — I love peonies. I think they're the most beautiful. But on March 8th, I think tulips seem even more beautiful on this day. Which flowers don't I like? How can you not love flowers? I think I love them all, all beautiful. — Maybe you don't like cacti? — By th...

  Russia's neutral gymnasts have been performing very well in competition recently, not least at the Cottbus Cup last week where a fairly inexperienced group of young women took medals on every piece - and their men did well, too. The team is still in the position where its veterans, or at least its established performers, are the leaders.  For the women, this means that Melnikova is assumed to be the top, while for the men, Marinov is the one whose name is most likely to be spoken.  But he is still recovering from multiple injuries and not expecting to be ready for competition until later in the year.  In fact the leadership of the men's team has skipped a couple of generations: first year senior, Arseny Dukhno, is taking the lead for the team. So while the youngsters head off to the World Cup competitions to make a name for themselves there, the leaders are competing in the Serie A league in Italy - and they aren't doing too shabbily there.  Both Melnikova and...

  Angelina Melnikova has issued a statement about her participation in the Bundesliga.     The mayor of Chemnitz has withdrawn the gymnast’s invitation to participate in the final.     Angelina’s words: ‘I didn't receive an invitation to the Bundesliga final. Unfortunately, the public attention and political discussions were much greater than the organizers expected. I am grateful to TSV Tittmoning-Chemnitz for the opportunity to participate in the semi-finals and, most importantly, for their respectful and kind attitude. In Germany, I received tremendous support from spectators, athletes, coaches, and referees. A sports arena is a place where athletes meet each other and demonstrate their abilities in their favorite sport. Sport provides the opportunity to showcase the results of their hard work and athletic prowess. Everyone deserves equal opportunities in all areas of life, and every athlete deserves to compete equally in the sports arena and fulfill their dr...

 Translation of highlights of article from Sport Express. Angelina Melnikova spoke to Sport-Express journalist Sergey Lisin about today's competition day.  ❓Did you expect such a victorious end to the day, considering how it started on balance beam? 💬 No. Just looking at the scoreboard just now gave me goosebumps; it's a great joy. This is my first time competing for Vladimir, and I'm so happy that we won this Russian Championships, competing for the Vladimir team, and we achieved such a historic victory. It was fantastic, thanks to the whole team. ❓And still, about balance beam. 💬 I don't want to talk about that shame. I have nothing to say, I'm just ashamed; I can't find any other words. ❓How did you manage to pull myself together after that? 💬 Actually, I'm in pretty good shape, and I was generally confident on all the apparatuses today. As a professional athlete, if something isn't working out, I can't give up on the next apparatus. ❓ Yesterda...

Highlights of an interview with Angelina Melnikova, three days after her appearance in Paris, via Vk.com.  She departs for the Russian Championships in ten days.   Sport24 correspondent Anastasia Loginova contacted Angelina and asked her about everything that happened in Paris.  ❓When did you find out you were going to Paris? 💬Just before my vacation in China, around July 25th. I was told there was a stage and I should go. At first, I was very hesitant, because I wanted to focus on the Russian Championships and the World Championships qualifiers. It turned out that I was selected for the Paris trip. Initially, we wanted to focus on a few apparatuses, but then we decided we needed to do the all-around as one of the stages of preparation for the Russian Championships. ❓At what point did you realize what was happening wasn't a dream, but reality? When did this realization dawn on you? 💬Probably when I went to the airport. I realized that everything had finally come togethe...

  Angelina Melnikova is not only an ambitious gymnast, she also wants to pursue acting as part of her career.    This picture came with congratulations on her medals in Paris, from one of her agents. I can see real determination in her face - it must have taken a lot of courage to put herself in the public eye at a time when the international environment is uncertain and unpredictable, and her own country is at the centre of chaos.   Sport is about bringing people from different cultures together, to appreciate human achievement and celebrate respect, competition and, wherever possible, friendship.    This gymnast has remained consistent in her pursuit of excellence since childhood, and she has persisted in the most difficult of circumstances, with incredible personal grace.    She is down to earth, charming and professional, a real example to everyone.    The circumstances have been very trying, but you would never see Angelina sho...