Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Coaches and gymnasts of Russia enjoy their silver medal at yesterday's European Championships.  The gymnasts are, left to right : Alexander Balandin, Anton Golotsutskov, Emin Garibov, David Belyavski, Denis Ablyazin.  Picture courtesy of the RGF . Russia's men yesterday consolidated their recent improvements with a second place in the senior team event that emphasised their strength as individual apparatus specialists.  The team had to carry weak third scores on certain events : in particular, pommels and high bar, where Golotsutskov was surely a compromise selection.  Had they eliminated just one of the four falls they suffered during the course of the competition, silver could have become gold. It wasn't a bad result then, for the Russians, and we still have today's event finals to look forward to.  I hope the gymnasts' experiences here will prepare them for a stronger performance in London in a few weeks' time, when it will really matter.  Good lu...

L to R : Emin Garibov, Nikita Ignatyev, Igor Pakhomenko took the honours at today's Russian Championships Siberia showed their strength at today's Russian Championships as two of their gymnasts finished in the top three in the all around competition.  Nikita Ignatyev, born 21st June 1992, trains at the Dynamo team in Leninsk Kuznetsk alongside training mate and bronze medallist Igor Pakhomenko (10th June 1992).  Both share the same personal coach: Dmitriy Chunosov.  Silver medalist Emin Garibov (8th September 1990) trains at the Dynamo Moscow club. Ignatyev is rarely to be seen without a smile on his face and seems to be the life and soul of the party whenever the cameras are turned on him.  In a recent interview (Antonova, 2011) he commented : I'm a happy person, loving life.  I just have that feeling inside me.  Sometimes I'm in a bad mood, of course, when it's grey outside for example, but overall I have a positive outlook on life.  I c...

Albert from the All Around writes here about the recently announced 2012 training squad and prospects for this summer's London Olympics: Russian Gymnastics Federation published the list of men's national team members earlier this year. There are 14 gymnasts fighting for 5 Olympic spots. In the reserve group, there are some gymnasts that might join the national team if they improve throughout the year. Denis Mikhailovich Ablyazin 3rd August 1992 Trains at - Penza, Moscow Dynamo Coach - S Starkin Alexander Sergeivich Balandin 10th June 1989 Dynamo Petrozavodsk, Karelian Republic V N Bubnovski, S G Zagorski David Sagitovitch Belyavskiy 23rd February 1992 Ekaterinburg V N Lomayev, P A Kitaiski Emin Nadirovich Garibov 8th September 1992 Moscow Dynamo A I Sabyelin Dmitri Alexandrovich Gogotov 12th September 1987 Moscow Dynamo V F Kalinov Anton Sergeivich Golutsotskov 28th July 1985 Tomsk L Y Abramov, V V Skyryukha, A V Yanets Maxim Igorevich Devy...

I really like the new generation of young Russian men gymnasts, particularly Nikita Ignatiev, Emin Garibov and Denis Ablyazin. There is something particularly captivating about Ablyazin's character - he is still a boy but on the brink of manhood - ambitious, honest and disarmingly charming. Read this translation of an article by Alina Volnova from the latest edition of Gymnastika , on the Russian Gymnastics Federation's website. He speaks here of his early days in sport (BMX didn't give him enough opportunity to fly, and he stuck at gymnastics in order to avoid having to study ;-)) and of the way competition within the team spurs him on to greater achievement (Golutsotskov seems to be particularly inspirational.)) Ablyazin was born on the 3rd August 1992, meaning he will turn 20 during next year's summer Olympics. He is the first gymnast from the town of Penza to make an impact on the Russian national team, and his developing success is a clear outcome of signi...