Senior team members Daria Spirodonova, Tatiana Nabiyeva, Ekaterina Kramarenko, Viktoria Komova and Maria Paseka enjoy some Sunday fun in Moscow. Picture courtesy of Viktoria Komova on Instagram The women are at training camp at present, preparing for the upcoming, late August, Russia Cup. The outcome of this competition will determine who is selected for October's World Championships. There will be six team members competing in qualifications (6-5-4 format) and the usual 6-3-3 in team finals. The faces that I can spot missing from these photographs (see below for a fuller group shot) are Aliya Mustafina (the only lock to this autumn's team, assuming she recovers well from her surgery, and remains in good health) and Anastasia Grishina, about whom there has been an ominous silence since this spring. As a reminder, Nastia has had an operation to her knee, as a consequence of an injury sustained on the floor in the Russian Championships. The Munich clini...
Reporting and analysing Russian gymnastics since 2010. Includes original and exclusive interviews with leading coaches and gymnasts, and historical issues dating back to the Soviet Union. The first blog to report extensively on the sport using Russian language sources. I read, I argue, and I have opinions. Be warned.