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...

  I remember sitting in the Olympiski stadium in Moscow in 2013, absolutely mesmerised by David Belyavski as he progressed inexorably to the gold AA.   His last piece was pommel horse.  He stood there, his arms loosely at his sides, head down, completely in the zone.  The arena sound system was playing music in the background; I remember Led Zeppelin.  The music was curiously cohesive with the space and the occasion.  When it was time for him to go, he was perfect, golden.   Belyavski spans generations of gymnast, floats across era of gymnastics. His body is light and lithe.  His technique is balletic.  You could watch Belyavski perform a simple handstand or leap, and it would still be impressive.  His execution is immaculate. It’s now 2025, and David is 15 years into his senior career.  Today he won a silver medal on the pommel horse.  Tomorrow, he will compete in the parallel bars final.  He is 33. And on his social medi...

David Belyavski was just 19 at his first World Championships in 2011.  Over the past 13 years he has become the leading gymnast of the Russian team, its captain.  He has led Russia to a series of amazing team victories at World, European and Olympic level, always there with his own brand of aesthetic, technically well performed gymnastics.  He moves like a dancer.  His gymnastics is about finesse, lightness and line, yet he still has the power to win medals even in his 32nd year, against a generation of gymnasts who have rewritten the sport’s code of points for themselves, to favour strength and spectacular acrobatics.   His leadership skills motivated fiery, independent-minded athletes like Nagorny and Dalaloyan to come together for the team.  At the last Olympics the sometimes volatile gymnasts grabbed the gold with some remarkable last minute quick thinking, made possible by Belyavski’s calm and encouraging team talks.  His mental strength transform...

Olympic Champion and long-serving Captain of the Russian gymnastics team, David Belyavski won’t be competing at the Russian Championships later this month.  His daughter, Alyssa, begins school in September and he wants some family time - for example to give his daughter a long-promised trip to Disneyland in China.   Andrei Rodionenko, head coach of Russian Gymnastics, has agreed to this - ‘family is the most important thing’, he reportedly said.  In the meantime his wife, Valentina Rodionenko, has had her say, promising David a retirement party before his departure on holiday.  ‘I’ll have to sort that out [I’m not retiring]’, said David to TASS.

 

 Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics David Belyavskiy said that he will perform for his own pleasure if the Friendship Games do not take place this year. 🤸"If the Friendship Games do not take place this year, then I do not see the point in straining myself too much in training, as I did before," said Belyavskiy. "I am not saying that I will end my career, but I will perform for my own pleasure. I will not set goals to win this or that. If I manage to win, then good, if not - no big deal, I perform for myself." "Every year it is becoming more and more difficult for me to prepare for competitions, so I think that there is probably no point in torturing myself," the gymnast added. ✋At the BRICS Games, Belyavskiy fought for medals only in the pommel horse exercise, where he fell, leaving him without a medal. "There was no technical error, my arm just went off the horse. It was a little out of control. It happened towards the end of the routine, when ...

Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion in team all-around David Belyavsky told RG about his love for artistic gymnastics, his attitude towards the Paris Olympics and his mood for the BRICS Games in Kazan. ❓How did you like the first day at the BRICS Games? 💬David Belyavsky: I immediately remember the 2013 Universiade, in which I took part (I won gold in the team, silver on the uneven bars and two bronzes - in the individual all-around and floor exercises - RG note). Kazan, the Universiade village, where we live - everything is great, you can feel the atmosphere of a sports festival. They greeted us very well - with dancing. It's a pity there was no chak-chak, I would have eaten it with pleasure. ❓And what about the regime, diet? David Belyavsky: I never limit myself much, I don't hold back. Moreover, I don’t plan to eat a kilogram, I just want to try. ❓By the way, how did the test go? 💬David Belyavsky: The first training session went well. We came to the gym, warmed up. With new equipme...

David spoke to Russian newspaper Kommersant after his medal-winning performance on uneven bars yesterday. 'I had some health problems, but it's pointless to talk about them right now.  I went out and competed. First of all, the team's silver is far more important than my individual reward.  We had all wanted this medal for our team, and had worked for it for a long time.   Today - it's a funny feeling to be happy with bronze - for a long time we have wanted an Olympic medal in this apparatus.  I can do the exercise better. Oleg Verniaiev really gave a convincing performance, he was spot on.  If you can manage your nerves, you will be the winner.  We get on really well with the Ukrainians, they are our friends.   Now I will take a break, rest up, get married, and then come back. One more Olympic cycle will be enough for me.' http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3065529

Congratulations, David!  A well deserved medal in a fiercely contested final.

Such a good final - just so special, so many amazing routines.  David didn't medal this time but I think with time and hindsight he and we should be proud of his achievement.  4th is the hardest position, but he has apparatus finals to come and, beyond that, plenty more energy in him for more competitions. Congratulations to all who competed, I have never seen such a close final before.  Special congratulations to the medalists, including my compatriot Max who won GB's first AA medal for over a century.  And love to the Russian team, especially David and Kolya, who worked so hard today and in training to prepare to give such an extraordinary fight.

The atmosphere surrounding the Russian male gymnasts at this year's European Championships was noticeably relaxed and happy as they made their way to their various medals.  This reflects not only a more stable competition performance, but also a refreshed dynamic within the team.  First, some background .  Russian sport finds itself under unprecedented pressure at present following serious doping allegations and positive tests which have led the International Athletics Federation to propose that Russia's entire track and field team be barred from the Olympics.  Other sports are implicated, and even gymnastics has not emerged unscathed, as senior team member Nikolai Kuksenkov tested positive for trace elements of meldonium in the spring.  Kuksenkov has now been given a pardon and actually competed in Bern, but it seems likely that artistic gymnastics, with its ultra-clean record internationally, has the potential to win medals for Russia at the Olympics with...

Russia's leading male all around gymnast, David Belyavski, with head coach Andrei Rodionenko As the first big competition of the year approaches for Russia's male gymnasts - the national championships in Penza, which begin in just three days' time - Irina Stepantseva of MK.ru has focussed on the team's preparation, with a visit to Round Lake.  There she interviewed many of the gymnasts, and head coach Andrei Rodionenko.  You can view the full piece in Russian here .   The context : As I have said before, Russian sport has been hit hard by all the doping bans, particularly in track and field athletics.  RUSADA, the national anti-doping agency, has been accused of falsifying documentation.  Tennis has taken a hit, with Maria Sharapova testing positive for the controversial drug Meledonium, and now swimming appears to be being targeted.  I think we can probably expect that all Russian sport will be under the microscope for months to come.  It'...

Belyavski and Ignatyev shared the AA gold :-) Here are the results available to date for the Batumi International.  As mentioned some time ago, Aliya Mustafina is not scheduled to compete in this event, and there is no live streaming.  Let's hope for video coverage. This is only the first stage of selection for Worlds.  Russia Cup, in just over three weeks, will help the coaches make up their minds about who is in the training squads.  After that, the decision will depend on who performs well in training and in final control competitions at Round Lake.  I expect there will be more results to come from this particular competition.   If I am reading the situation accurately - and it is very early days - there could be some surprise selections to Worlds.   15 year old Angelina Melnikova won the junior all around competition.  I understand from Ksenia Semenova on VK.com that Seda Tutkhalyan fell on floor, but she recorded a score of 15.6 on beam. ...

An interview with Aliya, who is attending the competition in Penza; some brief coverage of the MAG competition; and a conversation with the Head of Burtasy School of Gymnastics, Valeri Starkin, can be found here -  http://www.penza-press.ru/lenta-novostey/73763/aliya-mustafina-priehala-v-penzu-na-chr-po-sportivnoj-gimnastike 'I really enjoy working with Sergei Valerivich' says Aliya of her new coaching arrangement, adding that it is great to have someone to help.  In an earlier interview she has said she and Sergei Starkin, who also coaches world gold medallist Denis Ablyazin, are working on upgrades to her bars and floor exercises.  She and Ablyazin train at separate times, in separate gyms; it is important to have the one to one attention of a coach, Aliya says. Valeri Starkin, Sergei's father and recently appointed to the national coaching staff, commented on the good atmosphere and competition, here in his home gym.  The Volga Federal District team (Pavlov, Kazac...

You will find the full results at Longines Timing's website here : http://www.longinestiming.com/Sport?sport=GG There are also live results at the FIG website : http://www.fig-docs.com/live_results/5529/5529.php Russia did pretty well everywhere except pommels, where they suffered one of their magnificent disasters, carrying four falls on that one event ... Ignatyev performed disappointingly in the all around, carrying two marks in the 12s.  Newcomers to the team, Stretovich and Polyashov, both performed creditably but unremarkably.  There is still time for them to make their mark at upcoming competitions as they progress to Rio.  The results show a team that appears more robust than this time last year; despite the pommel horse tussle, the team revived and regrouped in the following apparatus and, even without Garibov and Balandin, managed to stay in touch with their closest rivals. The team is in 5th place, closely matched with Britain, and all the gymnasts wi...

Nikita Ignatyev with the top six gymnasts at Russia Cup this year.  Left to right - Roman Suetin (6th), Ivan Stretovich (5th), David Belyavski (2nd), Nikita Ignatyev, Mikhail Kudashov (3rd), Daniil Kazachkov (4th).  Courtesy RGF Nikita, a promising all arounder who has built his strength gradually from one competition to the next, is a repeat national level champion, having won the spring Russian Championships in 2012.  His win here was earned thanks to consistent performance.  His nearest rival, the occasionally brilliant David Belyavski, made too many mistakes to take the gold.   1991 born Mikhail Kudashov from Chelyabinsk, in third place, is one of Russia's 'reserve' gymnasts, unlikely to make the final line up for Nanning thanks to the prevalence of event specialists on the team. A noteable newcomer to the all around line up is fifth placed Ivan Stretovich, 1996 born and so due to progress to the senior team in 2015 alongside such youngsters as Artur Dalolya...

Andrei Rodionenko and David Belyavski anxiously await the final score. Courtesy RGF Britain and Russia had another tussle in MAG qualifying yesterday, with Britain coming out on top this time.  Both teams had their weak moments.  Russia performed poorly on the high bar, where they missed Emin Garibov in particular.  The versatile Nikita Ignatyev, perhaps hampered somewhat by a painful back, had a rough day with a very poor floor exercise (12.933/6.833 E score) and a fall on high bar.  David Belyavski had a worse day on pommels, with a score of 12.5.  The downside is that Russia has once again trumpeted a reputation for inconsistency.  The good thing is that with a less erratic performance they have a real chance of bridging the gap of 2.772 that separates them from first placed Britain at this stage of the competition.   But it will be perilously close, and if Russia fail to deliver on Saturday there is a real chance that the ambitious Ukrainian team, ...