Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Dmitri Bilozerchev rose to prominence at the age of 16 in 1983, as the youngest World All Around Champion ever.  He was an astonishing talent. Quickly, legend built up around this extraordinary young man.  Stories circulated of how his coach, Alexander Alexandrov, would reward him with cake for good performance in training.  Bilozerchev's prodigious talent earned him the title the 'Mozart of Gymnastics'.  'He has 'perfect pitch'', said Alexandrov. The only events on which Bilozerchev did not win medals at his first World Championships were the vault and the parallel bars.  Two years later, at the European Championships in Oslo, he collected a full set, a silver medal on the vault his only vaguely modest outcome.  No one could compete with the brilliant Russian.  As we looked forward to the World Championships in Montreal, there was only one gymnast : Dmitri Bilozerchev. Then tragedy stuck as Bilozerchev suffered a catastrophic car accident, his l...

The most important thing at this time of year is to wish you all a very Happy Christmas! And I have to record some more thoughts further to Thursday's post on Clive Palmer's thesis.  My work on this prophetic piece is ongoing, but there is a considerable volume of thought to digest.  To provide the necessary emphasis to each of the author's points, and add currency to his thoughts, will take more than a few days. Palmer's work had me thinking about the degree of authority the FIG wields over the sport, yet seemingly without any consciousness of the gravity of the decisions it takes competition by competition and year by year.  The FIG constantly reminds us of the 'accuracy' of judges' decisions, yet recent events and media coverage only serve to stress how wrong this simple assertion is.  One example is the ease with which the E or execution judges can award inconsistent and unfair marks without risk of reproach. This is in stark contrast to the closel...