It was a post on the IG Forum that alerted me to the existence of this video of a wonderful floor exercise from the 1981 Moscow News Tournament. Irina Breigina, born in 1967 in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan, was the 1979 Junior USSR Champion but sadly missed out on major senior competitive events thanks to a serious foot injury. Nevertheless, this is a really interesting floor routine which shows off Breigina's plasticity and expression to its best effect and also interprets the music in an unexpected way. Incidentally, the Soviet team used the same music for their group exercises at one of the many displays I attended during the early 1980s. Watch it on Youtube .
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.