Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Anastasia Grishina - will the Rodionenkos treat her fairly and give her a chance to try for the team? Just a few loose ends to tie up since I last spoke to you post Russia Cup. Go-Tribe is fabulous! Visit her site for full transliterations of almost all the Russia Cup results, including the men's competition. Andrei Rodionenko is talking about the Russian team selections for Worlds again, and the complications that Komova's illness has brought to the team.  She mentions Paseka as a possible team member but says it is a real conundrum given the lack of indicators of Komova's readiness, inevitable because of her illness, and the fact that Paseka's strongest apparatus, vault, coincides with that of two members of the team already, Mustafina and Nabiyeva.  Hold your horses, Andrei - aren't you forgetting that there is another gymnast to be considered - Anastasia Grishina!? Nominative registrations close on the 27th August but the team can make changes till ...

Tatiana Nabiyeva celebrates her golden week in Penza Tatiana Nabiyeva shone this week in the Russia Cup, taking five of the six available gold medals (all around, team, vault, uneven bars and beam; she withdrew from the floor competition for which she had qualified), thereby establishing herself as the current spiritual leader of Russia's gymnastics team.  This is a dramatic turn around for the 18 year old from St Petersburg.  Before this summer's Universiade, Nabiyeva's last all around competition of any note had been the 2010 World Championships, where she finished in seventh place.  Since then, she has battled chronic back pain, a significant growth spurt and a drubbing from Russia's head coach Valentina Rodionenko for what she called her 'obesity', sitting out last year's Olympics as reserve before digging herself out of a rather doubtful place in Russian gymnastics' history to a hopeful position as we approach the 2013 World Championships. As a...