Aliya Mustafina after last night's all around competition, where she won a bronze medal. Courtesy RGF 2010 World Champion Aliya Mustafina put in an amazing performance last night, overcoming health worries and the significant pressure of being Russia's only feasible medal contender to win a bronze medal all around. The USA were dominant in this competition, with Simone Biles taking gold ahead of team mate Kyla Ross in silver. Simone had an excellent competition, and impressed with astounding power in her tumbles, including a double straight with half out. You can find the results of the all around competition here . I will be reflecting on the significance of this outcome later. In the meantime, I wanted briefly to review the Russian press, which includes a couple of short interviews with Aliya, and an Itar-Tass discussion with Alexander Alexandrov, the first Russian language press coverage of the charismatic coach since well before his departure from ...
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.