First year senior Anastasia Grishina is the Russian team's leading all around gymnast at these Championships. Picture by kind permission of the RGF . I have to give credit to Romania today - they recalled Romanian teams of the past and performed with confidence and energy to beat Russia to first place in qualifications. Ioana Iordache leads the unofficial all around with a display of light and precise acrobatics that must position her as a favourite for the individual Olympic title if she can reproduce her form of today once more, on that much anticipated July day in London. This was a strong, perhaps the strongest possible, Romanian team, drawing on Olympic champions past and, maybe, future. As I had predicted, Iszbasa, Ponor, Iordache, Bulimar and Haidu pulled out all the stops to give their best and take first place against a somewhat below-power Russian team. It remains to be seen whether the Russians can turn their form around in two days flat and co...
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.