Randomly scanning Youtube for items of interest, I came across this video of 1990 World Cup All Around Champion and 1992 Olympic Beam Champion, Tatiana Lyssenko. 'The beam obeys me' is one of the most memorable quotes by a champion gymnast. Lyssenko pronouced this some years before she won the beam gold medal in Barcelona and performed this rhythmic, well balanced routine at the 1993 World Championships in Birmingham, UK. She went on to take the bronze medal all around in a closely matched competition behind Romania's Gina Gogean and USA's Shannon Miller. She was a remarkable gymnast : as precise and powerful as Podkopayeva but with the spontaneity and line of Omelianchik and a haughty pride that was all her own, Lyssenko is one of the most underrated gymnasts of that time. If only the Ukrainians could produce her like once more. It was a time of change for gymnastics. Not only had the team of the Soviet Union (well, technically, the hastily assembled Commonw...
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.