Head of the Burtasy School of Gymnastics, Valery Starkin (father to Sergei Starkin, who coaches Aliya Mustafina and Denis Ablyazin) has spoken to Penza Pravda about Aliya's bronze medal performance in the AA. Sergei has trained many Olympic athletes, including rhythmic group members Natalia Lavrova and Olesya Belugina. 'The result can be considered good, if not excellent. We knew that Aliya would be able to compete for silver or bronze, and that the gold would only be obtained if the leader, Simone Biles, made a mistake. ... Aliya managed to hold onto her third position despite fierce competition from a Chinese gymnast; her experience helped her a lot. The marking was proper. Aliya missed some connections, acrobatic elements and so the complexity of the D score was reduced. For example on the beam it was 5.3, and also in the floor, despite the fact that usually Aliya scores better there. If you add back in the difference, she could easily have be...
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.