Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

State of the art gymnastics facilities at Europa Gym Centre, Crayford It is 10.30 on a Saturday night, and Len Arnold OBE is shifting mats with the lads.  The 58 year old gymnastics coach and social entrepreneur is Head Coach and manager of the Europa Gym Centre in Crayford, an impressive state of the art training facility that opened in 2012 and which today (7th September) hosted the London Open, a major event in the British gymnastics calendar.  This year, the competition acted as a final trial for the British senior men who will travel to Antwerp for the World Championships later this month, and amongst the competition were two youngsters from the historic Nikolai Tolkachev Gymnastics School of the Olympic Reserve, Vladimir, Russia. The Russian boys' presence was more than a mere opportunity for them to experience competition in a foreign country against some world class rivals.  It also marked the 25th anniversary of a partnership between a legendary Russian s...

State of the art gymnastics facilities at Europa Gym Centre, Crayford It is 10.30 on a Saturday night, and Len Arnold OBE is shifting mats with the lads.  The 58 year old gymnastics coach and social entrepreneur is Head Coach and manager of the Europa Gym Centre in Crayford, an impressive state of the art training facility that opened in 2012 and which today (7th September) hosted the London Open, a major event in the British gymnastics calendar.  This year, the competition acted as a final trial for the British senior men who will travel to Antwerp for the World Championships later this month, and amongst the competition were two youngsters from the historic Nikolai Tolkachev Gymnastics School of the Olympic Reserve, Vladimir, Russia. The Russian boys' presence was more than a mere opportunity for them to experience competition in a foreign country against some world class rivals.  It also marked the 25th anniversary of a partnership between a legendary Russian s...