Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

As you will probably know, the Russian WAG team has travelled to Mallorca for their annual active recreation. Aliya Mustafina, Viktoria Komova, Anna Dementyeva, Tatiana Nabieva and Maria Paseka are there, amongst others - a full list of the names to be confirmed. (Anastasia Grishina has had minor surgery and is travelling to Cyprus with her mother.) The girls are working out their competition commitments for the coming months, with Anna planning to appear in Mexico in October, and Aliya beginning her assault on the next Olympic cycle in December in Stuttgart. They return to Moscow tomorrow, 17th September. Meantime, Maria Paseka has been hard at work on the apparatus and is evidently preparing new skills for uneven bars and floors. See the video below and reflect on the nascent brilliance demonstrated. Markelov to Gienger combination? That's exciting stuff!!! Maria Paseka training video on Youtube.

Alla Misnik collecting her prize as 1981 Moscow News all around champion.  Courtesy RIA Novosti I was yesterday reminded of the genius of Alla Misnik, who won three medals at the Madrid European Championships in 1981 (bronze all around, silver uneven bars, silver floor exercise, qualifying to all four event finals).  Misnik had travelled to Madrid with team mate Natalia Ilienko, who here managed a meagre silver medal on beam, but went on to win gold in team and floor exercise at the Moscow World Championships that autumn.  The same year Misnik had won the Moscow News tournament and, later, the USSR Cup, but sadly never competed at a World Championships. Misnik was born in Kharkov, Ukraine on the 27th August 1967.  She was coached by Valentin Shumovsky, (whose team of young gymnasts also included 1978 Junior European beam and floor exercise champion, Natalia Karamushka).    Zaglada (2010) writes of Shumovsky's care in training Misnik to the peak of her...

Things are a little quiet at the moment, though I do expect to update with a couple of interesting features in the coming week or so.  In the meantime, enjoy this picture gallery of Olympic all around silver medallist Viktoria Komova.  Viktoria Komova, September 2012

You will find a link to the FIG's newly published book of results at the Olympic Games here .  This year, they have broken down the judge's execution scores so you can see exactly how each judge evaluated the gymnasts' performances.  It makes for interesting reading - if only I had more time to analyse each judge's marking.  A skim reading already highlights multiple inconsistencies in individual judges' marks and makes you wonder why they bother with the jury at all. I have taken the time to look at the reference judges' scores for the top four in the women's all around.  The FIG explains here what their role is, and how they are selected.  I even used my calculator, which is a risky thing in my hands.  My, how I wish we could have seen a similar document for the Tokyo World Championships. I wonder if anyone can explain how, if the FIG's Code of Points is so objective and fair, it is possible to come up with two different results using two differ...

Russian Head Coach and his often controversial wife, Valentina.  Courtesy RGF There has been a symphony of voices in the Russian press over past weeks as the results of the Olympics are reviewed and considered; you can find translations of some of the key works on this blog including a partial transcription of a press conference featuring most of the gymnasts and coaches, and interviews with the national coaches and gymnasts.   The key focus of this coverage, rather than on gymnasts' performance, is on national coaching provision: will contracts be renewed, and were all members of the national teams provided with equal coaching support.  So far, much of this controversy seems to have focussed on the women's team.  Two warring factions have emerged: the Rodionenkos alongside Sergei Zelikson (personal coach to Anastasia Grishina) and Marina Ulyankina (Maria Paseka) appear to be at odds with WAG national coach Alexander Alexandrov.  In p...

Take time if you can to view this, Svetlana Boginskaya's 1988 floor routine set to Bizet's Carmen.  Boginskaya was not the most powerful tumbler on the Soviet team in those days, and today the value of her tumbling would be negligible, but her grace and artistry is timeless, rare.  We speak of 'difficulty', understanding it to mean tumbles, leaps and turns contrived to amount to the highest possible start value.  Boginskaya includes only two leaps in this routine, one turn and three tumbles.  All of these moves are integrated into the narrative of the routine; the choreography varied in shape, style and mood, telling a story that matches the music.  Take out the 'difficulty' and a complex performance remains that goes beyond presentation. Boginskaya was 15 years old at these Games, facing a growth spurt and handling the pressure of her first Olympic Games.  She contributed to the Soviet Union's gold medal in the team event, took two bronzes in the all...

Thanks to M for providing the link to this excellent Sports Express interview by Elena Vaitsekhovskaya.  Lupita here translates - enjoy! Alexander Alexandrov and Aliya Mustafina in training shortly before the Games began.  Courtesy of the RGF In interviews that were aired before the Olympics, the Russian head coach - Valentina Rodionenko-  often mentioned that Aliya Mustafina was not the same gymnast she had been in Rotterdam. That she hadn’t  recovered completely after her injury. That she had started to fear competing and complex elements. In London she could win bronze on bars: this would be the limit of her dreams. Yet, Mustafina came back as a heroine. She rescued the whole team; she competed on all four events, although she had only expected to compete on two in the team final. After the team’s silver, she won bronze in the AA, gold in bars and another bronze in floor. No other gymnast was able to win such an amount of medals... * * * ...