Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

Seda Tutkhalyan, the 'rosebud' of this Russian team, who gave a searing debut performance in Baku for the senior team at her first major competition. Unsurprisingly, there has been a whole gamut of press interviews today.  In one of the best ones, with Aliya, the champion explained how she is still only really at 55% at this competition - it's only necessary, she says, to be at 100% for the Olympics - you don't want to peak too soon.  Andrei Rodionenko confirmed that this was be a more difficult competition to win than European Championships, because the 3-2 format in team, and one-per-country rule in finals evens out the field and provides a boost to the weaker countries.  Viktoria Komova said she was a little disappointed not to qualify for a final, but couldn't really complain as it was her first competition in three years.  David Belyavski explained that he decided not to compete on the high bar thanks to a wrist injury; the Russian MAG had already won the gold,...

BAKU, June 15. /Spets.korr. TASS Albert Starodubtsev /. Successful performance at the European Games in Baku male and female Russian national gymnastics team competitions indicates that domestic athletes are among the world leaders in the sport. This was stated by the national team coach Tass Valentine Rodionenko. © Mikheil Japaridze / TASS The winners of gold medals in the first European Games in Baku in the women's team competition became Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina 2012, two-time silver medalist Victoria Komova 2012 and the winner of the Youth Olympic Games in 2014 in Nanjing Seda Toutkhalian. In the men's tournament, there was no equal Kuksenkova Nicholas, David Belyavsky and Nikita Ignatyev. "None of our guys shells and girls here have committed no serious errors - stressed Rodionenko. - It allows us to look with optimism to the future. " Second and third place went to the team of women in Germany and the Netherlands respectively. Men silver in a bitter stru...

'Golden team' courtesy of Seda_Tutkhalyan_Fans on Instagram  https://instagram.com/p/38TT34tCBN/ - In individual finals, I went to the all-around, uneven bars and possibly the floor exercise - said Aliya Mustafina. - In the freestyle I have the best result in the team, but it is not clear what points will gain athletes from other countries. - How to evaluate its shape compared with the Olympic Games in London? - 55 per cent. If now it was 100, then the curve would go down, and began to decline. It is better to get in shape than ever to support it. - Russian Debutante team Seda Tuhtalyan able to bypass you and Viktoiyu com on the Balance Beam. This surprised? - Seda - umnichka. I did not expect that it will perform well enough. She has a very strong performance on the balance beam. And she knows how to gather important competition, and this is most important. This test she passed. - And how do you address Victoria Komova? - Vic did not speak for a long time, so now the main thin...

Interview # # # NikitaIgnatev EvropeyskieIgry # Baku Nikita Ignatyev: when performing floor exercises made a mistake out of the blue. Today, June 14, at the first European Games in Baku (Azerbaijan) started gymnastics tournament. The men were held qualifying competitions in the floor exercise, in the rings and on horseback. Russian Nikita Ignatyev for floor exercises got 14,300 points for the exercises on the rings - 15,000, and for exercises on horseback - 14.366. The impressions Nikita Ignatyev shared with special correspondent of the press service DSP Mark Skoda. Agency of the sports information "All Sport" quoted Nikita Ignatyev. - In general, I am satisfied with the first day of the competition - said Nikita Ignatyev. - Although there were unforeseen troubles. For example, on the floor exercise, I did everything well and was happy, but then out of the blue made a serious mistake - not able to get into the rack, and had to start all over again. I rented it for a lot of po...

Courtesy of the RGF Interviews with each of the Russian gymnasts at this week's European Games - Aliya Mustafina, Viktoria Komova and Seda Tutkhalyan - have appeared in the Russian press.  Here are excerpts. Victoria Komova: this is my first competition after my break - I hope that things will only get better. Today, June 14, at the first European Games in Baku (Azerbaijan) the gymnastics tournament began.  For the women there were qualifying competitions on the vault and uneven bars. Russia's Viktoria Komova vault score was 14.566, and on uneven bars - 14.866. Mark Skoda of Allsport reports. - Right before my performances, I had goose pimples all over my body, said Viktoria Komova. - A lot of spectators, great excitement. They all clapped and generally very actively supported us. I have not performed at many major events recently, so was a little excited. - How did it go in the vault and on the uneven bars? - On bars I don't think I will get to the final. It's 100 per ...

I'm often talking here of gymnastics as a sporting cultural form.  A cultural form is the physical or material manifestation of beliefs, traditions and identity and is constantly changing in response to social, political and economic shifts, and vulnerable to the forces of globalisation.  Sporting cultural forms are especially fragile as they can be subject to direct intervention in matters of taste or regulation by political administrative bodies often more interested in TV income or the bottom line than in the cultural 'health' of their sporting form.  In gymnastics terms, this could be interpreted as meaning that the power of the dollar usually speaks more loudly than, for example, the intrigue of the classical or the appeal of folk tradition. Artistic gymnastics has seen more than its fair share of intervention over the past twenty five years or so as it has adapted to a new world order.  The FIG makes continual changes to the Code of Points and to competition...

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