Rewriting Russian Gymnastics

I’m not happy about this … the RGF has run a masterclass in what they are calling the Donetsk People’s Republic.  Of the Russian Olympic gymnasts I can see Nagorny there, and Urazova, don’t recognise the others apart from Stretovich, whose Instagram this is. It would be nice if this were an olive branch for peace, but I think it’s more of an Empire for President Putin.   Translation : ‘i.stretovich96 A significant event for the Donetsk People's Republic The Russian Gymnastics Federation held a master class in Donetsk For me personally, this is an important and significant moment. Gymnastics in the republic was, is and will be! Thank you for the warm welcome.’

 Hooray!  British gymnastics has published the broadcast schedule for the European Gymnastics Championships.  They start on Monday 26th May.  Soon!!! 

  ‘Here in Saudi Arabia I have already gained experience in composing floor routines, this was my first experience. I composed 5 floor routines remotely for Chinese gymnasts. And I will continue composing for our team here I really like this creative process. Plus I know the intricacies of gymnastics and I know what will be best for the gymnasts during the floor routines.’ ‘I also try to individually compose floor exercises. to select the movement specifically for the gymnast. the first experience was very successful! Although, I was very worried‘ Good luck, Elena, with this new branch of your increasingly successful career.

Even though I don’t trust scores as a way of ranking gymnasts - especially not when cross-competition comparison is concerned - I found this data from the Gymternet interesting.   It’s still early in the year and many gymnasts have not yet competed.  Necessarily, all of the Russia scores are from domestic - and domestic junior - competitions.  I’m surprised to see them faring so well in a world listing.  Kalmykova is leading AA.  Russian floor workers are back at the top. If Stretovich is right and the sanctions continue for another ten years, such notional thinking may be all we have, even if the Russian gymnastics system holds up and continues producing more elite athletes. You can treat all of these scores with a pinch of salt … it would be interesting though to hear some well informed opinions.   See the rankings at  https://thegymter.net/2025/05/03/the-best-wag-scores-in-2025-april-update/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR7k3DcD29uqegLqo3WbcwaTtH3rWTv0n...

Coach Vera Kiryashova speaks of Elena Eremina’s new life as a coach in Saudi Arabia.   Via TASS/vk.com.  Google translate Russian Elena Eremina, winner of silver and bronze at the 2017 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, has moved to Saudi Arabia, where she now works as a coach at one of the local gymnastics clubs. Eremina's personal coach Vera Kiryashova told TASS about this. 💬"Lena has been working in Saudi Arabia since February. She signed a contract with one of the local clubs, where she trains both girls of different ages and adults," Kiryashova said. "She has a work visa, Lena can travel with her gymnasts to competitions and training camps around the world. Of course, she shared her impressions of working there with me. In principle, everything is going well for Lena, despite the fact that there are certain specifics in working with local athletes. She is already planning to bring her gymnasts to Russia, to our training camp in Pushkin." 💬"Arti...

This is an interesting interview, if rather long.  You can auto translate captions into English. Interesting that Stretovich implies that his local region is expecting Russia to be out of international competition for ten to fifteen years.  This is mainly Stretovich’s personal opinion, and he says he knows it is very unpredictable (‘like sitting on a powder keg’).  But Siberia is putting its efforts into the youngest generation; no point preparing interim generations, he seems to say.   https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR7mmZJ9dREm5I5MHhQaRsZIZ0ZvzlJzzkxPR_l5zs5vCufsfgQnruYcv-0R3Q_aem_4W17x7Y-zUJDlM1YTR_OEQ&si=fJrsSfHjUd2qDahy&v=vQxj84h1K6M