Soundbites From Worlds

TEAM FINAL

Seda: "Today, I competed beam and floor. The excitement led to mistakes on the balance beam." She was alarmed by the team's collective mistakes on BB and said she can compete better. The next day she told reporters that the team "will continue to fight." (x)

Ksenia: "To be honest with you all, and with ourselves, we have not been at 100%. But everyone has their personal failures. We will assess our mistakes, and we will work on improving." (x)

Maria P: "To be honest, it's very strange, because we prepared on this apparatus (beam) more than any other [leading up to Worlds]. On the other events, everything was stable/good. We've trained for days and nights on the beam. Maybe it's our psychology. Or it's just a sign that we must work even harder. What can I say...some girls are too nervous. I don't know what happened." (x) 

Aliya: "Honestly, today didn’t leave a glowing impression. Of course, you feel a certain disappointment because things didn’t work out the way you would have wanted. But, let’s say it this way: Life goes on. Everyone was better on floor today than in qualifications. But beam – yeah. All three competitors fell, which has to affect the final score. It’s not easy to judge from the sidelines, and I wasn’t with the team when things were happening. I can’t really speak to what happened, because anything I say from the sidelines will be inaccurate anyway." (x)

Valentina R: "It would have been enough if one of the three had not fallen on beam, and we would win the bronze. The beam is that way; if you feel a little uncertain it throws you. So it went. It is not a tragedy, but it should not have happened." She stressed the need for the girls to learn how to "concentrate on their own performance and nothing else." She also called the bronze won by the British "lucky" and accused judges of giving favorable scores to them. (x x)

ALL-AROUND

Valentina R: "I admit, we did not have high hopes of finishing on the AA podium at this Worlds. We counted on top 8-10. We finished in 15th place. But in any case, Seda has gained huge experience so for her it was a great start [as a senior]. Unfortunately, we could not send out our three strongest girls. Viktoria Komova is restoring her health and does only 3 apparatus. Ksenia Afanasyeva works on two. And Aliya Mustafina has severe leg pain."  (x) 

MAG TEAM FINAL

Nikita: "The team competition was successful. We got almost all good marks. There were some mistakes, but generally we managed well." He was worried about the HB and was emotional after a successful routine. The TF proved unpredictable with the Chinese wavering, a rare sight. He says that everyone is happy, including the coaches and staff: :"The potential we showed, we're taking to Rio. This is important!" (x)

Nikolai: "As I said, our first task was to qualify to the Olympics by getting top 8, which we did. After qualifying, we set the goal to get top 3 in the final. If, as we joke with the guys, the competition was not held in the UK, we would have been bronze medalists... but that's a lot of talk in favor of the losers, and we have done everything we could have. For the team, to be honest, I was upset, because we were worthy of the bronze." As for his expectations for Rio, he will not voice his opinion, but he will say one thing: "We are moving in the right direction." (x)

Valentina R: " In such an environment of openly biased refereeing, Russians have done everything we could. It's unfortunate that a mistake was made on vault with Denis Ablyazin, but the guys coped well with the other exercises. This is indicated by stable scores of between 14.666-14.933. Another thing- the judges didn't want to give points of 15." She notes that they only received marks of 15+ on one apparatus. "It is hoped that the Rio judges will be impartial to all athletes, including the hosts. Now, I want to note that our girls and Denis have finals with exceptional chances to win medals. The main hope is that our programs are not marred by tyrannical judges." (x)

VAULT & BARS

Lidia Ivanova: "Yesterday was a very happy one, when out of two possible gold medals our girls took three. But we need to deeply analyze one of of the dominant trends: both our women's and men's team came fourth." On the historic UB podium she commented, "No one could imagine such a thing. I've watched gymnastics for a long time, and I can't remember when out of eight finalists, 50% won gold. On the one hand it's great, on the other- very annoying. We are not alone in splendid isolation, two rivals took gold. We must think seriously about how to secure an absolute gold medal apart from the competition, but I heartily congratulate the girls." (x)

Daria: " I do not know how it happened to be honest. It's the first of its kind. Well, we all deserved it. I'm pleased with myself and my performance. I did not expect, of course, that I would get the gold, but I hoped..." (x)

Maria P: At first I didn't understand how it happened (winning), but I vaulted cleaner. I'll have to review, and see if something can be added (upgraded) for the Olympics." She repeated her frustration over the team coming in fourth: "Of course, we went for the gold!" (x)

Andrei R: "[My] commentary is on the scoreboard. There is nothing more to add. Everything will be fine." (x)

Viktoria: "I never expected to be able to even get in the top 4. I'm fine, I needed this victory because it was so long since I last competed. The qualification was useful to understand what was wrong and what I had to change. I can improve on my SV [for next year] because I still have a couple of things in stock." (x)

BEAM & FLOOR

Ksenia: "Yesterday I wasn't feeling very good, but today I had nothing to lose. In assessing my chances, there were a few combinations that I did not do in qualifying or for the team event. I was not afraid and I was not nervous, just had to go out and compete. Sometimes I found myself thinking that I could go without a medal, but I began to torment myself. Regarding the TF, it is difficult to compete with the U.S.- they are out of reach to us at the moment- but for second and third you can fight." (x)

Viktoria: "I tried not to fall, to resist. I'm glad to have [done beam] with dignity. The conclusion? I have to keep working, yes, but the work could bring good results. Honestly, I'm not very happy with my Worlds. Bars- yes, but for the beam final and team final, I'm not pleased." In further analyzing her BB EF performance, she said on her near fall, "It was a huge error which caused a lot of tenths to be taken off [of the e-score]." (x)

MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS

In translating the interviews, it's interesting to see how different personalities allow people to view things differently. Not that personality alone affects perception; I think experience plays a part as well. For instance, Mama Afan says that second and third are the only spots up for grabs against the Americans, in TF. Meanwhile, Paseka, a girl at her first Worlds and having a stellar breakout year, says that the team went for gold! In my mind I've always viewed Afan as the quiet but powerful force to be reckoned with. She knows when to put it all out there, and her experience competing against the U.S., for nine years, lets her know just what type of gymnastics it will take to topple them, as she saw her country do in 2010. So is she cynical or just realistic? On the other hand, personality seemed to affect the type of responses the men gave to the media. Denis, the leader gave appropriate and sorta cookie cutter answers to everything, taking responsibility for his shortcomings and leaving us with just a hint of optimism. His responses match his very measured personality. But look at the differences between Ignatyev and Kuksenkov's responses to the TF. Ignatyev takes joy in the fact the team had a clean comp, while Nikolai is particularly angry for the very same reason! One sees fourth place as a testimony to how strong the int'l competition was while the other implicitly believes he was robbed of a medal. Lastly, let's compare the closing remarks made by the husband-wife team, the Rodionenko's, to see how two people witnessing the same situation can come away with different assessments. 

Valentina: "The first day of finals showed the strength and beauty of Russian gymnastics. The performances of the girls has silenced the critics who've aligned themselves against the team and proved that the Olympic team will be competitive. Overall, it went well, as the main task was to qualify to the Olympics, where you will see an even better team." (x)

It is still highly amusing to me to hear a spokesperson for a Big 4 nation putting as much anxious emphasis on qualifying a team as, say, a country like Brazil or Netherlands. There was no way in hell Russia wasn't, at the very least, going to qualify for Rio. The link to the entire interview, and several others tbh, shows Valentina to be very petty and highly defensive against any criticism. But clearly, she is very satisfied with Glasgow 2015. Her husband...

Andrei: "So many things are not going as they should. Things that should be easy, failed. But it is not only our problem, and the format of the team will change for the Games. The important thing is to be healthy next year. For the future we have three very good gymnasts: Natalia Kapitonova, Angelina Melnikova, and Daria Skrypnik. Generally, however, we have a problem with the younger girls." (x)

I wonder if Andrei is speaking about Russia's abysmal turnover rate with first year seniors? They've lost a lot of junior talent that never materialized they way it was expected to. Or maybe he's reflecting on the psychology of first year seniors? Their newbies do tend to become sketchy in the consistency department. Whatever the case, he is the one with the actual coaching expertise, and recognizes just how much work will need to get done for Russia to be in the best fighting shape for Rio in nine months. 

So, what are your thoughts on Russia's performances at Worlds (MAG & WAG)? 

I hope you enjoyed these crazy World Championships as much as I did. The organizers, gymnasts, audience, technology, and plot twists made this an unforgettable experience. Have a great day.