ICYMI

Everyone's getting in the holiday spirit! Recall that Russia is officially an orthodox nation, so they celebrate Christmas Day on January 7th. Historically, New Years Eve has been more elaborately celebrated and important than Christmas. 

A few days ago, Maria Paseka began to feel very unwell and yesterday she was admitted to the hospital with a high fever. We will hopefully soon know if the fever is a symptom of a more sinister illness or if it was just a typical winter sickness. I wish her a speedy recovery. 

Paseka hospitalized

Aliya has resumed fitness training and will return to apparatus training in early February. I pray time is on her side to regain all her skills and upgrade. She plans to compete at Russian Nationals (the date of which has not yet been published).

Svetlana Khorkina helped end the year on a bright note by giving another workshop for budding gymnasts in Kazan, along with fellow Olympians Zamolodchikova, Nemov, and Shevchenko. Here is a link to watch as Sveta instructs a young girl on bars (and what a heroine she is for always finding ways to give back to the sport).

Andrei Cherkasov and Julia Biryulya have won the respective all-around titles at the Siberian Cup. No scoresheet has been found yet. 

Viktoria Komova was honored with a diploma and crystal award for being the "best athlete" from the Voronezh district. Two other gymnasts, in separate disciplines, received the distinction as well. The Voronezh region is one of the most competitive centers of sport within Russia, boasting almost 70 sponsored sports, many of them with Olympic affiliations. Congrats to Vika on her recognition of excellence from the State.

In RG, Olga Kapranova announced on her instagram that she choreographed Aleksandra Soldatova's new hoop routine. This might not bode well for young Soldatova, as many fans consider Kapranova to have had some pretty bad routines during her own career; the construction was poor and always seemed sloppily put together. For someone like Sasha- not as refined in her presentation as Rita or Yana- this could jeopardize a potential ticket to Rio if this hoop routine isn't AMAZING come next season.