Goodbye Grishina!

After days of speculation, Anastasia Grishina has confirmed through an interview that she is indeed retired and moving on with her education, in the hope of becoming a sports journalist. I can't recieve this news without a proper sendoff at Russian Season so here are some words on this classical beauty. Just know that no amount of eloquent prose will ever be enough to explain how much I love this gymnast!

First, her interview in English, thanks to Ginnastica Artistica Italiana:

• What are you currently doing with your life? What are your plans for the future?

I'm currently studying, educating myself to start a whole new career as a journalist in the future.

• Many sources are stating that you retired from gymnastics: is it true? In case it is, what drove you to make such a decision?

Yes, I've stopped training, it's been mainly related to my former knee injury

• Probably you were not aware of that, but here in Italy you are one of the most beloved Russian gymnasts! What is it like, in general, your relationship with your fans?

No I wasn't and I am really pleased and grateful to be liked by so many people! For what concerns me, I do my best to treat them with respect and kindness!

• Which moments of your career would you like to change, erase or relive? And which is the competition you felt the proudest of yourself for?

In my life and career I wouldn't change or erase anything, I'm happy with how anything went through; though, if I could choose a competition I was really proud of myself for, I'd say the Bryansk Russian Championships, in 2009. Probably my most successful!

• Did you have an idol or someone who inspired you in gymnastics?

My inspiration was surely Nastia Liukin! She was so complete, talented and graceful… yes, she was my ideal gymnast!

• What kind of an environment is there in the Russian Team? Are you still in contact with the girls? Which feeling did you perceive stronger between friendship and rivalry?

We've always been good friends and we still are. We were only rivals in the arena, once outta there the rivalry was gone.

• Last but not least: if you could describe your Olympic experience in a couple words, which would they be?

It was the most emotional and intense experience of my career, but also… the highest charge of responsibilities of my life.

• Thank you Nastiya for your time, have you a great life, good luck for your future!

Thank you all.

Anastasia Grishina leaves behind a legacy of beautiful gymnastics, characterized by ballerina-worthy body technique, clean acrobatics, and captivating choreography. Although she has never won an individual title at the World or Olympic level, her popularity amongst fans comes from the wealth of emotion and inner strength she displayed while navigating the successes and setbacks of the sport. On beam, her delicate movements and nimbly done connections seemed to showcase a very gentle- even fragile- type of gymnast. Yet her highly marked floor routines won the admiration of the audience and judges alike, thanks in large part to her combination of power, accentuation, and musicality. Even from a young age, her reputation was built by exuding grace beyond her years. There was no apparatus where she relied solely on power to see her through; polished form and crisp technique gave her lift, flight, and ballon- a rare gymnast indeed. 

Anastasia names the 2009 Russian Championships as her best memory and, definitely, that is where many fans first came into knowledge of this brilliant star. Just a year later, at the 2010 Junior Europeans, the Muscovite shared the gold medal with the Russian team, won the silver in the all-around and gold on uneven bars and floor exercise. But for me, it was the 2011 Russian Junior Championships that made me anticipate what her career might be once she turned senior. Grishina, then 15, scored a massive 60.025 in the preliminaries to snatch the all around title with an average of 14.722 across eight events over two days. Even with the deep pool of talent in Russia, she was being singled out, and recognized, for greatness; Grishina was awarded the honored title of Master of Sport of International Class, a rarity for a junior gymnast. 

Through growth spurts, injuries, and coaching dilemmas, Grishina pressed on and was rewarded with a berth on the 2012 Olympics team. Here, a turning point emerged after poor performances in qualifications and team finals led to her being ridiculed and ostracized by both Russian and international media. Already insecure going into London, the teenager had a hard time putting the experience past her and both consistency and performance suffered as a result of the new psychological burden. Her results in 2013 were mixed and kind of disappointing, despite a strong Euros showing where she won bronzes in the beam and all-around final and finished fourth on floor. Unable to attend World's due to a back injury- which head coaches believed only existed in Grishina's head- she took time to recuperate and recharge for the more important 2014 season. After helping herself to a bronze AA medal at 2014 Russian Nationals, she partially tore her ACL on a triple twist during the team final and had to be carried off the podium. Since that devastating event, fans began to suspect that she might call it quits and slip into a quiet retirement, but after a hiatus of one year, she returned for the last time at the Moscow Championships and the Russian Cup. There is no video footage of her comeback at the Moscow Champs and the latter competition displays her two events through poor video quality. Truly, not the broadcast such alluring talent deserved as a swan song. 


It's a shame that such a promising career ended as it did but, for me, Anastasia Grishina still made her mark on artistic gymnastics. She was like a Soviet vision, so beautiful and elegant! Her intricate beam work was a clinic on flawless form and extension. She showed just how artistic uneven bars could be by her fluidity of movement whilst performing tricky catches and combinations. And her floor routines...oh my. Her incredibly soft touch and appealing presentation will forever be the standard of finesse that few can achieve. Although inconsistent and prone to nervy mistakes, every routine she ever performed had her inimitable stamp of grace. Grishina may be gone from the sport, but she certainly will not be forgotten. 

Thank you for your contribution to Russian gymnastics, Nastia.