Soundbites From Euros

On the Swiss Crowd & Vengeance

Nagornyy: Before we began to do pommels in the team final, a woman randomly threw us 100 francs and said, "Take it, Russians, buy a Swiss cheese and chocolate." She thought that we are poor, we have no money... You know, after I've done PH, and when we've won, and the Swiss took the third place, I just wanted to look into her eyes. But she was gone. Cool that we could win, but we would not have won if you hadn't "cheered" for us. Thanks for your support! We love you!

On the Future 

Afanasyeva: Well, the age… Maternal instincts are awakening. Sure, I want a child. I look at kids and think, ‘It’s time!'

Mustafina: I don't think about what will happen after Rio. Right now the most important thing for me is what will happen before and in Rio.

V. Rodionenko: The upcoming event is Russian Cup, where some participants will not change anything because we need stability. At the Olympics it will be more difficult- there are our main rivals, the Americans [and the Chinese women are catching up].

On the Younger Generation

Afanasyeva: [Melnikova] did really well. I like Angelina, she is a very good girl, I like her as a gymnast and as a person.  I hope she will keep on doing well, I will root for her.  [On Seda] Not all kids are so talented that everything they do is perfect. Frankly, when I was little my results were also so-so. When I got older I became more conscious somehow, stopped psyching myself out… wait, that’s not entirely true (laughs). Only at 18 did I start getting the hang of things, and, little by little, started winning. Maybe that’s Seda’s problem. Maybe she is still too young, and falls a bit short of something.  

A. Rodionenko: After the junior competition on Sunday, I can say that our potential Tokyo WAG team looks weak. The health of young gymnasts is already a concern. After they go through puberty those problems probably won’t go away. Weak health makes it hard for girls to deal with physically demanding training and fast-paced competitions. Technique-wise your young gymnasts might look better than the previous generation but this is because of the overall progress of gymnastics as a sport. Their physical abilities are very limited. This indicates that the younger generation in Russia has poor health. Kids that enter the national team first need to get healthy. If we compare Aliya’s generation with the two subsequent ones, the difference is evident.

On Tokyo 2020

Afanasyeva: Recently I told my coach, my mother, my boyfriend, that I probably will take a break after Rio, and then maybe be back for the next Games. They told me that I’m crazy (laughs).

A. Rodionenko: If after Rio Mustafina and Afanasyeva announce their retirement, that would be a logical step for them to take. Maybe they will want to keep going after Olympics, I can’t rule that out. But there is an objective in gymnastics: if you enter the gym (start training), you should be ready to stay for 4 years. In our case - to stay until 2020 Tokyo Olympics. If Kseniya and Aliya decide to keep doing gymnastics, motivated either by positive or negative emotions, they should do so aiming for 2020 Olympics. There is no point in staying for a couple of seasons.

On the Health of the National Team:

Paseka: I go to the hospital every year because of my back. Suddenly I injured my back in the Championship of Russia. I had to lie in the hospital for two weeks. I lost my fitness and realized that I can’t go to the European Championships. I don’t want to go to Bern and do the vault very bad and with mistakes. 

Afanasyeva: I'm ashamed that I've helped the team only on vault. Sadly, I have no control over my injury. This competition schedule is not very convenient for gymnasts - you finish TF and the very next morning you do apparatus finals. So, there is no break - no time to rest or train your routines. Usually I have some time to prepare my vault. I wanted to take a risk, but after I thought about  it…If I did an Amanar, I would have gotten silver, not bronze - but my leg would feel even worse now. And that would definitely effect my pre-Olympic training.    

On Senior MAG Team Finals
A. Rodionenko: Our men's team performed typically, in accordance with their level of preparation. Most importantly- we won team gold. This Euros was a test for the Games. It's important to feel out the prospects of gymnasts. Competition regulations were unusually harsh- it wasn't to the Olympic format. After the TF in the evening the next morning we had all six individual finals!

On Senior WAG Team Finals

Mustafina: I’m in a good mood, so glad we hit today! Everything went as planned. Every medal is special for me! We put ourselves together, did everything, British team made mistakes - that is why the gap (in scores) was so big. I’m satisfied with my performance, but, of course, this is not enough for the Olympics. I prepared bars and beam, those routines are fine, but I did not prepare floor, I did FX only to help the team. 

V. Rodionenko: After this Championships, I have defined a few athletes who have guaranteed themselves a spot on the Olympic team. We are still waiting for the Russian Cup to make the final call, but I can say it will be between those who performed at Euros and two we left at home, Maria Paseka and Viktoria Komova. 

Afanasyeva: To be honest, today I’m tired and not as emotional as on Saturday. After we won [team finals], I was just overwhelmed! It always feels good to win - no matter what kind of competition you are in, it always makes you feel great. Now it is already hard for me to articulate those emotions.

On Senior WAG EF's
V. Rodionenko: Aliya had uncertainty, because she didn’t compete for a long time. But how she performed her balance beam routine … she’s a hero! She practically didn’t make mistakes. Third place on the bars is not terrible. She can increase her difficulty [later]. 

Afanasyeva: The Swiss gymnast’s second vault was indeed not perfect, but her vaulting is great, she deserved that gold.

My Thoughts
How much did you laugh when Valentina said the Chinese are catching up? Perhaps she meant to the Americans? Because they are very far ahead of Russia... 

I found it interesting that Andrei felt the junior team results (4 golds) were so pathetic, because who was responsible for making Aliya's generation into World and Olympic champions but the very man he fired, Alexander Alexandrov! Even Afan admits that her best work came from this era (she was overshadowed by Kramarenko, Pavlova and Semenova in 2005-08). Alexandrov's tutelage had many girls learn a great deal of difficulty at a young age, the same difficulty Russia presently depends on to keep themselves relevant at the senior level. Aliya once said there's nothing she does now that she wasn't already doing last quad, and ascribed her continued ability to fight for medals down to the high level brought upon by the 2009- 2011 years. The girls were subjected to maximum conditioning and put in a pressurized environment where no one felt they were a lock for any team [since Alexandrov believed internal competition sparked ambition]. It was Alexandrov who kept pushing Afan to upgrade floor and prove she wasn't irrelevant. It was under him that Russia had four amanar's: Sidorova, Paseka, Mustafina, and Komova. I find it unnecessary to go through a list of his accomplishments, we see what he's done in three years with the Brazilian junior and senior WAG teams. So, okay, our current juniors aren't as impressive as the 2010 juniors per se, but who's fault is that? Andrei can't really be thinking to blame it on a national health crisis when the country has seen a positive revitalization in sports infrastructure and culture, and has taken great pains to introduce health education into their sporting curriculum. I'm sorry but I refuse to believe the present generation of Russian children are less nutritious and fit than the Yeltsin and early-Putin era ones, when there were economic and food crises. I think Andrei is making excuses- as usual. These three years have proven how badly the head coaches get freaked when at least one veteran isn't on a team. It's no wonder the younger generation are at a lower level than previous, when their development has been somewhat neglected. After Nationals, Valentina opined that the world would be surprised Russia had produced such a gymnast as Angelina Melnikova but, more than anything, it seems like she was surprised! 

Eventually the reigns must be handed over, and I for one, am enthusiastic about our juniors and current first years seniors. I can see Kapi, Melka, and Seda doing very well in 2017, and Lena, Uliana, and Nastia will add interesting depth. Not to mention, we have Klimenko and Shekholdina turning senior later in the quad and they are exciting prospects. Besides, so much talent hasn't even made itself visible to us yet and will not do so until 2018-19. I would tell fans to disregard what Andrei is saying; he is just venting his fears and like the rest of his administration has no vision beyond getting saved by the superstar vets. They're not showing their full potential, but I trust in the youth to step up to the challenge when their time comes. Haven't they already done so at Euros?