ICYMI

I lost my internet for a few days because a windy storm took down a cable line, but I figured I wasn't going to be missing much (just gander memorial), and I can recap later, right? Boy was I wrong! How is it nothing has happened for two months and then everything important over 48 hours!?! Team Russia is too much for me. Here's everything I missed...

2016 was the year of intrigue. Anna Rodionova is pregnant which is CRAZY cuz she's still a first year senior in my mind.

Then I blinked and Aliya got married!!!What the whatty what? This one made me feel weird emotions because 1) It was shocking but not surprising. Like, we knew she'd been in a relationship with Alexei since late last year (I think?) so on the one hand marriage is a natural course of things if there's love and trust and etc. (lol), but on the other hand it just...happened, like BAM, no traditional engagement or anything. 2) But then, Aliya is a "celeb" so she doesn't owe her fans intimate views into her life, and she doesn't even have to tell her friends and family if she doesn't want to. It's only between the people getting married. 3) Nonetheless I still couldn't help feeling like Aliya deserved something grandiose-the best wedding, big or small, in Fiji or Hawaii or someplace super nice and with an actual honeymoon (Alexei's schedule is depriving her of one). But then I set myself straight b/c not everyone's ideas of perfection is the same and happiness is what's important. 4) I found out Aliya was married by reading anon hate getting passed around that it was a shotgun wedding and that Aliya was already pregnant. That really sucked as a way of getting the news. I detect some judgement being passed on the Russian women in general for getting married or pregnant at youngish ages (in 2012 it was the opposite, with a lot of RG girls getting married). I guess we should've taken them more seriously when they spoke of their domestic dreams beyond gym (remember that year everyone was in the hospital and they were all like 'I can't live like this. I want babies one day!' (paraphrased)). So anyways, Aliya's married and that one is gonna take some getting used to- but not because I feel any negativity about it, just the suddenness is all. 

David also married but this we knew was coming because he proposed publicly in Rio. Then Nikita Ignatyev got married, so I amuse myself with thoughts of some sort of pact going on. For the gymnasts, they've guaranteed this will be a year to remember; everyone has a team medal and plenty of them got hitched. Hold on, Spiri and Nagorny are still just dating, right? 

Onto competition news. 2016 Memorial Blume is happening today (Seda competes). Here is the livestream starting at 12 noon (EST) but the link won't show gymnastics for another hour (we'll def miss vt and maybe half of ub). The Combs la Ville tournament starts today as well. If enough videos emerge I'll do a competition recap. Junior team: Elizaveta Kotchetkova, Anna Subbotina, Elnara Ablyazov. Espoir team: Nellie Audi, Emma Raimbault, Sasha Shamratova.




Angelina Melnikova competed alongside Nikita Ignatyev at the Memorial Gander, which she won, while Nikita did terribly (10th). She's in good shape for this being the out-of-shape season. She vaulted a strong (though a lil sloppy) dty, but I don't agree with those who think an amanar is coming. I guess next quad she'll have the ambition to acquire it, but I wish people would realize that a good dty- or even a great one- is not the only condition that determines an amanar. Shoulder rotation and angles go by completely different rules when you're going from a double to a blind landing. Melka's been killing herself on vault for the better part of two years before her dty began to look controlled. I think she now understands the block needed for a dty, but an amanar is not just about running faster or hitting the table harder, and with the only four tenths between each vault, is the risk even worth it anymore? Next she went to beam where her hamstring injury was evident. Even though she fell, a 13.1 is extremely low considering the quality of the rest of the routine, but then you realize she downgraded half a point and they hammered her execution on the leaps. It's going to continue like this if she can't heal her tear properly. We've lost too many good gymnasts to tiny injuries that ended up derailing whole careers because they became chronic. Her bars were great, purposely downgraded, but I didn't find anything worth noting except perhaps that her handstands were horrible (but again, it's out-of-shape season, she's allowed to be less accurate right now). I can't wait to see her at the Swiss Cup, whence both her and Nikita's scores will count (so he better step up if he wants that prize money!)


Elena Eremina debuted a new floor routine here. I can't hear the music that well but I like the dance, what little there is of it (I just have to accept this is the new Russian choreography). She added a semenova turn, took out the triple twist, tacked on a very cool punch front out of the 1.5 thru to 2.5, but hasn't given the dlo another shot since St. Petersburg in March. She also did a double Y-turn but since she sometimes over rotates her 1.5 I'm unsure if this was an intentional upgrade. We were also blessed with a super pretty beam routine where she's finally doing the two loso's in connection and connected a leap to a side aerial. No triple twist dismount but I'm unbothered by her not pushing the upgrades (ready why here). I just hope she doesn't lose any of these fine touches over the coming years. It's her attention to detail, particularly on beam, that distinguished her as a junior. She'll always have a polished look about her but I hope none of that intricacy gets lost when the time comes for more difficulty. 



Tatiana Ogrizko, 1993 World Champion with ribbon, needs your help! She has been battling cancer for six years and her friends fear that if she does not get urgent treatment in Israel she may not have much longer to live. They've launched an aggressive help campaign all over social media on every RG forum, so I'm posting the gofundme page. Please, if you cannot donate, please just share the page on your facebook or twitter because your network of friends might be able to help. Thank you so much. 

Yana and Rita both say they will compete in 2017, but after that, they'll seriously consider how they feel pursuing another three years til Tokyo. I think Kudry has the stronger incentive to get to the next Olympics. 


Thank god I procrastinated long enough for some else to publish the new [RG] CoP with visual examples. I'll just sit back and wait for productive people to do the same for MAG & WAG. (X)