Aliya Returns: I Have Thoughts!

From Her Highness:
Why did I decide to return to the sport? Yes, because I miss it. Miss you girls, the coaches who have worked with me for so many years, I miss the sports form (and then the press seemed to dissolve, well, all the other muscles too), I miss the performances. Of course, the desire to test my strength is great. After the injuries it was possible to recover, and it's interesting, whether I will after the birth of Alisa, I hope it's yes. I want to say thank you to the Federation of Sports Gymnastics of Russia, for allowing me to start training right on Round Lake. The spirit of combat, the desire for more than enough, will suffice at all. But I realized that if I had not so missed everything related to gymnastics , I would not even try.

Aliya Slaystafina. Aliya Mustaqueena. I'm ready for her return.
I'm ready to use a tacky play of words in her name.

Aliya's plan is to regain her health at Round Lake with her baby and mama in tow (sounds like she's just bored af on whatever farm her husband left her at lmao). Her mom will teach and watch Alisa while Aliya regains fitness which is all she wants to do for now. She would like to be competition ready in a year, for Euros, which is held super late next year (how this blog will survive in Spring, don't ask). Aliya can make another A-team if she regains her former level, which is her intention so I won't doubt it. But let's not start putting the youngsters down because, frankly, it will be hard for her to beat Gelya and Melka just as it was impossible for her to do so leading up to Rio before Gelya got injured. Gelya and Melks are fit and whatever weaknesses they have will continue to get smaller as they mature and learn more. Also, who's to say their weaknesses aren't something Aliya's not going to find herself facing when she tries to regain fitness and construct new routines. A former strength of hers may not return just as other things will not be as easy. So let's not act like Romania does and destroy the younger girls' hard earned confidence and our respect in them. It's natural for people to question their long term utility but not so soon after the Cup, where they showed us they're capable of getting on with or without Aliya. I'm happy that her return is not guided by guilt or any sense of duty. She genuinely misses gymnastics and will make a difficult try for a third Olympics. And she'll be doing it with stronger girls whom she can depend upon and they can lean on her too. It'll be so exciting if this works out! She'll also need some innovation on bars to keep me interested but I think she was already leading the way on beam when she debuted this masterpiece in 2013. Floor is an unknown I'm not even gonna think about. It's tempting to think that Vika and Aliya might both be on a team again but lemme just breathe and take it one day at a time. Plenty of pleasant and terrible surprises are in store for us this quad. Day one: Aliya wants to return to training so I say good luck to our champion and may health and happiness convert to more medals and more success. Your fans are with you!

My day just became as shimmery as her hair.

Here's some music to get you prepared for the next time she's in a leotard: