ICYMI (Updated)

Mamun with some RG friends, Merkulova and Nazarenkova

Margarita Mamun married her longtime boyfriend and swimmer Alexander Sukhorukov and graciously allowed the public a peek into her wedding day nuptials (the wedding itself was very small and only intimate friends and family were invited). There are lots of gorgeous pictures online but I think the newlyweds were best captured in this modern fairy tale love story:

There's also a translated interview with Mamun discussing her life as an athlete, her relationship with Alexander, and her upcoming goals:

The merry go round that is the Worlds selection process has finally come to a stop. The 2017 World Championships WAG team is still Paseka, Iliankova, Eremina, and Melnikova. Earlier, reports that - what else? - back pain might lead to a shakeup in this lineup with Kharenkova replacing Iliankova. That was the team I chose but it's interesting that it wasn't the head coaches first choice and they seemed kinda unimpressed with Kharenkova. Here's the thing: before news of Nastia surfaced, there was news straight from Valentina that Paseka did in fact sustain an injury from this mangy vault so I was willing to change my hypothetical team and drop Paseka. She hasn't vaulted well all year long and betting on her while she's injured is just asking for more of the same. And I was a little skeptical about Iliankova's back pain too, because it didn't stop her from competing pretty well at Nationals or during recovery in Croatia- so why should Paseka get to compete with a bigger injury? Anyways, the "final" team is chosen and I hope we don't regret having two injured girls in Montreal. Stranger still is that Lilia Akhaimova was being considered as a filler spot for Iliankova! That...wouldn't make sense. She has less difficulty than Melnikova on her best event and would struggle to make a final. Do they truly dislike Kharenkova? Don't get me wrong, Lilia is great and could make a Worlds team next year, since she's a speed demon of upgrades lately, but for an individual Worlds she's not the strongest contender. Kharenkova is. And they know that. Weird.

Speaking of Lilia, she's apparently testing an amanar. I speak cautiously, but it does seem possible for her to achieve. The height on her dty is amazing and she blocks very well.


Check out what Maria Bondareva is up to: (x)



Yana Kudryatseva denies leading fans on, after Rio, when she promised to come back and compete for gold in Tokyo. Yana explains that after their final competition Rita passionately avowed this was it for her while Yan said she would go on because she could not bear silver. Even though she was told she could take a year off, her leg still hurt her during normal activities and she realized that it would never bear the pain of RG training. She chose to have quality of life over harming herself permanently. She is sick of the sport if she's being honest with herself but when giving a masterclass she works at full strength to help pupils. She's finishing uni next year and will have a coaching license but perhaps her heart is more interested in becoming a tv personality. It's an interesting interview where our RG queen rarely minces her words on resentment/friendship, eating disorders, and moving on: read here.

Angelina Melnikova has a second Instagram account: (x)

Yes Queen 


I have SO MANY articles to write. I'm prioritizing the Japan Junior competition and the totally belated MAG Russian Cup analysis. I still haven't talked about the Group routines at RG Worlds but that will have to wait til after Montreal has come and gone, most likely.