2017 Russian Nationals: In Review
It’s been really
hard to watch the artistic season unfold because I know how sluggish everyone
will look in comparison to rhythmic gymnastics, but at the same time I’m dying
to see the programs and assess the new senior teams for both the men and women.
Unfortunately, no one impressed me and I was discouraged after viewing the
videos, but I think there were a lot of cool upgrades and enough pleasant
surprises to keep me motivated. I can’t say that it’s the Russians alone who
are looking sluggish- it’s a new quad thing- but I do feel that skittishness is
becoming ever more prevalent among this team and I wonder if even the right
D-scores could place us at the top of a World podium. Here’s a breakdown of how
the key players did:
Summing up Nationals nicely |
![](https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/p750x750/17126720_1804494209874005_6641109579625136128_n.jpg)
Melnikova and
Tutkhalyan were heartbreakers in the AA: Tut wasn’t surprising but I was gassed
when I had to keep scrolling to find Melka’s ranking. You know, some people
have wondered if the overall Olympic experience doused her ambition or
irreparably shook her confidence. I would say neither of those things happened.
After Rio, she was doing really well, much better than Seda. But the holidays
came and went and obviously she’s not where she needs to be in order to justify
sending her to three competitions and a European Championships. I’m worried for
her precarious health- muscle injuries are easier to become chronic- and
honestly, to name her to any team spits in the face of other girls who did better
at Nationals and are also physically ready to compete. Maybe they can whip her
into shape - she’s our best All-Arounder - but pressuring her with back to back
meets is only going to tire her more and could set off a negative chain effect
if she starts bombing internationally. She’s been humble about the catastrophic
meet so there’s nothing I want to dwell further on regarding her scores. Her
upgrades are another matter.
Seda had mixed
results with everything tinged in disappointment, what else is new? Like Melka,
she’s taken time off and is out of shape but we all know that’s got nothing to
do with her inconsistency. I earnestly wanted her to step into a leadership
role but the only thing she’s acquired from the veterans is their air of
disenchantment with the sport. I’m chuckling wondering how a girl who won three
EF medals doesn’t have me convinced she should be sent to Euros! The fact is
she won medals because at Russian Nationals the victor is typically the one who
manages to implode least. That maxim applied to everyone this year but I can’t
keep lying to myself about Seda. I don’t wanna cling to the concept that she’s
still developing her potential when, at this point, it either should be
flourishing or is dead. For now I’m not drawing conclusions. It’s the first
competition back and she’s out of shape, but if she can’t impress me by this
year’s end it’ll be time to accept that her talent wasn't fostered correctly
and she’s not the one to advance Russia’s standing. I have less faith that she
can recover by Euros than with Melka and since her experience buys her nothing,
might as well send someone else who has the same probability of blundering. But they won’t.
I’m very proud
of Lilia Akhaimova. Even though she was never trained at Round Lake, she made
steady upgrades until it became the running joke that she was the only
dependable one we could trust among a bevy of distinguished European and World champions. Her
story is like something out of a fable: The Turtle and The Rabbit (slow and
steady wins the race) or The Little Red Hen (hard work has no substitute). She
has a lot of cleaning up to do if we’re ever going to have a serious discussion
about putting her on an an important international assignment. But success is often a measurement not a final destination, and for where she
started it must be gratifying to now train among the best at RL and hear
your capabilities talked about in earnest amongst fans. She won the floor final
and was very steady throughout the entire week of competition. I’m ecstatic
with how much she’s improved on other events now that she’s getting
professional coaching. Makes you wonder what she could be RIGHT NOW if we had
brought her to RL two years ago when she started getting some minor attention,
no? Her and Daria Elizarova are my favorite people on earth for always trying
their best and caring about their results.
Other people worth mentioning are Ilyankova and Spiridonova. The latter we’d
seen a few weeks prior at the Reykjavik International Championships where she averaged
a 54.6 (on track with last quad’s AA considering the two point deficit lost in
CR). Dasha added a double arabian on floor to fulfill the new requirement for
front tumbling and I think she has room to expand her turns so hopefully
something can manifest itself there. It’s kinda funny/ kinda sad but her scores
on fx no longer look so bad now that a good routine is scoring high 13. In fact
I find myself less angry with Daria’s shenanigans in general since all the scores now look depressing in WAG. Ilyankova is mending
from injury which is why she’s not in the running for Euros, such a shame. She
had the best bars score after quals,14.633, but was edged out of bronze in the
final by Skrypnik over a third of a tenth. Anastasia and Kapi are my preferred "bars
girls" over Spiri because they are not confined to their pet event for good
scores. Who knows if any of them can last a whole quad, but in relation to this
year, either girl can and should eclipse Spiri for that UB spot. At the moment,
the Rod’s are content with justifying Daria’s place on the Euro’s team by
naming Kapi as an All- Arounder and they’ll probably do the same for Anastasia
once she’s back. I think if you have two AAer’s who are bar specialists you
don’t need a one-event bar specialist unless she’s significantly better than the field.
That’s not the current case. The Rod’s are depending on Daria’s reputation to
enchant the judges but that only gets you so far in the face of others
promoting better execution and originality.
![](https://pp.userapi.com/c639819/v639819154/139f3/meAOptpXZec.jpg)
That concludes my thoughts on the individual players. Other thoughts:
- The venue change was refreshing. Kazan really came through and filled the arena with wonderful supporters. I haven't seen Nationals this well attended ever, especially the weekend finals!
- I really hate the part of the CoP that got rid of one CR on each event. I hate not knowing immediately what a good score is and even when I come to this understanding I hate that it's in the 13's!
- I loved the mannequin challenge at the end of the comp. It capped off a good week wherein everyone looked very relaxed and good feelings seemed prevalent. Not even Valentina could muster up something mean about Seda or Melka...
- Aliya!!! Her and Emin as official commentators and adjusting to life outside the gym made me happy.
- I so badly want Lena to "save Russia" that I'm beside myself with grief when she doesn't win. I see her as her own person, and not a shadow of others, but the gaps left by Aliya and other veterans make tiny shortcomings more noticeable. I have to commit myself to giving the new seniors time and respect and patience...and realize that they strive for progress not perfection.
- Additionally, I want Elena Eremina to go to World's so that by the end of this year google images will have her image up instead of adorable hamsters involved in mischief.
- Best of luck to Daria, Elena, Evgenia, Lilia, and Natalia at Stuttgart this weekend!
![](https://pp.userapi.com/c637631/v637631230/38e2e/HBJSx-0EBxo.jpg)
The full results for 2017 Nationals can be found here.
So that's how the seniors looked at home. Now I review the juniors sent abroad...next up, the 2017 International Gymnix!
So that's how the seniors looked at home. Now I review the juniors sent abroad...next up, the 2017 International Gymnix!
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