Daughter of a former Soviet wrestling world champion (Guergan Tutkhalyan), Seda put on her game face and fought for every point, taking a gold medal in today's Youth Olympics all around, just ahead of Brazil's charming Flavia Lopes Saraiva, and Britain's Ellie Downie.
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I will post more detail in due course, but big congratulations are in order. Seda is coached in Moscow by Marina Ulyankina who also takes care of national team members Maria Paseka and Alla Sosnitskaya. This morning fellow Muscovite, national team captain Aliya Mustafina posted encouragement on her Instagram account : 'Show them who is boss ... I believe in you ...'. The support showed as Seda was clearly well in control of her competition, nailing all but her final tumble during an ebullient floor exercise. But this misfortune could not rob her of the gold she deserved.
Seda hasn't just won a competition, she is an Olympic champion all around at a time when Russia has painfully few all arounders. She overcame significant mental pressure to take the gold. Let's hope she can convert her junior achievements to senior gold when she progresses to the big team next year - Russia needs her power and competitive attitude!
