Speaking in an interview with Allsport today, European beam champion Maria Kharenkova, who contributed Russia's highest beam score today of 15.033, revealed that a leg injury hampered her preparations for the Nanning World Championships.
"I have a sore leg and trained through the pain" admitted Kharenkova. "But now the pain has gone, I am slowly recovering. I started tumbling just two weeks before the World Championships, and managed to get everything back. Today, almost everything turned out!"
"The first day I was a little nervous, and because of this, I fell off beam. I was shaking from the realization that for the first time I was competing at the World Championships. And today I felt much calmer and more confident.gymnast. It is true that for some of the time we were a little concerned that we might end up without a medal, but we were able to pull ourselves together. I myself am a little sad that I did not get to the finals on my favourite beam. But what can I do? Now, I'll be rooting for all of our boys and girls!"
Good luck to all the gymnasts as they progress towards individual finals ... Well done to the girls for their bronze medal today, an excellent outcome ... And congratulations to Maria for her great contribution to the team effort!