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| Tatiana Nabieva is working hard to prepare for this summer's Universiade, and performed a strong routine today. Photo : courtesy of the RGF. |
WAG Vault
1 Maria Paseka 13.475
2 Kristina Kruglikova 13.4
3 Anna Pavlova 13.05
4 Olga Bizmurkina 12.75
5 Alyona Polyan 12.625
6 Maria Smirnova 12.225
7 Anna Myzdrikova 12.175
8 Ekaterina Tsvetkova 11.30
WAG Uneven Bars
1. Anastasia Grishina 15.10
2. Tatiana Nabieva 14.625
3. Aliya Mustafina 14.55
4. Anna Dementyeva 13.975
5. Evgeniya Shelgunova 13.625
6. Kristina Goryunova 13.525
7. Alla Sosnitskaya 13.5
8. Maria Paseka 11.725
Rodionenko clapped his hands in dismay and turned his back on Maria Paseka when she had the fall on bars. I guess this means she has made his job difficult in terms of selecting who competes at Europeans - her vault score in finals didn't live up to the promise of the previous day and perhaps Afanasyeva will provide a better chance of gold, on floor (please God ...). Aliya Mustafina had a large form break in her routine while Nabieva performed her exercise as well as she possibly could have, for the well deserved mark of 14.625. Anastasia Grishina showed her competitive mettle with an excellent routine, for the gold! Davai Nastia!
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| Denis Ablyazin looks likely to be the big star of these Championships, with two golds already in hand and a potential gold on vault tomorrow. Picture courtesy of the RGF. |
1. Denis Ablyazin 15.35
2. David Belyavski 15.1
3. Daniil Kazachkov 14.65
4. Andrei Cherkasov 14.33
5. Kirill Prokopev 14.25
6. Dmitri Stolyarov 13.98
7. Igor Pakhomenko 13.18
8. Filip Chuglasov 12.98
MAG Pommel Horse
1. Matvei Petrov 15.68
2. Andrei Perevoznikov 15.33
3. Emin Garibov 15.3
4. Nikolai Kuksenkov 15.28
5. David Belyavski 13.83
6. Dmitri Gogotov 13.5
7. Grigori Zyrianov 12.88
8. Pavel Russinyak 12.78
MAG Rings
1. Denis Ablyazin 15.88
2. Nikolai Kuksenkov 15.3
3. Nikita Ignatyev 15.00
4. Daniil Kazachkov 14.95
5. Alexander Balandin 14.95
6. Pavel Pavlov 14.9
7. Nikita Lezhankin 13.93
In my opinion competition for places on the MAG team is intensifying as gymnasts like Ablyazin, Garibov and Belyavski mature and begin to show their strength. Selection for Euros will involve the coaches in making difficult decisions. At present of the top gymnasts only Belyavski is competing in the all around. I suspect that in Moscow, the Russian men will begin to show their class at international level - and may well outshine their female counterparts over the coming four years.
Russia has apparently improved its performance on pommel horse with four incredibly close scores at the top of the apparatus rankings. Newcomer, former Ukraine national team member Nikolai Kuksenkov has already integrated into the Russian team, placing fourth on pommels and achieving a silver medal on rings. His eligibility for Euros depends on his Russian nationality coming through in time.