Aliya Mustafina decided to miss the European Championships and prepare for the 2019 European Games where she will try to defend her AA title. However, she is apparently experiencing a minor elbow injury and missed the last training camp in order to go to Germany for a check-up.
Of course, according to Valentina Rodionenko, the root of all Mustafina’s problems is her weight. Other gymnasts might get injured due to bad landings, insufficient warm-ups, overuse, and other problems, but it can only be weight in Mustafina’s case, right?
Rodionenko told R-Sport:
“There’s still an issue with Mustafina. She was at a check-up in Germany, she is having issues with her elbow joint. Until she loses weight, she will keep getting injured. She declined an invitation to the latest camp, she missed it while traveling to Germany.”
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Sometimes losing weight does help prevent injury and makes certain skills easier. I don’t think many people would say weight “doesn’t matter.” But it matters SO MUCH LESS than these old-school coaches (and fans!), who lack even the most basic sports medicine education, think. Focusing on Aliya building muscle would likely go hand in hand with her becoming leaner especially given her body type. It also would do far far more to help her improve her capability and prevent injury. For example, muscles stabilize your shoulders and elbows and protect them from harm.
I’m sure it’s very frustrating for you guys to live in an age in which it’s no longer appropriate to demand that women lose weight because you don’t like it when they’re ‘fat’, but you will probably survive.
I hope Alliiia becomes just like Khorki in 2004, squalid… to win…
Russia’s answer to everything seems to be “lose weight” tho. Not gain more muscles. Not rest and healing. Not encouragement/therapy. Nope, just starve. Not saying US is better, but “healthy” shouldn’t always be tied to weight loss. Anyone who focuses that much on weight is making a mistake and causing their program and athletes to fall behind. You gotta eat to win. It’s just chemistry, not your feelings.
“It’s just chemistry, not your feelings” – best answer 😀
Valentina is not wrong. Aliya was overweight for long but the situation is now out of control. She want 6.5 tariffs. But you know you hurt the shoulders and elbows when you do this at her weight. It is physics, not your feelings. This is America’s fault, with their influence. Russia does not have eating disorders. Russia does not have a problem when they tell the athletes to lose weight. It is a job to be healthy and perform !! What is the big deal !!
Thank you! This is gymnastics where your weight does matter. Where just a slight increase you can be prone to injuries. Its physics not feelings as you said. But the snowflake generation, is offended by everything. Gasp., a sport where your weight DOES IMPACT your skills etc. Shocking!
Jesus you two are ignorant.
How so? Please explain how weight doesn’t impact your skills, and doesnt cause potential injuries for elite athletes?
Is that your argument, saying others are ignorant when weight so obviously matters in gymnastics?
Aliya gave birth and since then, she has gained a lot of weight and looks very different from previously. It makes a lot of sense to put two and two together and deduce that because of the pregnancy, she got a bit overweight for gymnastics…. Obviously if she wasn’t an elite athlete, she’d not have to worry about it so much.
It makes more sense that Aliya has matured from a twelve year old’s body to that of a woman. I think we should trust her to know her limits and what is best for her, since she has proven herself over and over, both pre and post pregnancy. Her dedication to the sport has not wavered, and Russia is lucky to have her.
LOL. Yup it’s the US’s fault. Are you really trying to pretend that eating disorders don’t exist in Russia. LOL. Get a clue.