The Russian team has arrived in Minsk today for the European Games. On the men’s team, all three gymnasts plan to compete in the all-around, as both Vladislav Poliashov and Dmitri Lankin hope to get that 4th team spot in Tokyo. Valeri Alfosov told RIA Novosti that it was important for the coaches to test more gymnasts in the all-around as the team does not have enough strong all-arounders:
“The team is in the work mindset, they’re in a good mood. We haven’t been to Belarus in a while, so it’s interesting. The goal of the team is to show good results. Then each gymnast has his own goals, all of them compete in the all-around. We’re testing both Lankin and Poliashov as all-arounders because we do not have enough high-level all-arounders. David Belyavskiy will compete in the all-around as well. It’s his first serious competition since the World Championships in Doha and we need to test his physical and mental state”.
Dmitrii Lankin is excited to compete at a major multi-sport event:
“For me, the most important thing is to do what I can and then we’ll see/ It’s really interesting to be here, to participate in such an event because yes, I’ve never participated in such competitions yet and I really want to see how it all looks. Of course, I’m nervous. I’ll be competing in the all-around, I’m prepared well. Of course, there are events that are lagging behind, like pommel horse, but we paid a lot of attention to it, we’ve been working on it a lot. So, I think, everything will be fine.”
Angelina Melnikova said the atmosphere reminds her of the Olympic Games:
“I’m really tired from the trip here. We had a practice yesterday, we’re in good shape and in a fighting mode. I’ve never been to Belarus before. We haven’t yet gone to the gym, so I haven’t yet felt the competition atmosphere. However, when we arrived at the athlete village, it immediately reminded me of the Olympic Games.”
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
Support Gymnovosti on Patreon from only $1 a month and help us bring to you even more awesome gymnastics coverage!
Buy cool gymnastics-themed t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, phone cases, and more at our store on Teepublic!
