Andrei Rodionenko talked to Aleksandr Prosvetov of TeamRussia.pro about the results of the Russian women’s team at the European Championships.
A: We consider the European Championships as an intermediate competition between the Russian Cup and the World Championships during which it’s possible to try out some team options. After all, the Euros had an unusual competition format. Basically, only the final part is standard. And the Worlds will be conducted according to the Olympics rules. Even the number of people who will be allowed to compete on each apparatus will differ. That’s why, perhaps, even if the team stays the same, some gymnasts will have different roles at Worlds.
Q: How will the selection for the Worlds be conducted?
A: The basis of the team was formed and there are still two months ahead. Perhaps we’ll make one or two replacements in those places where weaknesses appeared. We’ll be analyzing and drawing conclusions, who’s more necessary for the team. The results and the utility for the team are the principles by which we will be guided. In short, we will put the results of the European Championships as the basis for the analysis of forming a team for Worlds.
Q: Don’t you think that during the event final, the judges gave Angelina Melnikova too low a score for her floor routine?
A: The judges will always prove to you that they’re right. On Saturday, we had a very emotional competition. The girls only managed to fall asleep at 3 am afterwards. At the Olympic Games, there’s a rest day after the team competition. After all, it’s not easy to compete for two days in a row. It’s not a coincidence that many of those who competed well the day before seemed tired on Sunday. Regarding Melnikova’s floor, she made two significant mistakes in the end. She admitted: “My legs were getting shaky already”. We have something to work on. Moreover, there are still quite a few moments that require improvement.
Q: In any case, Melnikova got a full set of medals. It’s a great result!
A: That’s why she’s Melnikova, the team captain. She had to show everyone how to fight.
Q: Should we expect that the men’s team will perform, at the very least, no worse than the women’s team?
A: Let’s not speculate. After all, in this case, we are also testing the team with an eye on the World Championships. It’s already 75% formed. But, say, at the European Championships, there’s no all-around competition this year. We expect to send three all-arounders to Qatar and the rest will be event specialists.
Q: At the same time, the men’s team includes experienced gymnasts – David Belyavskiy, Nikita Nagornyy, and Nikolai Kuksenkov, the silver medalists of the Olympic Games in Rio in the team competition. Why do you need to test them?
A: It’s a complicated question. The earlier you replace the people who won’t keep developing, the better. The Olympic Games in Tokyo are in two years. It will be too late to replace people on the team next year. That’s why we put young gymnasts on the team who have never been to the Olympics or [team] Worlds. Two new people is a lot already. And perhaps by the time the Olympics come, someone else will appear as well.
Q: But these two, Artur Dalaloyan and Dmitrii Lankin, already competed at Euros a year ago. And quite successfully, too.
A: The last year’s Euros were an individual competition while this year it’s a team competition. It’s a completely different thing. For us, it’s important to see how people will show themselves on the team.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
Gymnovosti is able to provide coverage of the European Championships thanks to the support from our patrons on Patreon.
