Originally, the Russian team selection for the European Championships left some fans wondering, but yesterday the team proved they were the right choice. Russia had no major mistakes in the team final (unlike the qualification where they had three falls) which is something that hasn’t happened in a while, and finished ahead of the second place, France, by four points.
Angelina Melnikova who struggled with consistency the whole last season, yet again proved that this year she’s the team leader and had four hit routines. Melnikova talked to the media after the final, attributing the success to the closeness and mutual support of the teammates:
“Regarding our advantage here, I guess, we were better prepared mentally and we were closer to each other. We helped each other, even just with words. For everything, today went exactly as it needed to. Of course, you always want the perfect execution which doesn’t always happen and that’s why the gymnasts always criticize themselves, even today. We worked a lot, we paid a lot of attention to the execution, that’s our secret”.
“The team final was more important than the rest of the medals. This is always the case because when you compete for yourself, it’s one thing, but here you don’t have a right to make any mistakes. And the format was difficult, it played a role because it’s harder to get yourself together when you know that you can’t have a fall”.
Melnikova also praised the environment in which they competed: “The atmosphere is awesome here. There are a lot of spectators, the arena is big and yet cozy. I like it here”.
Photo: UEG
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