Valentina Rodionenko opted not to attend the 2021 World Championships with the team and go on vacation instead. However, she follows the competition and said she expected Angelina Melnikova to do well:
“Everything went the way it was planned. She [Melnikova] has to fight and be the best at this competition”.
Malenikova qualified in first to the all-around final and will also compete in all four event finals. Vladislava Urazova qualified to the all-around, bars, and floor finals, and Iana Vorona qualified to the beam final.
Rodionenko acknowledged that gymnasts are not at their best due to rest, training interruptions, and long travel to Japan:
“You know, we’re not setting a goal to necessarily win. They have to compete the way they’re capable of. The thing is, the athletes missed a lot of training because of all these ceremonies, congratulations, and celebrations after the Olympic Games. Not one of the Olympic champions got back in shape fast, they’re only getting there gradually now. Additionally, there was difficult travel to the competition location, to where our team traveled for 38 hours. Acclimation took a couple of days but athletes managed to handle it.”
Rodionenko also talked about the MAG Olympians skipping Worlds:
“The strongest among the men aren’t there either because there was just no point in sending them there. But, even though the men’s team is represented by new gymnasts, we expect any one them to be able to compete for an individual medal. I’m not with the team right now because I’ve managed to go on vacation for the first time in 15 years. The Olympics took a lot of health, that’s why we made this decision for this competition.”
