Mustafina, Belyavsky Lead Russian Cup Qualifications

Mustafina, Belyavsky Lead Russian Cup Qualifications
Written by Amanda Turner for International Gymnast Magazine \| Wednesday, 25 August 2010 21:02

(5 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

First-year seniors Aliya Mustafina and David Belyavsky led the qualifications Wednesday as the 2010 Russian Cup began in Chelyabinsk.

Aliya Mustafina (Moscow) and David Belyavsky (Yekaterinburg) led the qualifications Wednesday as the Russian Cup began in Chelyabinsk.

Mustafina, the defending Russian Cup champion, scored 59.821, with the high scores on vault (15.167) and uneven bars (15.834). Tatiana Nabiyeva, who topped Mustafina to win the 2008 Junior European Championships, qualified second (59.151). Nabiyeva is making her return to all-around competition after a long period of injuries.

2007 world uneven bars champion Ksenia Semyonova (Khimki/Tula) was third (56.967) ahead of 2006 Junior European champion Daria Yelizarova (56.040).

2008 Olympian Ksenia Afanasyeva was fifth after missed routines on uneven bars (13.567) and balance beam (12.270). Afansyeva earned an outstanding 15.700 on floor exercise, where she has upgraded her tumbling passes to include a double layout and two whips to triple twist.

Two-time Olympian Anna Pavlova (Orekhovo-Zuevo/Khimki) was sixth, tying Nabiyeva for the high score on balance beam (14.500). Pavlova, who suffered a torn ACL dismounting beam at the 2008 DTB Cup, announced her plans for retirement this year.

"We decided that she wanted to participate, to see her friends," said her mother and coach, Natalia Pavlova. "In two weeks she turns only 23, but the injury has affected her. This year will be her last in elite sports. The decision to retire was accepted by the family."

Continued Natalia, "We worked together for almost 20 years and completely trust each other. To be a coach and a mother is hard. As a mom I worry about her, I feel sorry for my daughter when she falls. But as the coach I have to bring her to meet the stringent requirements. She complains to no one."

Russia's top gymnast, national champion Viktoria Komova, is enjoying a vacation following her three gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games last week in Singapore. Anastasia Grishina, a triple gold medalist at the 2010 Junior Europeans, is likewise sitting out the competition in Chelyabinsk. Both gymnasts are too young to compete in the 2010 World Championships.

"Russia has begun to recover a leading position in women's gymnastics and the Russian women will challenge for the gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games," Russian coach Valentina Rodionenko said. "We can confidently say that the crisis in women's gymnastics is over. In men's gymnastics, we still have problems, because guys mature later. It takes more time. At the next world championships our goal is gold in the women's team competition, which we have not won since 1991. Currently our main task is to save the juniors, to bring them up to 2012."

Belyavsky, 18, edged 2008 Olympian Sergei Khorokhordin (Khimki/Barnaul) by two tenths, 88.900-88.700. Nikita Ignatyev, 18, was third (87.900), followed closely by two more gymnasts from Leninsk-Kuznetsky: 18-year-old Igor Pakhomenko (87.700) and two-time Olympian Maxim Devyatovsky (87.600).

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Anton Golutsutskov (Seversk) was the top scorer on floor exercise (15.100) and vault (16.000, tied with Belyavsky). Other top scorers were Andrei Perevoznikov (Korolyov) on pommel horse (15.100), Konstantin Pluzhnikov (Seversk) on still rings (15.400), Khorokhordin on parallel bars (15.200) and Belyavsky on high bar (15.000).

The gymnasts are competing on new equipment from French supplier Gymnova, which the Russian Gymnastics Federation will donate to the gymnastics school in Chelyabinsk following the competition.

Competition continues Thursday evening with the women's all-around final, followed by the men's all-around final Friday.

External Link: Russian Gymnastics Federation

2010 Russian Cup
Aug. 25, Chelyabinsk

Women's Qualification			VT	UB	BB	FX	Total
1.	Aliya Mustafina	Moscow	15.167	15.834	14.370	14.450	59.821
2.	Tatiana Nabiyeva	St. Petersburg	15.034	15.567	14.500	14.050	59.151
3.	Ksenia Semyonova	Khimki/Tula	14.167	14.600	13.600	14.600	56.967
4.	Daria Yelizarova	Tula	13.300	14.400	14.040	14.300	56.040
5.	Ksenia Afanasyeva	Khimki/Tula	14.370	13.567	12.270	15.700	55.907
6.	Anna Pavlova	Orekhovo-Zuevo/Khimki	14.400	12.834	14.500	13.450	55.184
7.	Anna Dementyeva	Khimki/Samara	13.334	13.367	13.940	13.950	54.591
8.	Yulia Inshina	Voronezh	13.167	13.567	13.370	13.950	54.054
9.	Yekaterina Kurbatova	Moscow	14.100	14.234	13.500	11.950	53.784
10.	Irina Sazonova	St. Petersburg	13.367	13.167	13.170	12.850	52.554
11.	Diana Sapronova	St. Petersburg	13.267	13.567	12.900	12.250	51.984
12.	Yulia Belokobylskaya	Rostov-on-Don	13.634	10.234	14.000	14.050	51.918
13.	Anastasia Novikova	Moscow	13.434	12.767	12.400	12.950	51.551
14.	Yekaterina Skorodumova	Khimki	13.167	9.667	12.900	13.050	48.784
15.	Maria Smirnova	Yoshkar-Ola	13.100	12.000	9.700	12.600	47.400
16.	Anna Myzdrikova	Moscow	13.767	0.000	13.540	14.250	41.557
17.	Valeria Sviridova	Novosibirsk	0.000	12.734	0.000	0.000	12.734
18.	Maria Paseka	Moscow	0.000	11.100	0.000	0.000	11.100

Men's Qualification			FX	PH	SR	VT	PB	HB	Total
1.	David Belyavsky	Yekaterinburg	14.800	14.400	14.100	16.000	14.600	15.000	88.900
2.	Sergei Khorokhordin	Khimki/Barnaul	14.300	14.800	14.200	15.400	15.200	14.800	88.700
3.	Nikita Ignatyev	Leninsk-Kuznetsky	14.200	14.000	14.700	15.600	14.800	14.600	87.900
4.	Igor Pakhomenko	Leninsk-Kuznetsky	15.000	14.300	13.700	15.600	14.400	14.700	87.700
5.	Maxim Devyatovsky	Leninsk-Kuznetsky	14.700	13.200	14.600	15.800	14.800	14.500	87.600
6.	Alexander Dyomin	Chelyabinsk	14.600	12.800	14.900	14.600	14.300	14.700	85.900
7.	Andrei Cherkasov	Leninsk-Kuznetsky	14.900	12.100	13.900	15.800	14.500	14.300	85.500
8.	Andrei Likhovitsky	Rostov-on-Don	14.500	14.900	14.200	15.000	14.200	12.700	85.500
9.	Pavel Russinyak	Syzram/Penza	14.200	12.900	13.700	15.300	14.100	14.700	84.900
10.	Anton Lobachyov	Yekaterinburg	14.200	13.900	13.900	15.500	12.700	14.000	84.200
11.	Ruslan Nigmadzyanov	Vladimir	12.200	13.500	14.700	14.800	14.000	12.300	81.500
12.	Nikita Lezhankin	Yekaterinburg	13.900	10.900	13.500	15.200	13.200	13.100	79.800
13.	Sergei Danilenko	Chelyabinsk	12.400	13.200	12.700	13.800	13.200	12.900	78.200
14.	Semyon Yeremin	Chelyabinsk	12.700	12.800	13.600	14.200	11.300	13.400	78.000
15.	Kirill Gusev	Seversk	12.000	12.200	12.800	14.200	13.000	13.700	77.900
16.	Mikhail Kudashov	Chelyabinsk	13.700	11.300	13.400	14.600	13.100	11.700	77.800
17.	Roman Suetin	Yekaterinburg	13.000	12.400	12.400	14.400	13.600	11.400	77.200
18.	Kirill Ignatenkov	Smolensk	14.700	12.500	11.700	15.200	10.400	11.700	76.200
19.	Dmitry Barkalov	Vladimir	0.000	14.300	15.100	0.000	14.800	14.600	58.800
20.	Mikhail Bodnar	Moscow/Vladimir	0.000	0.000	14.300	15.600	13.800	15.000	58.700
21.	Matvei Petrov	Khimki	0.000	15.200	14.400	0.000	13.800	14.000	57.400
22.	Emin Garibov	Moscow	0.000	14.800	14.300	0.000	13.500	14.400	57.000
23.	Denis Ablyazin	Penzenza/Moscow	14.600	0.000	15.200	16.000	0.000	0.000	45.800
24.	Artyom Markelov	Vladimir/Kazan	0.000	0.000	0.000	15.200	12.700	13.700	41.600
25.	Alexander Filippov	Astrakhan	0.000	12.900	14.000	0.000	12.800	0.000	39.700
26.	Yevgeny Vasilyev	Cheboksary	12.200	12.900	0.000	0.000	0.000	13.300	38.400
27.	Anton Golotsutskov	Seversk	15.100	0.000	0.000	16.000	0.000	0.000	31.100
28.	Konstantin Pluzhnikov	Seversk	0.000	0.000	15.400	0.000	14.500	0.000	29.900
29.	Ashot Kazaryan	Chelyabinsk	0.000	13.600	0.000	14.900	0.000	0.000	28.500
30.	Anatoly Vasilyev	Cheboksary	13.500	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	13.300	26.800
31.	Andrei Perevoznikov	Korolyov	0.000	15.100	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	15.100
32.	Alexei Matveyev	Vladimir	0.000	13.400	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	13.400
33.	Dmitry Gogotov	Moscow	0.000	13.100	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	13.100