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Russia's all-around stars will sit out competition this weekend at the "World Stars" World Cup, which begins Friday in Moscow. ![]() Andrei Perevoznikov (Russia) The women's national team is suffering from a lack of depth, and Semyonova and Afanasyeva need to peak at the World Championships in October, Russian head coach Andrei Rodionenko said at a press conference Thursday. "The process of rebuilding the national team has only begun," Rodionenko said. "First of all, this is because entrance for competing at big competitions starts at 16 years old. If kids at this age are training seriously in gymnastics, the 15- to 16-year-old female gymnasts are already capable of competing at the highest level. For example, the Russian Championships were won by 15-year-old Aliya Mustafina, who cannot represent the country yet at international competition. Our hopes, however, rest with these gymnasts. "For the guys, a similar impact is expected next year when athletes born in 1990-1992 can give some real competition to the Olympians." Two-time Olympian Maxim Devyatovsky is still recovering from the recent death of his mother, Rodionenko said, but will compete Monday at the "Champion's Trophy" in Frankfurt. Three-time Olympian Nikolai Kryukov asked to skip the spring World Cups to concentrate on the world championships, men's head coach Yevgeny Nikolko said. The host nation's entrants for the World Cup are female gymnasts Yulia Berger, Kristina Goryunova, Yekaterina Kurbatova and Anna Myzdrikova, and male gymnasts Alexander Balandin, Emin Garibov, Anton Golotsutskov, Andrei Perevoznikov, Konstantin Pluznikov and Anatoly Vasilyev. Golotsutskov, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist on floor exercise and vault, said he plans to debut a new vault in Moscow: a tucked Rudi-in back out. "Nobody in the world has done this vault yet, so after I demonstrate it I will have it named after me," Golotsutskov, 23, said. 'The Golotsutskov' — why not?" The Russian women are in contention to sweep the competition, but the impressive men's field includes 2008 Olympic silver medalist Filip Ude (Croatia) and bronze medalists Louis Smith (Great Britain), Alexander Vorobyov (Ukraine), Raj Bhavsar (U.S.) and Anton Fokin (Uzbekistan), as well as many-time World Cup champions Diego Hypolito (Brazil), Krisztian Berki (Hungary), Yuri van Gelder (Netherlands), and Aljaz Pegan and Mitja Petkovsek (Slovenia). External Link: Russian Gymnastics Federation 2009 Moscow World Stars Roster
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