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Written by Amanda Turner Friday, 12 April 2013 22:31

Russians Ready to Take on Europe in Moscow

(11 votes, average 4.09 out of 5)

With eight of its 2012 Olympians on the roster, the host Russian team is confident of success at next week's European championships in Moscow. Pictured: Participants at a press conference for the event, held Thursday in Moscow, included Olympians Yelena Zamolodchikova and Alexei Nemov (center) and Viktoria Komova (far right)

With eight of its 2012 Olympians on the roster, the host Russian team is confident of success at next week's European championships in Moscow.

Scheduled for April 17-21 at Moscow's Olympisky Complex, this year's European championship is for senior all-around and apparatus only. The roster includes 162 male gymnasts and 75 female gymnasts from 38 countries. Each nation can enter up to six male and four female gymnasts; two gymnasts per nation may advance to each final.

World and Olympic gold medalist Aliya Mustafina, the most decorated gymnast of the 2012 Olympics in London, will be accompanied by Olympic teammates Ksenia Afanasyeva, Anastasia Grishina and Maria Paseka. All are expected to challenge for medals, team coach Valentina Rodionenko said in a press conference Thursday.

Afanasyeva, Grishina and Mustafina are scheduled to compete all four apparatus in qualification, while Paseka will compete vault and uneven bars only.

Mustafina is the heavy favorite to capture the all-around title in her hometown, but will have to hold off Romanian star Larisa Iordache and her own teammates.

The 21-year-old Afanasyeva, who has upgraded to an Amanar on vault, may surprise in the all-around, Rodionenko said.

"Ksenia now has three very strong events," Rodionenko said, "Floor exercise, where she was a world champion, and vault, where she upgraded to a 2 1/2, now the most difficult in terms of vault, and she is great on beam. Ksenia is a little behind on bars, but this is according to our standard, and compared with other participating gymnasts, her bars routine is not too weak."

Romania will send only two female gymnasts — Iordache and Olympian teammate Diana Bulimar. Two-time Olympic champion Sandra Izbasa had been preparing for the competition but reportedly decided not to compete due to lack of training.

World and Olympic medalist Viktoria Komova — taking a competitive break to rest a back injury — attended the press conference and said she will be present during the European championships to support her teammates.

"I haven't disappeared, I still train at Round Lake," said Komova, the 2012 European champion on uneven bars. "And during the European championships you will definitely see me. Not only on the podium, but in the warm-up room. I will come to work on the equipment along with the whole team, just in competition I have a temporary break. Maybe I'll come back for the University Games in Kazan, but that will depend on being accepted to university. In the summer I'll finish school and I have to apply. If I don't go to the University Games, I will go a little later to a World Cup, this is for sure. Also competing in the world championships in September is definitely not out of the question, of course!"

The Russian men's team includes Olympians Denis Ablyazin, Alexander Balandin, David Belyavsky and Emin Garibov, as well as Olympic alternate Nikita Ignatyev and pommel horse specialist Matvey Petrov. Balandin (still rings) and Garibov (high bar) are defending champions from 2012, while Ablyazin is expected to challenge for titles on floor exercise, still rings and vault.

The Russian men will face much stiffer competition from across the continent. David Belyavsky, Russia's top all-arounder, will face off with rising Ukrainian star Oleg Vernyayev, plus British Olympic medalists Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis.

Individual medal contenders include Olympic champion Krisztian Berki (Hungary), as well as Eleftherios Kosmidis and Eleftherios Petrounias (Greece), Fabian Hambüchen and Marcel Nguyen (Germany), Samir Aït Saïd (France), Dan Keatings (Great Britain), Flavius Koczi (Romania) and Igor Radivilov (Ukraine).

Ukrainian Olympian Nikolai Kuksenkov, who moved to Russia after the Olympics, is still ineligible to compete for Russia, Rodionenko said. He is awaiting his final citizenship documents from the Russian government and approval for his change of nationality with the International Gymnastics Federation.

Russian coach and judge Yuri Korolyov, the two-time world all-around champion (1981 and 1985), said the Russian men are targeting two gold medals, the same haul as in 2012.

"As for the men's team, we should be able to take approximately two gold medals," Korolyov said. "Overall, I think it will be five medals of different colors."

Organizers announced that tickets for the European championships will be available for as little as 100 rubles each (approximately $3), to encourage public support of the event.

"This championship is going to be at a very high level," 12-time Olympic medalist Alexei Nemov said. "There will be really strong opponents coming who will certainly be difficult to deal with, but as far as I know, both of our teams, both male and female, are well prepared, so I'm pretty confident that the guys and the girls will not disappoint their fans."

External Link: Russian Gymnastics Federation

2013 European Gymnastics Championships
April 17-21, Moscow

Women's Competitors
Lisa Ecker
Elisa Hämmerle
Jasmin Mader
Katsiaryna Fiadutsik
Anastasia Miklashevich
Ralitsa Mileva
Tijana Tkalčec
Kristýna Pálešová
Jana Šikulová
Mia Furu
Mette Hulgaard
Janneke Lanng
Michelle Lauritsen
Roxana Popa
Maria Paula Vargas
Ida Laisi
Maija Leinonen
Rosanna Ojala
Annika Urvikko
Becky Downie
Charlie Fellows
Ruby Harrold
Gabby Jupp
Cagla Akyol
Lisa Katharina Hill
Sophie Scheder
Myropi Christofilaki
Vasiliki Millousi
Paschalina Mitrakou
Evangelia Plyta
Dorina Boczogo
Luca Diveky
Noemi Makra
Emma Lunn
Nicole Mawhinney
India McPeak
Dominiqua Belanyi
Thelma Hermannsdottir
Tinna Odinsdottir
Norma Dogg Robertsdottir
Ofir Nezer
Giorgia Campana
Carlotta Ferlito
Vanessa Ferrari
Elisa Meneghini
Valerija Grisane
Ana Koniuchovaite
Laura Svilpaite
Chantysha Netteb
Noël van Klaveren
Haldis Sandoy Naerum
Kararzyna Jurkowska
Ekaterina Kislinskaya
Ana Filipa Martins
Diana Bulimar
Larisa Iordache
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Anastasia Grishina
Aliya Mustafina
Maria Paseka
Teja Belak
Saša Golob
Jessica Diacci
Ilaria Käslin
Laura Schulte
Giulia Steingruber
Barbora Mokošová
Jonna Adlerteg
Ida Gustafsson
Yagmur Su Alparslan
Demet Mutlu
Özlem Özkan
Angelina Kysla
Maria Livchikova
Daria Matveyeva
Olena Vasilieva

Men's Competitors
Artur Davtyan
Vahagn Davtyan
Harutyum Merdinyan
Serob Soghomonyan
Artur Tovmasyan
Marco Baldauf
Xheni Dyrmishi
Michael Fussenegger
Lukas Kranzlmüller
Fabian Leimlehner
Matthias Schwab
Ughur Khalilbayli
Ruslan Namazov
Eldar Safarov
Shakir Shikhaliyev
Dennis Goossens
Daan Kenis
Kristof Schroe
Donna-Donny Truyens
Jimmy Verbaeys
Siemon Volkaert
Dmitry Barkalov
Pavel Bulavsky
Artyom Bykov
Andrei Likhovitsky
Vasily Mikhalitsyn
Alexander Tsarevich
Alexander Batinkov
Hristos Marinov
Dragomir Peyev
Velislav Valchev
Andrej Korosteljev
Leonardo Kusan
Marijo Možnik
Robert Seligman
Filip Ude
Kristijan Vugrinski
Irodotos Georgallas
Michalis Krasias
Martin Konecny
Jindrich Pansky
Daniel Radovesnicky
Ossur Eiriksfoss
Marcus Frandsen
João Fuglsig
Kasper Rydberg
Mikkel Sondergaard
Joachim Winther
Fabian Gonzalez
Ruben Lopez
Juho Kanerva
Petrus Laulumaa
Heikki Saarenketo
Tomi Tuuha
Markku Vahtila
Sakari Vekki
Samir Aït Saïd
Guillaume Augugliaro
Danny Pinheiro-Rodrigues
Cyril Tommasone
Arnaud Willig
Jim Zona
Reiss Beckford
Daniel Keatings
Sam Oldham
Daniel Purvis
Theo Seager
Max Whitlock
Andreas Bretschneider
Matthias Fahrig
Fabian Hambüchen
Christopher Jursch
Marcel Nguyen
Andreas Toba
Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Eleftherios Kosmidis
Dimitros Markousis
Eleftherios Petrounias
Vasileios Tsolakidis
Krisztian Berki
Vid Hidvegi
Attila Racz
Bence Talas
Luke Carson
Christopher O'Connor
Anthony O'Donnell
Andrew Smith
Olafur Gunnarsson
Sigurdur Sigurdsson
Andrei Medvedev
Alexander Shatilov
Alberto Busnari
Andrea Cingolani
Ludovico Edalli
Matteo Morandi
Paolo Principi
Lorenzo Ticchi
Vitalijs Kardasovs
Dmitrijs Trefilovs
Vladislav Esaulov
Arvydas Gerve
Rokas Guscinas
Sascha Palgen
Kevin Crovetto
Michel Bletterman
Boudewijn de Vries
Bart Deurloo
Anthony van Assche
Yuri van Gelder
Jeffrey Wammes
Marcus Conradi
Lars-Jorgen Fjeld
Pietro Giachino
Odin Kalvo
Lars Planke
Stian Skjerahaug
Adam Kierzkowski
Roman Kulesza
Marek Lyszczarz
Dariusz Pisarek
Adam Rzepa
Luis Araujo
Vasco Barata
Francisco Fragoso
Ricardo Martins
Marius Berbecar
Ovidiu Buidoso
Vlad Cotuna
Flavius Koczi
Andrei V. Muntean
Andrei Ursache
Denis Ablyazin
Alexander Balandin
David Belyavsky
Emin Garibov
Nikita Ignatyev
Matvey Petrov
Sašo Bertoncelj
Alen Dimic
Rok Klavora
Mitja Petkovšek
Pascal Bucher
Claudio Capelli
Lucas Fischer
Marco Walter
Slavomir Michnak
Samuel Piasecky
Carl Green
Pontus Kallanvaara
Oskar Kirmes
Semih Akdogan
Muhammed Akkavak
Ferhat Arican
Abdulkadir Bas
Baris Pek
Ümit Şamiloğlu
Petro Pakhnyuk
Igor Radivilov
Oleg Stepko
Oleg Vernyayev
Alexander Vorobyov
Mykyta Yermak

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Written by John Crumlish Monday, 08 April 2013 20:51

Hambüchen Healing, Hopeful For Big Events

(8 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

Three-time Olympian Fabian Hambüchen (Germany) told IG that his most recent injury may hamper him at the upcoming Europeans in Moscow, but he anticipates competing all-around at this fall's worlds in Antwerp.

Three-time German Olympian Fabian Hambüchen told IG that his most recent injury may hamper him at the upcoming European championships in Moscow, but he anticipates competing all-around at this fall's world championships in Antwerp.

Hambüchen said he is healing after he injured two fingers on his right hand during training on high bar last month.

"I didn't catch the bar correctly after a layout Tkatchev, and crashed into the bar with my fingers," he said. "The ligaments had been pretty sore, but they are healing pretty fast."

Hambüchen plans to perform on four apparatuses at the Europeans, April 17-21 in Moscow, leaving him unable to regain the all-around title he won at the 2009 Europeans in Milan. This year's European championships is for senior individual all-around and apparatus competition.

"I'm going to compete on floor, pommel horse, rings and high bar," said the 25-year-old Hambüchen. "I couldn't train so much on p-bars and vault because of my fingers, and that's why I won't do the all-around at Europeans."

Hambüchen has more ambitious plans for the 2013 World Championships, Sept. 29–Oct. 6 in Antwerp, preceded by the 27th World University Games, July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia.

"I see no problems for worlds and I want to do all six (events) in Belgium," he said. "But before that I want to compete at the Universiade in Kazan this summer, because I started studying at the Sports Science University of Cologne last autumn. That's an event I really want to go for. It's a new experience."

Hambüchen and 2012 Olympic all-around silver medalist Marcel Nguyen are among several veterans of the German team, which lost 2011 European all-around champion Philipp Boy to retirement last December.

As the next generation of German talent prepares to integrate with the team's veterans, Hambüchen said he wants to continue to offer leadership and experience to his squad.

"It's not easy to say which role I'm going take this year," Hambüchen told IG. "I just want to have the same role as in the past. Just being myself is a good role, I guess. It's exciting to see the new young guys trying to make the step to seniors, and therefore I hope to be a good contact person."

Fabian Hambüchen is featured in the following issues of International Gymnast magazine:

September 2012: 2012 Olympic Games special issue
July/August 2012: 2012 Olympic Games preview
December 2011: 2011 World Championships photo gallery
January/February 2011: 2010 World Championships photo gallery
December 2010: 2010 World Championships special issue
October 2010: 2010 World Championships preview
June 2010: 2010 European Championships coverage
April 2010: 2010 American Cup coverage
September 2009: 2009 World Championships preview
May 2009: 2009 European Championships coverage
October 2008 – 2008 Olympic Games special issue
September 2008 – 2008 Olympic Games preview
June 2008 – 2008 European Championships coverage
November 2007: Hambüchen on cover, "All-Around Great Guy" (Hambüchen profile)
October 2007: 2007 World Championships special issue
June 2007: Hambüchen on cover, 2007 European Championships coverage
April 2007: Hambüchen center poster
May 2003: "German Giants" (Hambüchen/Waldemar Eichorn profile)

To order back issues, click here.

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Written by Amanda Turner Friday, 05 April 2013 07:35

World Cup Series Wraps Up This Weekend in Tokyo

(6 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

More than $100,000 in prize money will be handed out this weekend in Tokyo, where the final all-around World Cup of the 2012-2013 season takes place. Pictured: Marcel Nguyen (Germany) already has won the overall series title.

The competition at this weekend's Tokyo World Cup is yet to begin, but Germany's Marcel Nguyen and Elisabeth Seitz already have amassed enough points to be declared series champions.

This weekend's event in Tokyo is the fifth and final all-around World Cup of the 2012-2013 season. Previous events were the 2012 American Cup in New York, the 2012 DTB Cup in Stuttgart, the 2012 World Cup in Glasgow and the 2013 American Cup in Worcester, Mass. A victory gives a gymnasts 50 points, second place 45 points, third place 40 points, down to eighth place earning 15 points. The best three results from the five competitions count toward a gymnast's overall points.

Nguyen, who won the World Cup events last December in Stuttgart and Glasgow and was third at both American Cups, has secured the overall series victory for the men. No other gymnast can mathematically surpass him, regardless of the results in Tokyo.

Likewise, Seitz has sewn up victory in the women's World Cup series. The 2012 Olympian is not competing in Tokyo, but no other gymnasts on the roster are in reach of the overall title. (Seitz is taking time off from competition to complete her high school studies, according to the German Gymnastics Federation.)

The series' overall winners may be predetermined, but the competition at Tokyo's Metropolitan Komazawa Olympic Park should be fierce. A purse of 50,000 Swiss francs (USD $53,146) will be distributed to the top eight gymnasts, with an additional 50,000 divided among the top three gymnasts and their coaches.

In addition to Nguyen, the men's lineup includes Olympic medalists Danell Leyva (U.S.), Daniel Purvis (Great Britain) and Kazuhito Tanaka (Japan). World and Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan had been on the roster, but withdrew last month to protect his sore shoulder and ankle. Ryohei Kato will replace him.

Olympians Fabian Gonzalez (Spain), Sergio Sasaki (Brazil) and Oleg Vernyayev (Ukraine) round out the men's field.

World medalist Huang Qiushuang (China) headlines the women's roster, which also includes American newcomer Peyton Ernst, Canadian Olympian Elsabeth Black, Great Britain's Charlie Fellows, Italy's Elisa Meneghini, China's Shang Chungsong and Japanese Olympians Yu Minobe and Asuka Teramoto.

The competition will be divided into two days, with both men and women competing half their events Saturday and the other half on Sunday.

2012-2013 FIG World Cup All-Around Rankings

Women's Ranking		New York	Stuttgart	Glasgow	Worcester	Best 1	Best 2	Best 3	Total
1.	Elisabeth Seitz	0	45	45	35	45	45	35	125
2.	Elizabeth Price	0	50	50	0	50	50	0	100
3.	Vanessa Ferrari	0	30	35	30	35	30	30	95
4.	Kim Bui	0	35	40	0	40	35	0	75
5.	Victoria Moors	35	0	0	40	40	35	0	75
6.	Rebecca Tunney	15	25	30	0	30	25	15	70
7.	Katelyn Ohashi	0	0	0	50	50	0	0	50
7.	Jordyn Wieber	50	0	0	0	50	0	0	50
9.	Alexandra Raisman	45	0	0	0	45	0	0	45
10.	Simone Biles	0	0	0	45	45	0	0	45
11.	Niamh Rippin	0	15	25	0	25	15	0	40
11.	Giulia Steingruber	0	40	0	0	40	0	0	40
11.	Larisa Iordache	40	0	0	0	40	0	0	40
14.	Diana Chelaru	30	0	0	0	30	0	0	30
15.	Gabby Jupp	0	0	0	25	25	0	0	25
15.	Lisa Katharina Hill	25	0	0	0	25	0	0	25
17.	Asuka Teramoto	0	0	0	20	20	0	0	20
17.	Georgia Simpson	20	0	0	0	20	0	0	20
17.	Kristina Goryunova	0	20	0	0	20	0	0	20
17.	Wakana Inoue	0	0	20	0	20	0	0	20
21.	Maegan Chant	0	0	0	15	15	0	0	15
21.	Kaitlyn Hofland	0	0	15	0	15	0	0	15

Men's Ranking		New York	Stuttgart	Glasgow	Worcester	Best 1	Best 2	Best 3	Total
1.	Marcel Nguyen	40	50	50	40	50	50	40	140
2.	Daniel Purvis	35	45	40	0	45	40	35	120
3.	Danell Leyva	50	30	35	25	50	35	30	115
4.	Kazuhito Tanaka	0	35	45	0	45	35	0	80
5.	Kristian Thomas	0	20	20	30	30	20	20	70
5.	Oleg Vernyayev	25	0	0	45	45	25	0	70
7.	Fabian Gonzalez	0	25	30	0	30	25	0	55
8.	Jake Dalton	0	0	0	50	50	0	0	50
9.	Nikolai Kuksenkov	45	0	0	0	45	0	0	45
10.	David Belyavsky	0	40	0	0	40	0	0	40
11.	Hiroki Ishikawa	0	0	0	35	35	0	0	35
12.	John Orozco	30	0	0	0	30	0	0	30
13.	Yusuke Saito	0	0	25	0	25	0	0	25
14.	Sergio Sasaki	0	0	0	20	20	0	0	20
14.	Jackson Payne	20	0	0	0	20	0	0	20
16.	Jorge Hugo Giraldo	0	0	0	15	15	0	0	15
16.	Ryuzo Sejima	15	0	0	0	15	0	0	15

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Written by Amanda Turner Thursday, 04 April 2013 22:12

'Depleted' Nguyen Unlikely for European All-Around Contest

(8 votes, average 4.88 out of 5)

Olympic all-around silver medalist Marcel Nguyen likely will not challenge for the all-around title at the upcoming European championships in Moscow, Germany's head coach said Thursday.

Olympic all-around silver medalist Marcel Nguyen likely will not challenge for the all-around title at the upcoming European championships in Moscow, Germany's head coach said Thursday.

Nguyen is ready for a break from all-around competition, head coach Andreas Hirsch said. He will compete this weekend at the Tokyo World Cup and has already secured the overall series title; he scored victories at the 2012 DTB Cup and Glasgow World Cup and placed third at the American Cup in both 2012 and 2013.

"He's been constantly on the go for the past year and is being slowly depleted," Hirsch said.

Nguyen was the German men's best hope to win their third straight European all-around crown. Reigning champion Philipp Boy, who won at the 2011 Europeans in Berlin, announced his retirement in December. Fabian Hambüchen, the 2009 champion, injured two fingers last month and also is unlikely to compete all six events in Moscow.

This year's European championships, scheduled for April 17-21, will feature all-around and apparatus competition for seniors. Each nation can enter up to six male and four female gymnasts.

Hirsch said 2012 Olympian Andreas Toba may be Germany's only entrant for the all-around contest in Moscow.

"We will probably use him on all six events," Hirsch said.

In addition to Nguyen and Hambüchen, Germany has individual medal hopes from Matthias Fahrig and Andreas Bretschneider. The sixth gymnast sent to Moscow will be decided among Waldemar Eichorn, Christopher Jursch and Ivan Rittschik after an internal test event on Tuesday.

With Nguyen and Hambüchen are out of the race, the all-around final in Moscow should be a battle among Russia's David Belyavsky, Ukraine's Oleg Vernyayev and Britain's Daniel Purvis and Max Whitlock.

Read "Silver Streak," an interview with Nguyen, in the November 2012 issue of International Gymnast magazine. To order back issues, click here.

External Link: German Gymnastics Federation

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Written by John Crumlish Tuesday, 02 April 2013 15:18

Pálešová Presses Past Injury, Toward Europeans

(4 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)

Recovering from a pair of injured elbows she suffered at the recent Tournament of Masters in Germany, two-time Czech Olympian Kristýna Pálešová told IG she hopes to be ready to compete at the European Championships that will take place April 17-21 in Moscow.

Kristýna Pálešová (Czech Republic)

"I took five days' rest of the elbows, and now I am slowly starting to use them again in my training," said the 22-year-old Pálešová, who is coached by Kateřina Janečková. "It still hurts a little bit, but it's nothing I cannot handle. I only have to be very careful. So I really hope and want to be ready for Moscow in two weeks."

Pálešová hurt both elbows when she missed a Jaeger on uneven bars in qualifications at the Tournament of Masters/FIG World Challenger Cup, held March 21-24 in Cottbus, Germany. She remounted the apparatus, but aborted her routine after a bail to the low bar shortly thereafter.

"I went too far away from the bar on the Jaeger and I didn't touch it at all," Pálešová said. "So the first touch I felt was the mat under the bars. I had a quite lot of power so I landed a bit more on my arms and hurt my elbow. I wanted to continue with the routine, but when I did the bail afterwards I couldn't continue, because my elbow was painful."

Pálešová said she initially injured her right elbow on the same skill in training at the French International held March 16-17, but rested it prior to Cottbus. She said she was more disappointed than sore from the mistake in Cottbus.

"The worst feeling for me in Cottbus after I did not finish the routine wasn't the painful elbow but it was the fact that I gave it up, because I am not used to giving up," she said. "But I know it was a good decision to not finish the routine."

Pálešová said the injury, which was diagnosed as a bruised joint capsule and bruises to the ligaments around it, should require eight to 12 days of rest before the inflammation subsides.

Past misfortunes – including a serious knee injury in training at the 2009 World Championships and a foot injury in training at last year's Europeans – are helping Pálešová to stay focused and optimistic for Moscow, she said.

"I already learned through all of my experiences that the most important thing is to believe and stay positive in every way," Pálešová told IG. "And I also truly believe that everything happens for a reason, so I am always trying to find that reason to be prepared for next time not to make the same mistake. We all have to learn from our mistakes. That's my motto I am still trying to follow."

Read "Rebuilding Phase," a profile on Pálešová profile, in the June 2011 issue of International Gymnast Magazine. To subscribe or order back issues, click here.

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