Massilia Cup 2016: On the Other Side

Elena Eremina posted another vlog from France, this time showing some "behind the scenes" footage from the competition and the following banquet.

It's weird seeing how relaxed and chatty the girls seem to be in the middle of the action. I always think of competition (even a smaller meet like Massilia) as an extremely stressful and strict situation. Even during televised meets when teammates are laughing and joking with each other, you can sense this tension in the background, something that they're trying to relieve with the chattiness. But this just seems like everyday life for the gymnasts, which it probably is. There's time to wander around the arena, film a vlog, laugh with someone waiting for the green light from the judges... Maybe it just seems to be in stark contrast with the vault that came afterwards. Oh Seda.

It also seems like Lena speaks English quite well. She's translating for Nastia, who's getting interviewed. And Nastia is very excited about her medals, hopefully that ambition will boost her motivation so she keeps on improving.

Massilia Cup 2016: Just send them back to Mallorca

Élite gym Massilia was held this weekend in Marseille and the Russians sent a team of Anastasia Ilyankova, Elena Eremina, Seda Tutkhalyan and Daria Spiridonova. They won the team competition as expected with a team of this caliber and Nastia (56.550) and Lena (55.250) outdid the seniors taking the top two spots on the AA podium. Seda and Spiridoz... desperately need a vacation.

Nastia was clearly the star of the team, she actually outscored her teammates on every single apparatus during the team/AA competition, and took home the most medals. Gold on team, AA and floor, silver on bars and beam. I have really mixed feelings about her on anything else than bars, but she's definitely improving. She showed a new floor routine with a very...traditional Russian feel, and I actually like it. It's weirdly fitting that they are going back from whacky music selections to the safe past. I just wish she'd fix her form. The tumbling isn't any worse than her teammates, but those leaps... She either has her back knee really bent, or the leg is straight but trailing way under horizontal. For a Russian-themed floor from a Russian, those are some terribly un-Russian leaps.