A Look at the 2018 Russian Junior Nationals

Now that the Russian Cup is over, we can take a loot at the Russian Junior Championships that were held together with it. Together with Spartakiada, it gives us a pretty good idea of who's going to the Junior European Championships. I've had my team in mind ever since Jesolo and while this competition didn't have any huge surprises, it made me reconsider some things. The good news is, that the junior team has plenty of depth and they pretty much kicked the seniors' ass during the Russian Cup.

Reykjavik International Games 2018

Last week Russia showed up at the first international meet of the season, Reykjavik International Games in Iceland. I'm really jealous, I would have loved to go to Iceland, even though my relationship with Eyjafjallajökull is highly problematic. As last year, they sent one senior and one very tiny junior, Ulyana Perebinosova and Nelli Audi, respectively. Ulya is now a second year senior who just returned to competition after spending most of her first year as a senior injured. Nelli is a 2005-born sensation who has spent the past few years posting her incredible skill set to YouTube. They both won the all around and a bunch of other medals, but I wouldn't get too excited, the field wasn't exactly deep.