Skip to main content

Ksenia Afanasyeva (2011) 'Winning gold gave me the strength to carry on'

By

It was a glorious moment.  Ksenia Afanasyeva, assumed to be out of the picture for medals, was brought into the final at the last minute as a reserve.

She delivered one of the best floor routines of the last five years (alongside her own masterpiece at the 2012 Olympic Games, that went on to win her the 2013 European title).

Afanasyeva ('Afonya' to her friends) didn't expect to win.  The modest young woman, for so long the unpredictable but gifted one, was accustomed to disappointment.  Adopting the role of team captain and 'mother' to the younger gymnasts on her team, she doubted her own motivation to continue and train for her second Olympics, to be held in London the following year.  

Then came the score, and the shock of realisation.  Gold, well deserved, brought an emotional response from both Afanasyeva and her coach since childhood, Marina Nazarova.  I'd like to give credit to whoever took this wonderful picture, but sadly the source isn't acknowledged.

Coincidentally, I came across the following ten minute interview with an almost painfully shy Ksenia, from a Russian show Expert.  I linked to it at the time of its initial release, but now the poster has added English language captions.  It is worth spending the ten minutes to share Ksenia's thoughts. http://youtu.be/9EXnk6lf6JY

You can view the floor routine and Afansyeva's reaction in full here : http://youtu.be/mVHW3DHZVm0. 

I very much hope Ksenia continues till Rio and, if possible, beyond - she is a graceful example in both form and character, a great captain for the Russians.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous17 March 2014 at 04:12

    Hi, I know this is somewhat irrelevant to this article but I was wondering whether you could tell us when the Q&A with Anna Pavlova would be published? Many thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Queen Elizabeth17 March 2014 at 07:40

    Hello, I'm afraid I don't know and am beginning to doubt that it will happen. I am very sorry, not least because of the disappointment to those who bothered asking questions. I edited the list if questions and they were translated and sent to Anna, but I guess that her programme is so busy it has not allowed her to respond as yet. I do not think we should expect anything at present as the person who was coordinating it is currently indisposed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18 March 2014 at 01:17

      Aww :( well thanks for trying anyway. I hope this means that Anna is busy training and upgrading her difficulty as we speak so she can kick butt when she gets to Worlds :)

      Delete
  3. Queen Elizabeth17 March 2014 at 07:41

    Let us hope that there will be some great media coverage of this popular champion if and when she appears at Worlds.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Andrei Rodionenko explains Russia's performance at Worlds - Lupitatranslates

By
Rodionenko with European Champion David Belyavski  Courtesy RGF/Elena Mikhailova This is the interview that many people on the internet have already commented on, regarding Andrei Rodionenko's alleged racism.  The original, Russian language version, appears on VTB Bank's website (VTB are sponsors of Russian gymnastics).  It takes cleverer people than me to decide what is racism, what is deliberately perjorative, and what is inferred in an interviewer's question.  For now, I will not comment on this, therefore, but I would ask you to read Lupita's translation carefully before you form your own opinion.   I am providing some links below which might help you to decide where you stand. Definition of racism Definition of sexism BBC Sport article by Matthew Syed : Is it wrong to note that 100m winners are always black?            Updated 24/10 CSKA Moscow: UEFA opens racist chants case             http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24654499 Andrei
48 comments
Read more

Review of Russian WAG at the 2014 World Championships

By
The Russians during a team talk in training for the World Championships.  Courtesy RGF Bronze all the way for Russia then.  Beyond the euphoria and surprise of this morning's competition there doesn't really seem to be much to write home about. I am delighted for Aliya personally that the efforts she has made to help the team have provided her with some tangible result, but the principal feeling at the end of the competition is that of relief.  As Vaitsekhovskaya said in her article last week, there were no moments of shock and awe from the Russians, and that's what will be needed if they are to compete for gold medals in Rio (translation available here ). Let's consider a timeline of the competition : before, during and after. BEFORE The promise of a return to the Worlds stage by Viktoria Komova gave Russia a feeling of optimism pre-Russia Cup.  However, Viktoria's performance at this important competition gave little reason for celebration.  Ye
43 comments
Read more

Russia Cup - the road to Nanning!

By
The Russian MAG and WAG teams take their preparation for World Championships in Nanning one step further this week, as key players compete in the annual Russia Cup in Penza.  There will be team, all around and event finals. The WAG team Last year the gymnasts were rather depleted and suffering the effects of injury; this year the national squad is still short of some of its top members, but has greater diversity and experience up and coming into the ranks, so it will be an interesting time.  Last year saw St Petersburg gymnast and fan favourite Tatiana Nabiyeva lead the all around, ahead of Alla Sosnitskaya, Anna Pavlova, Anna Rodionova, Ekaterina Kramarenko and Polina Fyodorova.  With the individual-only World Championships up coming in Antwerp, I remember writing that Russia might well decide to send a team of only three gymnasts, such was the paucity of available talent.  The final reckoning saw Russia fare a little better than this, although performance lacked depth and re
32 comments
Read more

RRG Archive - scroll by date, from 2024 to 2010

Show more