1991 European Cup gymnastics, Women's AA

[bardtoob]

1991 European Cup gymnastics, women's AA

Women's AA at the 1991 European Cup gymnastics competition. Gutsu, Grudneva, Rueda, K. Molnar, Mitova. ABC TV coverage.

www.youtube.com

I enjoyed every performance broadcasted.

 

[gk_891]

I quite like Grudneva and always enjoyed watching her clinically precise gymnastics throughout 1991 and 1992. She was also capable of more difficulty than she showed in both Barcelona and this competition.

I know a lot of people think that she only made the 1992 Olympic team because she's Russian and they needed at least one Russian gymnast to be on the team. There were also allegations that Natalia Kalinina didn't make the team because there were already too many Ukrainians on the team. But I thought Grudneva was a very good choice for the Olympic team. She had arguably some of the best compulsories among the Soviets and she was amazing on UB which not the greatest event for the Soviets/Unified Team.

And as amazing as Natalia Kalinina was, she was a shadow of her self in 1992. Case in point, she didn't even make it to the European championships that year where gymnasts represented their own republics. And that's because she had been surpassed by Gutsu, Lysenko, and Stovbchataya.

 

[Bellanca]

Gutsu’s bar routine was top-notch. Stuck the landing like it was no big deal — it probably wasn’t.

Grudneva leaves nothing on the table. So polished. Artistic gymnastics at its finest.

I agree with Kathy, Mitova’s FX was perfect for her. It was unique, fun and captured her personality without being too silly.

Thanks for posting!

 

[VGThuy]

I quite like Grudneva and always enjoyed watching her clinically precise gymnastics throughout 1991 and 1992. She was also capable of more difficulty than she showed in both Barcelona and this competition.

I know a lot of people think that she only made the 1992 Olympic team because she's Russian and they needed at least one Russian gymnast to be on the team. There were also allegations that Natalia Kalinina didn't make the team because there were already too many Ukrainians on the team. But I thought Grudneva was a very good choice for the Olympic team. She had arguably some of the best compulsories among the Soviets and she was amazing on UB which not the greatest event for the Soviets/Unified Team.

And as amazing as Natalia Kalinina was, she was a shadow of her self in 1992. Case in point, she didn't even make it to the European championships that year where gymnasts represented their own republics. And that's because she had been surpassed by Gutsu, Lysenko, and Stovbchataya.

You knew if Kalinina was feeling good at a particular competition by whether she did that butt wiggle before her last tumbling run or not for that FX she had for a million years. By 1992 or beyond, she wasn’t doing that wiggle much.

 

[gk_891]

You knew if Kalinina was feeling good at a particular competition by whether she did that butt wiggle before her last tumbling run or not for that FX she had for a million years. By 1992 or beyond, she wasn’t doing that wiggle much.

Kalinina was a wonderfully elegant gymnast but she really started to go downhill soon after she won the 1990 Goodwill Games. With each proceeding year, her gymnastics started to take on a heavier quality.

What I can't believe is that by 1994, she still had that same floor routine!

 

[Bellanca]

Rueda dealt with unbelievable pressure to place in the top three every time she competed to support her entire immediate family. That is no way to go through an amateur sporting career, but, of course, she is not the first one to do so.

Eta: It’s unfortunate that an athlete of such a young age had the stress of being the breadwinner, supplying the the livelihood hanging over her head. Talk about stripping away the joy and satisfaction of participating in competitive sports.

 

[211UKRjump]

Kalinina was a wonderfully elegant gymnast but she really started to go downhill soon after she won the 1990 Goodwill Games. With each proceeding year, her gymnastics started to take on a heavier quality.

What I can't believe is that by 1994, she still had that same floor routine!

Hey) Nice to see you here

Kalinina started growing around 1992, she was not at her peak at all. She was rather weak, and she had to relearn every skill. In January of 1992, she couldn't even do the Compulsory Bars, Beam, and Floor. It's sad because she was definitely one of the strongest soviets back in 1990 and 1991. She looked like she was coming back into her former shape at the 1994 Ukrainian Nationals, where she won the AA, and EF Balance Beam, and Floor. By the European Championships in 94 in Stockholm she got sick and injured and that labored gymnastics returned

Regarding the 1992 team selection. The team was originally Lysenko, Gutsu, Stovbatchaya, Grudneva, Boginskaya, Galieva. Uzbekistan and the Russian Gymnastics Federation were quite mad that Ukraine was allowed three spots. So they pulled Stovbatchaya and replaced it with Chusovitina. Also, they were considering using Knizhnik for a little bit for her Compulsory Beam and Floor which was the most superior for the "Soviet" team in 1992, scoring 10s at verification camps. Since she was Ukrainian, they eventually threw out that idea.