Russian gymnast Nikolai Andrianov, whose 15 medals made him the second-most decorated male athlete in Olympic history, has died at age 58.
The International Gymnastics Federation says he died Monday in his hometown of Vladimir, 200 kilometers east of Moscow. Russian news reports said Andrianov had suffered for years from a degenerative neurological disorder.
The former gymnast had been stricken with multiple system atrophy (MSA), a degenerative disease similar to Parkinson's disease. He had been confined to his home in Vladimir for the past several months as the disease slowly paralyzed him.
Andrianov won seven gold medals for the Soviet Union over three Olympics beginning in 1972.
His first Olympic medal was a gold in the floor competition. He went on to dominate the next two summer Olympics.
In 1994, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he accepted an invitation from former rival Mitsuo Tsukahara to coach in Japan. He stayed until 2002, when he returned to Vladimir to become head of the same gymnastics school he trained at in his youth.
Andrianov was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2001.
He is survived by his wife, Olympic champion Lyubov Burda Andrianova, and sons Vladimir and Sergei

Artistry returning to Gymnastics

It has been 22 years since 1989, a year held up by gymnastics fan as the golden age of artistry in the sport. 1989 was the year of Svetlana Boginskaya, the Goddes of Gymnastics at her best ( watch her on the Beam and Floor Exercise ) and also of Olessia Dindik, Natalia Laschenova, Olega Strazheva …..
Here too were Romanians Daniela Silivas and Aurelia Dobre, as well as China’s Yang Bo. Though 1989 Dobre and Silivas were nearing the end of their competitive careers, their elegance was still paramount. Silivas 1989 World Championships Event Final on Floor was one example of the Womens’ Artistic Gymnastics.
To recognize artistic movements is to observe art in action. Watching professional dance and theatre productions will help us understand artistic movements.. Notice the way these professional express themselves in movement, use gesture to accent a movement, complete every move, and extend their lines. I was surprised to watch a dance performance on television and saw a beam routine performed by a dancer! The movements were precise, appeared effortless, unquestionably recognizable, flowing, and elegant. Watching this sequence performed so superbly helped me to see the art and the artistry.
Artistry deductions in gymnastics are helpful in distinguishing performances among athletes
I hope you will consider placing more emphasis on dance as an integral part of the training of your gymnasts!
An outstanding performance deserves an outstanding award. Here’s one clip on Artistry in Gymnastics.

KEDAH SCHOOLS GYMNASTICS

While the Malaysian’s Seniors gymnasts were sharpening their talents for the 2011 SEA Games, Kedah’s young hopefuls for the 2011 Malaysian Schools Gymnastics Championships gathered in Bukit Jenun, Pendang, to compete in the Kedah School’s Gymnastics Championships, 3 – 5 March.
The three days competition featured optional routines only , so the gymnasts had but one crack of the whip at the Team, Individual, and Apparatus events – quite a challenge for inexperienced youngsters.
Due to lack of apparatus such as Rings, and High Bar the boys had to compete on 4 apparatus only, and the girls competed on all 4 apparatus. Some Districts don’t have Uneven Bars, saw several girls had trouble on this apparatus and those cracked under pressure learned lessons that will not be forgotten.
Girls Competition.
It was obvious that the girls event would be dominated by Kulim Bandar Baru and Kubang Pasu districts it was clear from the start that there would be some fine works from others, notably the Kota Setar, Pendang and Baling districts.
Navishaerin Zulkifly from KBB scored steadily 10. 350 to 11`.300 proving to be a popular performer on Floor and Uneven Bars.
Boys Competition
There was little doubt that the boys competition would be dominated by Kulim Bandar Baru-dominate affair, and although there looked to be some fine prospects from other districts none looked to have the abilities needed to prevent another KBB whitewash of the title.
Lee Yi Song from KBB saile3d to the gold on Floor and Parallel Bars.Muhammad Azfar from Baling took the gold on Vault and Syafiq Asnan from Kubang Pasu took the gold on Pommel Horse.
One thing is for certain ; we shall be seeing much more of these individuals in the few years.
RANK TEAM MAG - 18 TEAM WAG - 18
GOLD KUBANG PASU KULIM BANDAR BARU
SILVER KULIM BANDAR BARU KUBANG PASU
BRONZE LANGKAWI KOTA SETAR

TEAM MAG – 15 TEAM WAG – 15
GOLD KUBANG PASU KULIM BANDAR BARU
SILVER KULIM BANDAR BARU KOTA SETAR
BRONZE LANGKAWI KUBANG PASU

TEAM MAG - 12 TEAM WAG – 12
GOLD KUBANG PASU KULIM BANDAR BARU
SILVER KULIM BANDAR BARU KUBANG PASU
BRONZE KOTA SETAR KOTA SETAR

Each defeat is a step forward, a step toward victory.

KEDAH SCHOOLS GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The above Championships will be held on 3 - 4 March 2011, at the Model Schools Bukit Jenun, Pendang, Kedah. It is a northern state in Malaysia. About 150 gymnast from six Districts will be competing for a palce in the State team.

The state team will be Competing at the Malaysian Schools Gymnastics Championship to be held during the term break from 13 March at the Bandar Penawar Sports School, Kota Tinggi, Johor.

Wishing all the gymnast Happy gymnastics. Try your best in this championships. Good Luck

GYM People you might know

Teeruch Popanich of Thailand was one of the most interesting Gymnast of Stuttgart. In Stuttgart he was brilliant in Optional Exercises with 55.20 out of 60.00 points. He was the first gymnast from Thailand to compete at the World Championships. He now lived in Hua Mark, Bangkok, Thailand near the Gymnasium.

Valentin Mogilny of the Soviet performed a long routine on the Pommel Horse in Stuttgart. How long was it ? In the event finals he made 74 hand support changes. The average gymnasts performed aroud 50.

Splendid Splits

Nothing is quiet spectacular as a gymnast with perfect splits. (eg. both sides and Japanese splits )

That straight line from toe to toe can make an ordinary front walkover look spectacular. As with all aspects of flexibility, not everyone is going to achieve a full 180 degrees, no matter how hard they try.

Following are some stretches to try before and after each workout. Hold all of the positions for 60 seconds and no bouncing. Be sure not to neglect your “second best side.”

1. Stretch over your straight front leg, trying to get your chest not your head to your thigh.
2. Deep lunge with hands on floor, front leg bent at 90 degrees with foot flat.
3. From position (2) balance on back knee and pull your foot to your tummy.(left hand pulling right foot)
4. Once down on your split, stretch. a) Directly over front leg. b) To the outside of front leg. c) To the inside (pancake ) Position d) can be combined with stretch pulling up your back foot as number 3.
5. Want a challenging stretch place your front foot on a mat or Floor Beam.

Just go slowly, be patience and good luck.

HOLLOW EXERCISES

I was once taken by Prof.Evgeni Rozin to the Olympisky Sports Complex in Moscow, where I met coaches Nokolai Epicin, Anatoly Zaburkin ( head coach ) and Nadia training the young boys.

Nikolai worked the group on some hollow exercises ( dish or banana ) forward, backward and sidewards. Looks like they were doing conditioning. But as the week unfolded, these hollow drills, with variations, kept popping up on every event for every skill. Our kids might not realize it the importance of hollow exercises Nikolai and Nadia were teaching then as an essential part of gymnastics; bodyline, and control of each position. Without it they would be lost.

Nikolai claimed that he reduced most gymnastics skills to these hollow drills and after a while it all make sense. Everything from pommel horse circles, to full twisting lay-outs involved one or several of these hollow positions ( forward, sideward or backward ). And if you mastered the drills, the skills would come naturally.

Do some log rolls then !