Solo offensive: how gymnast Melnikova won gold in Paris

Gymnast Angelina Melnikova won the balance beam final at the FIG World Challenge Cup, which ended on Sunday in Paris, with a score of 13,500 with a difficulty base of 5.6. In addition, our athlete became the second in the floor exercise final, losing only to Romanian Sabine Maneke-War. This start was the first international in Melnikova's career after the 2021 World Championships, where she won gold in the all-around. Read more about the importance of this victory and the difficulties of returning our gymnasts to international competitions in the Izvestia article.

Specifics of participation

There were many questions about how neutrals would be judged, and concerns did not seem unnecessary. The last tournament showed that there was no noticeable judicial arbitrariness towards Angelina either in the qualifiers or in the finals. She received the grades that seemed adequate, moreover, her score of 9.033 for her performance during the first vault in the final is one of the highest, so there is no reason to complain about the refereeing.

"I want to congratulate Angelina and her coach," said two—time Olympic champion Svetlana Khorkina. — Angelina is an experienced athlete with stable psychological training. She dreamed, she wanted, she prepared, she kept herself in shape. Look how wonderful she looks! The bars didn't work out a bit, but it's a difficult projectile. Congratulations to Angelina, I'm so happy for her! We have something to be proud of!

At the same time, it must be admitted that not everyone came to the French capital. The women did not have Italy, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the USA, or China. And this must be taken into account when evaluating the victory of our athlete.

Melnikova's winning 13,500 on the balance beam is the 203rd score of the season in the world on this projectile. There is a gap to the leader, Chinese Zhou Yaqin, 1,733 points, and the Chinese woman's base is 1.2 points higher. Yes, Angelina said that she was going to do light programs in Paris. But not that much, of course.

It is also not worth assuming that the FGR specifically chose an easy start for Melnikova. In gymnastics, most of the leaders skip the World Cup stages and even more so the challenges. China and Japan almost always send a second or third train. This is due to the specifics of the sport, which does not allow you to start often, especially when doing the full all—around, as the risk of injury is too high. The leaders are being taken care of, they have enough national and continental championships, and this year the Universiade has also been added to them. Therefore, at the time when the decision was being made about Melnikova's trip to Paris, it was only clear that not everyone would be there, but no one knew the exact composition of the participants.

Reaction

If you look at the official reviews, they are either positive or neutral. The French Gymnastics Federation used Melnikova's photo in the advertising of the tournament, there were no negative manifestations either from them or from FIG.

However, it is impossible not to mention two facts. Firstly, the Ukrainian national team, which had announced seven athletes for the tournament, withdrew at the last moment, fulfilling its threats of a boycott if Melnikova performed. In assessing this act, one should remember what is written above — the competitions in Paris are not qualifiers, not titular and not the most representative, they were already missed by major gymnastic countries for reasons unrelated to Melnikova. The boycott of Ukraine did not lead to the loss of any quotas or titles. This is a safe demarche, and skipping the World Cup in Indonesia would be dangerous.

Angelina's performance also caused some negative reactions on English-language social networks. However, it is quite difficult to understand how real certain accounts are. The key gymnastic publics preferred to remain neutral, simply informing their subscribers about the results.

Has Russia returned? Yes, in part, since Melnikova's performance tested the scheme according to which the rest of the athletes will perform. And the fact that the experienced Melnikova acted as a tester is the right choice. But this is what the return is limited to, testing out how to leave, how to pay, how to accommodate, how to apply, and so on.

"We entrusted Angelina, as the most experienced, with the role of a pioneer — to feel the situation, to look at the attitude towards our arrival and exit to the shells," Dmitry Andreev, head coach of the Russian national gymnastics team, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia. — It was clear from Angelina's performance that she was worried, but no matter what, it was a great result. Gold on the balance beam and silver in floor exercises. It is very good that Angelina entered the all-around. When we were planning this stage of the World Cup, we had doubts about Angelina's previous injury, but she did well — she ran the program and made great progress after the break. I am glad that we have taken the first step — Angelina has entered the international arena, felt this atmosphere. The next step is the World Cup and the Russian Championship, as a stage of preparation for it. Therefore, we will work on the mistakes and prepare for further major competitions.

At the same time, the rest of the national team is still outside observers, and Angelina's trip removes only one issue — refereeing. But it doesn't cure anxiety. The fact that Melnikova was able to cope with him is relevant only to herself, it does not transfer to other athletes.

It will be possible to say that Russia has returned to the stage only after the performance of our athletes at the World Championships in Indonesia, where more than one Melnikova will go.