Oh, Those Gymnastics Moments...

I was looking at older gymnastics photos and videos that I keep storing when I ran into some "different" pictures that show more than just the elegance in gymnastics but also some of the unintentional comedy weirdness.

More scary than funny. Can Lukonina walk with her ankles backwards now:

Gymnastics warm-up traffic jam:

All that traffic must have caused a small hole in someone's leggings ;-):

Caroline Weber is either trying to hypnotize the ball, or the ball has already hypnotized her:

And, of course, another "headless" gymnast moment by Anna Alyabieva:

Bulgaria's Hopefuls

Welcome to my first post with Blogsy, coming straight from my iPad.

I would like to discuss the future of the Bulgarian team now that Silvia Miteva is most likely retiring. Tsvetelina Stoyanova may be joining the group exercise, which leaves the following gymnasts in competition for the spot of Number 1 in Bulgaria:

1. Maria Mateva: she has already represented Bulgaria at many important international competitions. Unfortunately, injuries have tormented her for a long time. Ball is by far her best event:



2. Sara Staykova: younger than Mateva, not as known, but very, very promising. I think Sara has strong apparatus technique and very interesting routines. Unfortunately, she has not performed very cleanly. Here are her clubs:


3. Neviana Vladinova: though she is not officially part of the national team, she has shown consistent improvement in all aspects of her routines. Neviana's ribbon is especially masterful:



4. Zhenina Trashlieva: currently the leader of the junior team, she is very confident and expressive but has not been tested in the senior category:

Posted with Blogsy

Iliana Raeva Heads the Bulgarian Federation

As expected, Iliana Raeva is the new president of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation. Ina Ananieva will remain as coach of Bulgaria's group. The first thing the newly elected president said was that "young gymnasts need to get a chance." I really hope she means it. Her statement makes me remember a gymnast who was a great hope for Bulgaria, Filipa Siderova, who never got her chance and actually ended up competing for another country briefly. I will never forget this truly sophisticated and wonderful clubs routine:

I really hope that the new federation leadership will seek help from someone who can create such powerful choreography and will rely on girls who can rise to the same level.