article by Nicholas Pucci
Aliya Mustafina, Russian gymnast from Egorevsk born in 1994, can fully be considered the last great champion of that immense country. Ever since Elena Zamolodcikova (floor exercise and vault) and Svetlana Chorkina (uneven bars) won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, it has the only one to then be able to climb the top step of the podium at the Olympics in an individual event, even twice, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, resulting in the best uneven bars.
With Mustafa stands out at the 2010 World Championships in Rotterdam when, not yet 16 years old, he won the gold medal in the individual general competition by a wide marginwhich joins the team one, as well as three other silver medals in the floor exercise (beaten by the Australian Lauren Mitchell), on the vault (behind the American Alicia Sacramone) and on the parallel bars (in the wake of the English Elizabeth Tweddle).
Anticipated as one of the protagonists at the 2012 London OlympicsMustafina partially betrays expectations, paying the price for an error on the beam which relegates her to bronze in the individual general competitionwhen the American Gabrielle Douglass prevails ahead of the other Russian Viktorija Komova, while in team wins the silver behind the United States, for later occupy the lowest step of the podium in floor exercisein the wake of the American Alexandra Raisman and the Romanian Catalina Ponor.
But his time comes anyway, alla North Greenwich Arena of London, when on August 6, he beat the competition on the uneven bars by winning the gold medal with a total of 16,133 points, ahead of the Chinese He Kexin, 15,933, and Tweddle herself, who had beaten her two years earlier at the World Cup, as well as at the European Championships in Birmingham.
In the post-Olympic four years, Mustafina increases her collection of medals with gold on beam and bronze in the individual general competition (beaten by the two Americans Simone Biles and Kyla Ross) and on the uneven bars (when she surrendered to the Chinese Huang Huidan and Ross herself) at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, while in next Nanning 2014 edition has to settle for three bronze medals (team open competition, beam and floor exercise) in a discipline that is experiencing the dominance of the new “stella“, namely Simone Biles.
Nonetheless, at the Rio de Janeiro Games of 216 Mustafina is still protagonist in the conquest of silver for Russia in the general team competitionwhen he has to surrender with his companions to the unbeatable American squadron, only to have to settle for bronze in the individual all-aroundbetrayed by two uncertainties to the beam and the floor exercise that relegate her, obviously, behind Biles and Raisman, and therefore confirm the gold of London on the uneven bars.
On August 14, at HSBC Arena of the carioca city, Mustafina has to deal with the American Madison Kocianthat the surplus of nothing in execution to however then remain a breath away from victory, 15,833 points against 15,900 of the Russian gymnast, with the German Sophie Scheder, 15,566 points, who climbs on the third step of the podium.
E near Egorevsk, not too far from Moscow, it’s really time to celebrate Aliyawhich in gymnastics is the undoubted number 1 of Russia as not seen for a long time.
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