Russia's veteran gymnast Yulia Lozhechko not going according to head coach Andrei Rodionenko
:
[quote]
Lozhechko, a World Cup gold medalist and three-time world team member, was given a three-month suspension from the team last fall for defying the coaches at the 2007 Worlds in Stuttgart. In the preliminaries, Lozhechko was instructed to dismount balance beam with a simple double tuck, but attempted a more difficult Arabian double front to increase her chances of getting into the beam final. She fell on the dismount and was an alternate to the final.
Lozhechko was criticized by the coaching staff for "mental problems" following her subpar finish at the Russian Cup. After finishing 12th in qualification, fifth in the final and third on beam, she was nevertheless given the final invitation to the training camp in Leninsk-Kuznetsky. However, her Olympic chances ended there, Rodionenko said.
"I'm very sorry to say that [taking] Lozhechko with us is an impossibility," Rodionenko said. "There are certain norms to which she, at present, does not correspond."
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http://www.intlgymnast.com/Online-Features/beijing/459.html
Russian men alternates:
[QUOTE]
"It was very uneasy to choose these six gymnasts from nine, and exclude the services of
Alexander Balandin,
Anatoly Vasilyev and
Dmitry Gogotov," Rodionenko said. "However, these guys still continue to train on the same level with all of us. They understand perfectly: We're writing nobody off. Gymnastics is the kind of sport where injury is possible at any moment, and they all still have a chance to go to the Olympic Games."
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