Mustafina ends Russian gymnastics gold drought

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Published time: August 06, 2012 14:17
Edited time: August 06, 2012 20:24

The wait is over! Aliya Mustafina has brought Russian artistic gymnastics its first Olympic gold since Sydney 2000.

­Mustafina topped the podium on the uneven bars at the North Greenwich Arena in the British capital.

The Russian scored 16,133 to push Beijing 2008 champion, Kexin He of China (15,933) from the top spot.

“I don’t know, maybe I don’t yet understand what I’ve achieved. It feels like a dream,” Mustafina told Sportbox.ru.

“I’m very happy. The competition continues on Tuesday. And then there’s a new Olympic cycle ahead and I’ll, of course, continue training,” she added.

The bronze went to home favorite Elizabeth Tweddle of Great Britain, with a score of 15,916 points.

Another Russian competitor, Victoria Komova, made a mistake on the landing to finish the final in fifth.

Mustafina has snatched her third medal at the London Games as she also has silver in team competition and bronze in the individual all-around.  

The 17-year-old’s participation in the Olympics was in question, but she managed to recover from a serious knee injury she picked up at the 2011 European Championships.

Meanwhile, Denis Ablyazin has brought Russia another gymnastics medal.

The 20-year-old finished behind Hak Seon Yang of South Korea to grab silver in the vault.

It’s the second medal at the Games for Ablyazin, who got a bronze in the floor exercises on Sunday.

“I’m satisfied with my two medals,” he said. “I didn’t get tired after the team competition and was well motivated for the individual events.”

The Russian gymnasts have so far brought their country 7 medals (1 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze) in London. 

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Gold medalist Russia's gymnast Aliya Mustafina(RIA Novosti / Alexey Filippov)

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Gold medalist Russia's gymnast Aliya Mustafina(RIA Novosti / Alexey Filippov)

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Gold medalist Russia's gymnast Aliya Mustafina (C), silver medalist China's He Kexin (L) and bronze medalist Beth Tweddle celebrate on the podium of the women's uneven bars of the artistic gymnastics event of the London Olympic Games.(AFP Photo / Emmanuel Dunand)