been a case of “opposites attract.” Right from podium training, the demonstrative Nabiyeva stood ( literally and emotionally) by her stoic friend, who became the first Russian since Svetlana Khorkina to win a world all-around title. All of which makes us wonder if Mustafina could have done it without such staunch support at her side.

OBITUARIES DEATH leaves mourners only with memories, and the gymnastics world lost some revered individuals in 2010: George Nissen (American trampoline promoter); Boris Pilkin (Russian coach of Svetlana Khorkina); Natalia Lavrova (Russian rhythmic group Olympic gold medalist), Vladimir Reyson (Russian coach of Natalia Kuchinskaya), Joseph Sniesek (long-time French national men’s coach), Guilherme Goncalves (gymnast, coach and judge for Portugal), Nina Vitrichenko (Ukrainian rhythmic coach and mother of Yelena Vitrichenko); Paul Simon (former Penn State star); Burkett Powell (former Nebraska star); and Patricia Wade (former President of FIG Acrobatics TC from Great Britain).

PORGRAS AT the 2009 individual worlds, Ana Porgras served notice of her

M
immense potential by ranking sec-
ond in the all-around qualifications,
. 10 behind Rebecca Bross, and
making three event finals. After
tying for the bronze on bars, she fell
off beam (where she was the top
seed) and out of the medals, and
tied for fifth on floor.

QUITTING

IN a sport where athletes can’t seem to let go and move on, 2009 world vault champion Kayla Williams let go and moved on. Competing as an elite for less than a year, Williams was in the right place at the right time to win gold in London. Then she quit Bozhi’s Gym Nest after 10 years and began training at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy. A foot injury prior to the U.S. championships eventually led to her retirement from elite, but not from the sport. She plans to compete for Alabama next year.

Quit may be a strong word for Williams’ case, but not so for Nicolae Forminte, who resigned from his post as Romanian women’s head coach (see “B” entry).

RUSSIA

THE waiting is over. After the Soviet Union split into independent republics in the early 1990s, many of its well-trained coaches split too. But after the big three of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus failed to take over the Soviet reign, major changes were made in the biggest of the three, Russia.

Andrei Rodionenko and
Alexander Alexandrov made their

T
way back home from Canada and
the U.S., respectively, and helped
restore the Russian tradition. In
2010 it all came to fruition for the
women, who dominated the senior
and junior Europeans in the spring,
and then the worlds in the fall!

TWEDDLE

THOUGH she turned 25 on April Fool’s Day, Great Britain’s Beth Tweddle is not kidding around. She easily won gold medals on uneven bars and floor exercise at the Europeans in Birmingham, England, and claimed the bars title at the Rotterdam worlds. That’s a remarkable year, considering she seemed fried after the 2008 Olympics. “I’ve got experience on my side,” Tweddle explained. That, she does.

UCHIMURA

AFTER winning his second consecutive world all-around title in 2010, Kohei Uchimura, 21, put himself in prime position to become the first man to win a third. And with the 2011 worlds in Tokyo, the Japanese star will be right at home.

So far, Uchimura’s winning margins have been wide, so the only factor that could derail him is injury. His left shoulder was taped in Rotterdam, so time will decide his fate. It would be a great loss to the sport if the increasing demands of the Code ultimately cut short such a promising career.