Sports Desk: Russian Aliya Mustafina Wins Gold in Gymnastics

Uni the Snow Leopard Kitten (pictured center) was the mascot for the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia, in the country's Tartarstan region, and the host country came through well in artistic gymnastics as Aliya Mustafina (pictured top) won individual gold.

Mustafina, who won individual all-around bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, hails from Tartarstan. She won the competition with a 57.9 score. Her teammate Ksenia Afanaseva (pictured bottom) won individual silver while Kim Dui, a gymnast of Chinese descent who represented Germany, finished third.

Elizabeth Black of Canada finished third on balance beam and she tied for second on vault with veteran gymnast Elsa Garcia of Mexico.

In other women's sports at the World University Games, Aysegul Coban, from my father's home country Turkey, finished third in women's weightlifting in the 195-kg division. Kanae Yasi of Japan won gold in that event. Coban hails from Konya in central Turkey.

Team USA won five overall gold medals, including one from Auriell Scott, an alumni of Central Florida University, won gold in the 100-meters track event.

http://www.intlgymnast.com

Our Favorite Gymnasts_ Goksu, Vanessa, Aly, et al.

The 2012 London Olympics are coming to a close and we are perhaps the last people in the world to see Eric Idle reprise the famous Monty Python song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"

But, we wanted to look at six Olympic gymnasts from around the world who left an impression with us during the summer games:

1) Goksa Uctas, 21, Turkey (pictured top)_ Since I am a Turkish-American, and each of us watched helplessly in agony during the days of the horrific 1999 earthquake, the Uctas story is a particularly moving one. But, one does not need to be of Turkish heritage to identify with this remarkable athlete and her accomplishments. Uctas was nine years old when the earthquake struck the part of Turkey she was living in. She has gone on to become the first gymnast to represent Turkey at the Olympics. Uctas was recently profiled in "The New York Times." Prior to the Olympics, where she competed on the balance beam, Uctas won a silver medal at the 2009 Mediterranean Games in 2009.

2) Vanessa Ferrari, 21, Italy (pictured center)_ London: With a butterfly tattoo on one of her heels, made more noticeable because most gymnasts perform barefoot, Ferrari represented Italy with an entertaining floor routine. Alas, it was not as technically strong as many of the other gymnasts' routines, so she finished seventh in the competition with a 14.900. Prior to the Olympics, Ferrari, who has a Bulgarian mother, won the 2006 world championships in all-around in Denmark.

3) Aliya Mustafina, 17, Russia, London: Mustafina will leave the Olympics with three medals, including a gold on the uneven bars apparatus, a silver from the team competition and a bronze for the all-around. Mustafina won a tie-breaker with American gymnast Aly Raisman for the bronze. Ironically, Raisman would win a bronze from Romanian gymnast Catalina Ponor for a similar situation.

4) Aly Raisman, 18, USA. London: With three medals, including two golds (team, floor exercise) and a bronze (balance beam), Raisman will leave the UK as the most decorated American gymnast at the Olympics. Her floor music was performed to the Jewish folk song "Hava Nagila" much to the crowd's delight.

5) Sandra Izbasa, 22, Romania. London: Izbasa, a veteran from the 2008 Olympic team that won bronze in Beijing, won a gold on vault and a bronze for team competition. Izbasa finished fifth in the all-around.

6) Oksana Chusovitina, 37, Germany (pictured bottom). London: Yes, that is not a typo, the German gymnast who has also represented Uzbekistan, her home country, and even the Soviet Union (she has been around for quite a while) came to London for a record sixth Olympics. And, Chusovitina performed quite respectfully as she finished fifth on vault right behind her German teammate Janine Berger, 16, who is 21 years younger than the lady from Tashkent.

http://www.dailyhurriyet.com

http://www.vanessaferrari.com

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http://www.alyraisman.com

http://www.jewishjournal.com