Ksenia Afanasyeva and Ekaterina Kramarenko are definitely two of my favorite Russian gymnasts…both were major players for the Russian team in Beijing, and both are still holding on for possible spots on more Russian world and Olympic teams.
Kramarenko has been one of my favorite gymnasts to watch over the last couple of years. Of course I’ve always felt bad for her since her terrible vaulting debacle in the 2007 world team finals…just as Russia was about to wrap up the bronze medal on their final event, Kramarenko baulked on her run - but touched the springboard - and was awarded a heart-breaking ZERO that dropped her Russian team to last place.