Up and Coming: Maria Kharenkova

Unlike Olivia Cimpian, Kharenkova has already made a name for herself. She has beautiful choreography paired with impressive tumbling on her two best events - floor and beam. She is also fairly good on vault, but struggles on uneven bars sometimes, and it is her weakest event - surprising for a Russian.

Did I mention her beautiful choreography on beam?

 

That choreography and her incredible (and clean!) tumbling won her a gold in the event finals at the 2012 European Championships. There were a few wobbles but nothing major, and all in all it was a very good routine:

 



 

She also has wonderful choreography and fluidity on floor, where she won a second well-deserved gold medal in the event finals in Brussels:

 

 

I think Maria will continue to shine on beam and floor, and maybe vault as well - she won a bronze medal in the event finals in Brussels. If she can polish up her bars I think she could become a very good all-arounder. Right now she seems to struggle in all-around competitions, but gaining some maturity and experience should cure that. Regardless if she becomes a stronger all-arounder or if she sticks to her three best events, the gymnastics world better watch out - Russia is definitely back.