7 hours ago
After what has felt for illustration YEARS, nan Mizzou Gym media soul circle sewage a matter from award-winning SID Ryan pinch news that it’s happening.
“Coaching news coming today.”
Music to this starved-for-content writer’s dream, arsenic we’ve reached nan portion of nan offseason wherever there’s not overmuch going on. Yes, T&F is still going beardown successful nan postseason, and a trio of Tigers are advancing to nan NCAA Championships June 10-13 (Dan & Sophie will beryllium covering that), and golfer Addie Dobson is group to compete successful nan US Open June 4-7. And then, of course, there’s nan never-ending shot transportation portal carousel that is careening retired of control. But where’s nan news connected nan sports I COVER?! This is astir me Mizzou Gymnastics, aft all.
Anyway, backmost to nan news.
On Wednesday afternoon, Shannon & Co. announced nan hiring of erstwhile Georgia and Nebraska adjunct (and erstwhile Ukrainian nationalist squad member) Oleksii Koltakov, who earned WCGA Co-Regional Assistant Coach of nan Year honors successful 2023. With that caller honor, he’s judge to fresh correct successful pinch nan different WCGA coaches of nan twelvemonth connected nan Tigers’ staff.
Per nan MU Tigers release, Shannon said:
“We are excited to invited Oleksii to Mizzou. He brings a unsocial operation of method expertise, SEC acquisition and an world competitory inheritance that will beryllium a tremendous plus to our program. Oleksii has shown nan expertise to thief student-athletes create and compete astatine nan highest level, and his passion for coaching fits good pinch nan civilization we proceed to build present successful Columbia.”
According to nan UGA Athletics site, Oleksii joined nan GymDogs unit successful May 2024 aft 2 seasons astatine Nebraska wherever he chiefly worked arsenic a vault and level coach. Former Georgia co-head coach Ryan Roberts, now nan caput coach astatine Auburn, called Koltakov a “brilliant technician” aft moving alongside him astatine Alabama erstwhile he was a unpaid adjunct successful 2021-22. So yeah…. nan caller guy’s sewage immoderate SEC experience, which we LOVE to see.
Koltakov’s besides done wonders pinch nan teams he’s coached, turning a beautiful mediocre Georgia vault rotation anterior to his presence (sorry, it’s true) into a top-five vaulting squad successful 2026 pinch 7 — 7!!!! — vaulters earning precocious scores of 9.90 aliases amended and 5 pinch NQS scores of 9.875 aliases higher. For reference, Mizzou had conscionable 4 rotation members pinch 9.90 precocious scores aliases better, and conscionable 2 pinch NQS scores of 9.875 aliases higher, truthful this is perchance a really (really, really) awesome summation to nan early of Mizzou vault, especially.
Here’s his intro video from Georgia erstwhile he joined nan squad successful September 2024.
What does this mean for nan Tigers’ staff, exactly? Koltakov joins a unit of caput coach Shannon Welker, who chiefly focused connected vault and floor, subordinate caput coach Whitney Snowden (bars, leotard guru<— clearly her astir important role) and Jackie Terpak (choreographer, floor).
The opening for different unit personnel came aft nan squad announced connected May 3 that beam coach Lacey Rubin would measurement down aft 3 seasons pinch nan achromatic & gold. In lawsuit you missed it, I (tearfully) wrote astir what Lacey, nan leader of nan Bad Ass Beam Queens, meant to nan squad here, and asked inferior Kaia Tanskanen what she was looking for successful nan adjacent assistant.
“I’m hoping it is personification who really cares astir their occupation and what they do,” she said. “I besides dream they really study astir america arsenic humans arsenic good arsenic athletes and I dream we tin conscionable build spot and assurance correct away!”
We’ll find retired nan staff’s finalized roles soon capable — Ryan said it’s still to beryllium wished — truthful for now, we wait. Jackie would still beryllium successful complaint of choreo, though, truthful THANK YOU, GYM GODS. I could foresee Jackie moving to beam?!
Like I said successful my season wrap up, nan early is truthful very bright.
