According to Valentina Rodionenko, Irina Alexeeva left the Russian national team and does not plan on competing elite anymore, focusing on NCAA instead. Alexeeva’s career on the national team was short but really good – she won team gold at the European Championships and silver at the World Championships. Right after the World Championships, she went back home to the US and skipped all the following national team camps despite being added to the main national team roster in December. In November, Alexeeva had an official visit to Stanford. It seems that she opted to start NCAA in the fall even though no official information about her commitment has been announced yet.

Rodionenko told R-Sport:

“Alexeeva was accepted to a university in America, she will study there. She won’t be on the national team anymore. Winning certain medals for the Russian team really helped her, it gave her bonuses, and she was admitted [to the university].”

UPD: Irina Alexeeva clarified on her Instagram that she definitely plans on doing NCAA gymnastics but she’s not starting college this fall, as she’s still a high school junior. She did not address the rest of Rodionenko’s comments regarding leaving the national team.

Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation

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