Games and Rings
  • A Blog for Olympic Sports Fans

A Rhythmic Gymnast Is Pushed to the Limit

4/22/2021

 
Over the Limit (2017)
​A Quick Film Review
Picture
"To hell with you."
"You piece of shit."
"What a stupid loser."

These are just some of the bon mots offered by Irina Viner-Usmanova to rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun as the athlete works toward Rio 2016. Training moments are captured intimately by director Marta Prus in "Over the Limit", released in 2017 as a behind-the-scenes look at Mamun's journey to the Olympics.

That Prus chose Mamun as a subject proved prescient, as Mamun did win gold at the Rio Games after a stellar 2016 season in which she won all-around titles at the MTM Tournament, Thiais Grand Prix, Brno Grand Prix, and the Minsk, Guadalajara, and Kazan World Cups. And at the Baku World Cup just ahead of the Games, she set a new record for point totals (77.150) in her win.

But you certainly don't get a sense of all that success from Mamun in Over the Limit, as the main focus is in her training sessions, where she is  subjected to withering criticism from Viner-Usmanova, the head of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics. It's a legendary program, in which Russians have won every Olympic gold medal since Sydney 2000 in both individual and group events. Mamun is sternly reminded by Viner-Usmanova that she's competing for Russia, and her teammate Yana Kudryavtseva dutifully stresses that importance in a joint press stop shown early in the film.

It's often argued that there's a fine line between strong, pointed coaching and emotional abuse. Whereas programs in the United States and Great Britain, notably, have received scrutiny for crossing that boundary, I'm guessing that Russia hasn't had their moment of introspection on the matter. While the sport is not widely popular in the United States, it is in Russia and much of Eastern Europe, from where the top competitors generally come. Would viewers there cringe at the "tough love"? It's hard to say where Prus falls on the matter, as she correctly lets the camera to be an impartial witness.

Picture
Margarita Mamun at Rio 2016 (IOC/Getty)
It's also hard to say how Mamun herself feels. She's usually seen as rather stoic and dutiful in going through routines, and while on the receiving end of Viner-Usmanova's caustic advice. She doesn't get much help from her direct coach Amina Zaripova, a former gymnast herself who is subject to attack from her boss. Mamun's silent suffering is due in part, though, to her father's battle with cancer, increasingly seen as a significant, distracting concern. Zaripovna softens a bit with the news, offering a sense of a shoulder to lean on, while, on the other hand, Viner-Usmanova tries to use her father's illness as motivation. We only get a couple of small glimpses of upset from Mamun: a slight venting to Kudryavtseva in frustration at recent criticism, and a moment of anger at a Rio practice session while struggling to find consistency while Viner-Usmanova advises from a television screen. (A continent away can't spare the harsh words!).

We also do see Mamun in lighter moments, celebrating a birthday with family, interacting with her boyfriend (swimmer 
Alexandr Sukhorukov), and letting loose with teammates on the beach at Rio. The scenes are reminders of her age...Mamun was only 20 at the time of the Olympics, after all. But mostly, though, the tone is of her alone with her thoughts. What is she thinking? Is she happy? The only true smile seems to come as she is awarded Olympic gold.

Mamun did retire after Rio. Between the weight of her father's illness and the hard work to persevere through training, her gold medal run is a justifiable close to a career, even at a young age. Perhaps, though, director Prus did show her hand with the film's title, "Over the Limit"...was Mamun pushed past hers?

Over the Limit is a fascinating look at one athlete's personal road to the Olympics. And, it's refreshing to see a documentary dedicated to rhythmic gymnastics. For someone oddly drawn to the new discipline while discovering it during Los Angeles 1984, I appreciate the attention to the athleticism and focus inherent in the sport. And, this documentary showcases Mamun as a great example of an Olympian's efforts against adversity to reach gold.

Comments are closed.
    Above: Athens' Kallimarmaro, the site of the 1896 Summer Olympics


    About This Blog

    An Olympics fan blog celebrating all things Olympic sport athletes

    Picture
    Read about me.

    Navigate It

    Celebrating Olympic sport athletes with news links, social media peeks, and more, seen through the cheeky lens of this particular, passionate fan.

    ​Check out:
     A Little Roundup
    Get caught up on the athletes of Olympic sports with a collection of links to recent news and feature stories

    Let's Get Social
    Taking a look at what some of your favorite Olympic sport athletes are up to on social media away from competition.

    They are the Champions
    Congratulations to the world champions of Olympic sports!

    Athletes Worth Watching
    Who are some emerging Olympic sport athletes worth keeping an eye on for the future?

    ​Ramblings and Things
    ​
    I have my own comment and opinions sometimes!

    A Quick Review
    Quick thoughts on Olympic sports-related films, art, books, TV, etc. that I've come across .
    p.s. see my Bookshop!

    Picture
    Me at Rio 2016's Barra Olympic Park


    Follow Me

    Twitter
    Instagram
    ​
    Spotify
    Medium
    ​
    Bookshop
    Post.
    Mastodon
    Tumblr

    Favorite Sites

    The IOC
    The Olympic Museum
    Olympic World Library
    ​Intl Olympic Academy
    ​Team USA
    World Athletics
    ​Athletics Integrity Unit
    WADA
    Court of Arbitration
    Around the Rings
    Inside the Games
    GamesBids.com
    The Sports Examiner
    ​AP Olympics
    ​AP Winter Olympics
    NBC Olympic Talk
    NY Times ​Olympics
    USA TODAY Olympics
    Wiki Summer Olympics
    Wiki Winter Olympics
    ​Athlete365
    ​
    Global Athlete
    ​Olympic Historians
    World Olympians Assoc.
    ​Games Architecture​
    Art of the Olympians
    Olympic.org Results
    ​Olympedia
    ​Olympstats
    ​
    Olympian Database
    ​On This Day in Sports
    ​Coubertin Speaks
    ​Olympic City Project
    ​
    Keep the Flame Alive
    Off The Podium
    The Games Odyssey
    ​Totallympics
    ​Qualifying to the Games
    ​Lost Olympians
    ​
    Olympians 1964 to 2020
    All Sports Books Reviews
    Outsports
    ​
    Queerstory Files
    ​Paris 2024
    ​Milan Cortina 2026
    Los Angeles 2028


    Categories

    All
    A Little Roundup
    Alpine Skiing
    Amsterdam 1928
    Ancient Olympics
    Aquatics
    Archery
    Artistic Swimming
    Athens 1896
    Athens 2004
    Athlete Spotlight
    Athlete Worth Watching
    Atlanta 1996
    Badminton
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Basketball 3x3
    Beach Volleyball
    Beijing 2008
    Beijing 2022
    Berlin 1936
    Biathlon
    Bobsled
    Boxing
    Breaking
    Canoe/Kayak
    Cross Country Skiing
    Curling
    Cycling
    Cycling BMX
    Cycling Mountain Bike
    Cycling Road
    Cycling Track
    Demonstration Sports
    Diving
    Equestrian
    Fencing
    Field Hockey
    Figure Skating
    Freestyle Skiing
    Golf
    Gymnastics
    Handball
    Helsinki 1952
    Ice Hockey
    Innsbruck 1976
    IOC
    Judo
    Karate
    Let's Get Social
    London 1908
    London 1948
    London 2012
    Los Angeles 1932
    Los Angeles 1984
    Los Angeles 2028
    Luge
    Melbourne 1956
    Mexico City 1968
    Milano Cortina 2026
    Modern Pentathlon
    Montreal 1976
    Moscow 1980
    Munich 1972
    Non-Olympic Sports
    Nordic Combined
    Olympics
    Olympic Sports Media
    On This Date
    Other
    Paralympics
    Paris 2024
    Pyeongchang 2018
    Rhythmic Gymnastics
    Rio 2016
    Rome 1960
    Rowing
    Rugby Sevens
    Sailing
    Salt Lake City 2002
    Sarajevo 1984
    Seoul 1988
    Shooting
    Short Track Speedskating
    Skateboarding
    Skeleton
    Ski Jumping
    Ski Mountaineering
    Snowboarding
    Soccer (football)
    Sochi 2014
    Softball
    Speed Skating
    Sport Climbing
    Squash
    Stockholm 1912
    Summer Olympics
    Surfing
    Swimming
    Sydney 2000
    Table Tennis
    Taekwondo
    Tennis
    They Are The Champions
    Tokyo 1964
    Tokyo 2020
    Track And Field
    Trampolining
    Triathlon
    Volleyball
    WADA
    Water Polo
    Weightlifting
    Winter Olympics
    Wrestling


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014


    To opt-out of cookies, and to read this site's privacy policy, read the Policy page.

    The following link is listed for Mastodon site verification purposes only:
    Mastodon

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly