After Anna won Bronze at the Beijing Olympics, considering that Anna Bessonova has been the Queen of RG for the last 2 years, the one competition that has evaded Anna remains out of her grasp. Will Anna remain active long enough to pursue Gold at the 2012 Olympics, or will she bow out gracefully, like Irina Tchachina?

I don't know whether she'll compete in the 2012 olympics but I was annoyed that she won bronze, she deserved much better.

I hope she will compete. She is the most graceful of all the rhythmic gymnasts out there and she is really the true image of the sport.

^ I agree. I love Anna, but I think four years is an awfully long time.

Gymnasts do not have a very long shelf-life and the intense training takes its toll on the body.

Who knows, maybe she'll pull a Almudena and last until age 28? I would watch her any day.

It is unlikely. She and Natalia Godunko have not spoken about retirement, so it is probable that they make it through 2009, and the new COP will give especially Anna a space in élite RG - but their age will be an impediment certainly.

I think that she can do it in 2012, but if she doesn't then I'm gonna be annoyed.

I was so sad when she didn't win gold...I wanted her to in Athens. Oh well, Evengina Kanaeva is very good but Anna is my favourite. I can't really judge because we got dodgy as coverage of the individual final in Australia (like showed 2 routines!)

It was just as bad in south africa on the national public channel. Odette Richard got a bit of coverage, and they showed a few of her routines though, and they showed some of the individual finals, but this was also at 2 in the morning... I was lucky enough to have been awake... Nothing of the group finals, except for the medal ceremony... so coverage wasn't always that great

So it seems she won't be competing at the London Olympics at 2012, which is really unfortunate, but you could see that this last year that she was having fun, and enjoying herself, which is something you didn't really see of the pre-2008 Beijing Olympics Anna Bessonova...

The news came as quite a surprise to me, because i had thought that she had another year left in her, but i guess she felt that it was time...

she truly was the Queen of RG

Please tell me that she will be competing at the 2012 olympics???? How I know it????? tell me the truth because I wanna go to the Ukraine and wanna see her!!!!