Alexander Alexandrov
However, before the all-around, coach Alexander Alexandrov pulled Galiyeva from the competition, citing a knee injury. Her replacement was teammate Tatiana Gutsu. Although Gutsu had fallen from the balance beam in the team finals, she was renowned for her extreme difficulty and the reigning European all-around champion and a Worlds medalist on bars and beam. It was later revealed that Galiyeva's injury was non-existent, and that the substitution was made because Gutsu was considered to have better medal-winning potential. Indeed, Gutsu emerged from the Olympic all-around as the gold medalist. While Gutsu split her prize money with Galiyeva, Galiyeva always remained angry about this turn of events.