Russian gymnasts won 10 medals at the European Cup in Baku

Russian gymnasts have become the main stars of the European Cup, which ended this weekend in Baku. They won seven gold medals in different disciplines at once. The participants of the national team of our country, pupils of the Academy of Rhythmic Gymnastics "Heavenly Grace" Alina Kabayeva, beat the best athletes of the continent. The Olympic champion personally helped the gymnasts prepare, many of whom were able to compete at a tournament of this level for the first time. The correspondent of Izvestia, Linar Ginatullin, found out what ensured the triumph of the Russian national team.

A new flight, a new country, and another big international launch. For the participants of the Russian national team, pupils of the Celestial Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy Alina Kabayeva, this pace of the season has already become familiar. This time, the route takes the team to the European Cup in Baku.

"Here, at the National Gymnastics Arena of Azerbaijan, which has already become the key venue of the continent, the best gymnasts begin to fight for one of the main titles of the season," Ginatullin said.

On the very first day of the competition, Russian juniors Ksenia Savinova and Yana Zaikina, who train with Evgenia Eliseeva, became the focus of attention.

In Baku, the athletes not only confirmed their status as leaders, they demonstrated the highest complexity of working with the subject, the filigree purity of performance and expressive choreography.

"The level of gymnasts is actually very high. This can be said about both the seniors and the juniors," said Nurlana Mammadzade, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation.

The juniors of the Russian national team won three gold and silver medals on the first day of the tournament.

"It was exciting to go out for the first time because it was unusual. The whole hall is dark, and the only light is on the playground. It's very cool, large—scale," said Ksenia Savinova, gymnast of the Russian national team, champion of the European Cup 2026.

Also, gymnast of the Russian national team, European Cup champion Yana Zaikina noted that she was very glad that she managed to perform cleanly and reach the starts "very well."

Their victorious spirit was picked up by the seniors. The current champion of Russia, Arina Kovshova, a pupil of Elizaveta Chernova, took silver in hoop exercises and gold with a ball. Maria Borisova, who trains under the guidance of Irina Gusarova, did not give her rivals a chance in the ribbon exercise, and the team of group exercises and their coach Anna Ustsova won gold in the hoop and clubs program. Russia, Belarus and Ukraine have taken the podium in this form.

"They perform very well, we like watching them. And we wish them success," Fatima Mustafayeva said.

The Belarusian national team has also done a lot of work to return to the international arena. The team is already competing at major starts, but rarely rises to the podium, more often remains in the middle of the protocols, taking fifth or sixth places. Russian gymnasts, in turn, confidently joined the fight for medals from the very first tournaments, and with such high results, the Russian national team entered the Cross Battle, the main stage of the European Cup, which replaces the usual all—around here.

In this format, Ksenia Savinova and Yana Zaikina won gold for Russia. Together with the gymnasts, their coach Evgenia Eliseeva also received a well-deserved award at the ceremony.

Alina Kabayeva came to the decisive stage of the tournament in person. The Olympic champion watched the gymnasts' performances from the stands and actively supported the athletes.

The Olympic champion is deeply involved in the preparation of the team and, together with the academy coaches, helps to improve the programs during training.

In the individual Cross Battle, the fight turned out to be extremely tight. Arina Kovshova stopped a step away from the next round, losing only a few tenths to Sofia Raffaeli, the winner of the Olympic bronze medal in Paris.

Maria Borisova also finished the fight before the final, losing to Daniela Muniz, who eventually won the European Cup.

In the group duels, the fight turned out to be no less intense. The Bulgarian and Israeli national teams made serious mistakes. The team from Jerusalem, for example, lost an item in the hoops and maces program.

Overall, both of these teams were wrong about the elements and working with the subject. They did not always perform jumps, rotations cleanly, and allowed inaccuracies in their catches. The Russian team, on the contrary, passed the exercises cleanly, but according to the final estimates, for some reason it turned out to be lower and finished the tournament with the bronze medals of the European Cup.

"It was very beautiful here. There were a lot of teams that we competed with. We enjoyed these competitions," said Alina Proschalykina, gymnast of the Russian national team in group exercises.

After the World Cup, our athletes stayed in Baku for training camps, where they were helped to improve the program by the honored coach of Russia Inna Bystrova.

Alina Kabayeva, a pupil of the Heavenly Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, has a very big prospect: victories over adult gymnasts show that the team is moving in the right direction.

"Our Russian Championship — the first place was taken by the Heavenly Grace team, the second place was taken by the St. Petersburg national team Zhemchuzhina, as we call them. The third place is taken by the national team of the subjects of the Federation. And gymnasts' performances have already been planned for this. Actually, our team, which took the first place of the "Heavenly Grace" of Russia, they did not have access to the competition and have not yet received a neutral status. But another team got neutral status, and they competed in the first international tournament. No team makes a jump, bending in the splits. No team does, they can indicate, but these elements come with an error. They have a very big prospect and, of course, they are great to win against adult gymnasts. They have height," said Inna Bystrova, Honored Coach of Russia.

The Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation provided the Russian team with a platform for full-fledged training, for which Alina Kabayeva personally thanked the Azerbaijani side.

The European Cup in Baku has shown once again that the rhythmic gymnastics school retains its leading position. Our gymnasts won 10 medals, seven of which were gold, which was the best result among all participating countries.

"Yes, I am a seasoned Russian girl."

Olympic champion Angelina Melnikova — about the triumphant end of the season and plans for the future

Earlier, on May 2, it was reported that the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Cup in Baku began with the triumph of Russian athletes. The main characters of the tournament were our juniors Yana Zaikina and Ksenia Savinova. They train under the guidance of Evgenia Eliseeva. For both gymnasts of the main Russian national team, this continental cup was the first in their careers — and an immediate success. The pupils of the Celestial Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy Alina Kabayeva confidently passed the tournament distance and won the team Cross Battle, confirming the high level of the Russian school in the international arena.