Russian gymnasts won silver at the European Championships in group exercises

Russian athletes won silver and bronze medals at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, which are currently being held in Bulgaria. This is the first time in five years that our national team has competed at a tournament of this level, and it has already become one of the best on the continent, confirming the high level of the national school. Moreover, gymnasts are now defending the country's honor with the national flag and anthem.

Beauty, grace, well-honed movements: the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships welcomes the strongest athletes, and of course, our national team.

"For several years, the world forgot about a serious competitor. Now, here in Bulgarian Varna, I had to remember. Justice has been restored: our gymnasts are finally competing under the Russian flag at the European Championships," said Igor Baldin, a correspondent for Izvestia.

Tricolor over the stands, in the hall — the intensity of emotions and passions. The audience supports our athletes loudly and vividly: they chant, applaud and even shout to be heard, because such support is especially important.

Fans from Bryansk, Kazan, and Kursk came to the competition. The International Association "Heavenly Grace" helped them realize their dream of attending the European Championships.

Incredible synchronicity and precision of the group team. The mentor is Anna Ustsova. Her students work as a single mechanism. Maces and hoops fly by so fast that it seems impossible to keep track of them.

They are still a very young team, but they have already won the Russian championship. As a result, the athletes joined the main team, having received the right to represent our country in the international arena. There is real success here: silver in the group all-around and bronze in the team competition. For the first time in five years, we performed abroad under our own flag and immediately took third place. The opponents are the strongest. There were questions about the grades. The judges preferred not to discuss them — they avoided talking to the press. With Israel taking the second place, we had the same number of points.

The difficult, proven work of our gymnasts impressed everyone, even the strongest competitors.

"I believe that the level of Russian gymnastics is very high, and your girls, as always, are beautiful," said Yulia Raskina—Rizo, coach of European rhythmic gymnastics champion Daria Varfolomeev.

Olympic champion Alina Kabayeva always works out the programs and the most difficult elements with gymnasts herself. Before the European Championships, pay attention to every detail and every movement.Our juniors performed triumphantly in Varna. Yana Zaikina, who won gold, and Ksenia Savinova, who won silver, are coached by Evgenia Eliseeva. They worked out the most difficult program with a hoop together.

"This is a historic moment that we have all been waiting for. I am happy and congratulate our whole country on this victory," said Ekaterina Dyukova, Director of Alina Kabayeva's Heavenly Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy.

In the individual all-around of the seniors, although there were some minor blemishes, all the performances turned out to be incredibly technical.

Our seniors are in fifth and sixth place. Many people remember Sofia Ilteryakova with maces, coach Natalia Glemba, and, of course, Maria Borisova's incendiary bolero, coach Irina Gusarova.

"You see the flag and realize that the whole country is behind you, you are now representing the whole country, your homeland. It inspires me a lot and gives me strength in difficult moments," said Maria Borisova, a finalist at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in the all–around.

A successful performance guarantees our national team a place in the World Cup.

"I think we will continue to defend this brand. But you always need to understand that you are the strongest, naturally, in competitions with others. And the teams here are very strong," said Eleonora Mitrofanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Bulgaria.

There are dozens of names behind this triumph, and the work of a large team. Coaches, doctors, psychologists are the ones who also made victory possible.

The outstanding performance of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team at the European championships is a serious stage in preparation for an even more important and large—scale event — the World Championships in Germany.

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Yana Zaikina won gold at the European Championships in ribbon exercises on May 28. During the competition, the gymnast conquered everyone with her complex technical exercise, which she prepared together with coach Evgenia Eliseeva. The champion said that she was very happy for her country and for the fact that for the first time in a long time the athletes heard their anthem at the tournament.