Russian gymnasts won the most medals at the European Championships

The winners of the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, which took place in Bulgaria, were welcomed in Russia. At this tournament, our national team performed with a flag and anthem for the first time in five years, and immediately reminded us that it is one of the favorites in this sport. Two gold, four silver and three bronze medals, including nine medals in the team all—around. No team has such a large number of awards.

Natalia Glemba's pupil Sofia Ilteryakova, who competed with a hoop, took gold from the seniors, and she also won a bronze medal in the ball exercise. Together with another Russian gymnast, Eva Chevtaeva, she returned to Moscow, where she lives and trains.

"The plan was this: to represent the country with dignity, to perform well, not to let anyone down, not to let down the coaches, the whole team that worked with me throughout the entire preparation. I am incredibly happy that I have had such an incredible success with medals, including a gold one. Therefore, I think everyone is happy," said Sofia Ilteryakova, the European champion in rhythmic gymnastics in the hoop exercise.

Our other senior, Maria Borisova, also performed brilliantly, she is coached by Irina Gusarova. She won silver in the mace exercise and bronze in the ribbon exercise. The juniors did not lag behind either. So, Yana Zaikina, with whom the coaching tandem of Evgenia Eliseeva and Olga Minigalina works, became the champion, she had no equal in the ribbon exercise. Their ward Ksenia Savinova won silver in the hoop exercise. The fans were also pleased with the adult team in the group exercise, which is being prepared by coach Anna Ustsova. She twice reached the second step of the podium in the all-around, and also in the finals with hoops and clubs. All the girls train at Alina Kabayeva's Heavenly Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy in Sochi. They walked out of the airport to dozens of fans. Our winners were greeted with flags and flowers.

"We were finally allowed in with the anthem and the Russian flag, and it was very responsible, so it was a little more exciting to go out than usual. When I took the first place, I still did not believe that I had won. In fact, I was very glad that everything worked out. I want to say a big thank you to Alina Maratovna for supporting us, incredibly helping us all this time, to our beloved coaches, Evgenia Mikhailovna, Olga Dmitrievna and all the fans," added Yana Zaikina, European junior rhythmic Gymnastics champion in the ribbon exercise.

And already at Alina Kabayeva's Heavenly Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, the athletes were congratulated with a huge cake, and a gala dinner was organized in their honor.

The successful performance of our gymnasts at the European Championships in Bulgaria guarantees the Russian team a place at the World Championships, which will be held in Germany in mid-August.

High base: how gymnast Melnikova became the best in the German Bundesliga

The audience was delighted with the performance of the Olympic champion, but local media are escalating the situation.

As Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev noted in an interview with Izvestia on May 18, the admission of Russian gymnasts to international competitions with a flag and anthem restored the integrity of all gymnastic sports and the Russian national team. He noted that the unification of the Russian Gymnastics Federation and the intensification of international work were the prologue to this.