A BAKU LEAP

The 30th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics held in Azerbaijan drew the attention of the whole continent to Baku. Along with the high level of organization of the championship by the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, the continental championship will also be remembered with the success of Azerbaijani gymnasts.

At the European Championship held in Baku for the third time, 258 athletes from 33 countries competed for 9 sets of awards.

Azerbaijani juniors gained 94,364 points and came third in the team standings, while the first two places on the podium were occupied by Russia and Belarus.

Another medal was gained by Jala Piriyeva. She came second in the individual hoop competition, getting 16,300 points from the referees. First place was won by the Russian gymnast Yuliya Bravikova with 16,750 points, while third place went to the Belarusian representative Anastasia Rybakova.

The Azerbaijani team in group exercises pleased fans with the third medal of the European Championship. In competitions with three swords and two ribbons, the team won 17,650 points from referees and took second place. The first step of the podium was taken by the Russian team and the third by the Bulgarian team.

According to the results of the intense competition, a gala concert was held where European gymnasts presented their performances. Azerbaijani gymnasts performed to the accompaniment of the folk music "Sari Galin" and Muslim Maqomayev's song "Azerbaijan".

After the completion of the gala concert, Azerbaijan handed the flag of the European Union of Gymnastics to Belarus, where the next European championship will be held.

The coach of the Azerbaijani national rhythmic gymnastics team, Mariana Vasileva, considers the performance of the team at this championship to be successful. "The main thing is not only medals, they only stimulate the gymnasts. Even if we had not won medals at this championship, I would still be happy with our girls. With each tournament they improve their results and perform exercises at a higher level," Vasileva told R+.

"I am very happy with the junior team and the team in group exercises. In addition, I want to note Marina Durunda. Although the gymnast took sixth place, she was able to show her potential growth. Also, I would note young Gulsum Safizada. She is only 15 years old, and she was the youngest among the top twenty athletes. For example, a 27-year-old gymnast played for Spain. It shows the difference in the experience of athletes. But I was particularly impressed that because of a failure in the phonogram, Gulsum was forced to perform twice with ribbons, and she did very well. She demonstrated her Azerbaijani character - to fight to the very end and not give up," the head coach said.

Vasileva also noted that after a weeklong break, the team will resume training in preparation for the World Cup, which will be held in Izmir. "And then we will prepare for the first European Games in Baku in order to show the best results," Vasileva concluded.  

President of the European Olympic Committee Patrick Hickey praised the level of organization of the championship: "Mehriban Aliyeva, as the President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation, also heads the organizing committee of the first European Games to be held in 2015 in Baku. The EOC considers it an honour. Exactly in a year's time, over 6,000 athletes from 19 sports will gather in Baku for the first European Games. I congratulate all those who worked for the timely completion of the Gymnastics arena. I think that the more than 250 athletes who took part in the championship could not even think of a better arena to display their capabilities."

President of the Belarus Gymnastics Association Vladimir Karpovich said that Azerbaijan showed other countries the level at which a model competition should be organized. "We are pleased to take over the flag of the European Championship. Minsk will host the next European Championship. I was struck by the level of organization of the European Championship in Baku. The arena is unique in that it is built only for rhythmic gymnastics. I am sure that the athletes received special pleasure from performing in this complex. We saw beautiful performances and good results. This is a good start for the development of the school of rhythmic gymnastics in Azerbaijan," Karpovich told R+.

After the championship, Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation Altay Hasanov noted that the European Championship was a real treat for fans of this sport. "We are very pleased to be able to host the championship at a high level. Everyone who worked to organize the European Championship saw the fruits of their work. We need to highlight the performances of our gymnasts. They won three medals, which proves the correct path of development chosen by the federation. Some time ago we started rejuvenating the team. And today medals for the Azerbaijani national team were won by the young. The team in group exercises also performed very successfully," Hasanov told R+.

He stressed that foreign athletes and experts noted the great taste which manifested itself in the construction of the National Gymnastics Arena. "This is the first international event held at the new arena. We have become accustomed to it. Competitions in gymnastics will also be held here during the first European Games," the vice-president of the federation said.

He also touched on the preparations for the European Games and the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Brazil. "We will be preparing for the first European Games of 2015 in Baku. We very much hope on our young gymnasts. I hope they will adequately represent Azerbaijan both at the European Games and at the Summer Olympics of 2016. And I especially want to thank the fans for supporting our athletes during the European Championship," Hasanov said.

The 30th European Championship showed the whole continent the high level of organization and hospitality of Baku. Azerbaijani athletes showed their potential in conquering even greater heights.