Russian rhythmic talent reigns at first junior Worlds

The recently constructed Irina Viner-Usmanova venue in the Russian capital Moscow provided an iconic backdrop for the 1^st ever Junior World Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics.

An impressive number of participants wanted to be part of this historic event: 323 to be precise! Hosts Russia made it clear from the very first exercise that they were the force to reckon with, dominating the qualification round and winning the team title with 131.150, more than 12 points ahead of closest rival Italy, with Israel in third.

Three individuals featured in the Russian team and they all led going into the apparatus finals: Lala Kramarenko (ball and clubs), Anastasia Simakova (rope) and Daria Sergaeva (ribbon). The girls lived up to the expectations by continuing their country’s gold rush in the finals. Kramarenko posted the highest score: 21.525 for an exquisite ball routine, resembling the work of former star Alina Kabaeva.

Italy’s Sofia Raffaeli had an extremely busy weekend, competing with all 4 apparatus and being the only individual gymnast to qualify to all 4 finals. Her efforts were rewarded with three silver medals: team, rope and clubs. Azerbaijan’s Arzu Jalilova and Israel’s Adi Asya Katz won two medals each. Jalilova first claimed bronze with rope, then climbed one step higher with ball. Katz finished third with clubs and ended her competition with the silver for her ribbon exercise. Her teammate Noga Block earned another medal for Israel, bronze with ball. Probably the happiest medallist of the competition … Salma Solaun of Spain who surprised herself by winning bronze with ribbon.

In the group competition, the talented Russians could rival with many seniors. They cruised to all-around gold and won both the 5 hoops and 5 ribbons titles. Silver in the all-around and with 5 hoops went to Italy while Belarus won the bronze medal in the all-around and with 5 hoops. They upgraded to silver in the last final, 5 ribbons, bumping Israel to third place.

So why is Russia so strong? Group member Aleksandra Semibratova has the answer:

Here are all the medallists ….

Team

1.       Russia 131.150

2.       Italy 119.100

3.       Israel 113.800

 

Individuals

Rope

1.       Anastasia Simakova (RUS) 20.600

2.       Sofia Raffaeli (ITA) 19.050

3.       Arzu Jalilova (AZE) 17.400

 

Ball

1.       Lala Kramarenko (RUS) 21.525

2.       Arzu Jalilova (AZE) 19.200

3.       Noga Block (ISR) 18.950

 

Clubs

1.       Lala Kramarenko (RUS) 20.750

2.       Sofia Raffaeli (ITA) 19.450

3.       Adi Asya Katz (ISR) 19.250

 

Ribbon

1.       Daria Sergaeva (RUS) 17.650

2.       Adi Asya Katz (ISR) 17.100

3.       Salma Solaun (ESP) 16.750

 

Groups

All-around

1.       Russia 49.550

2.       Italy 45.100

3.       Belarus 43.100

 

5 hoops

1.       Russia 26.250

2.       Italy 25.100

3.       Belarus 24.650

 

5 ribbons

1.       Russia 21.450

2.       Belarus 19.550

3.       Israel 19.000

 

Congratulations!

For full results, consult the FIG event website: https://live.fig-gymnastics.com/news.php?idevent=15968