EARFUL moments were
spotted in the Mixed Zone, several steps from the Kiss & Cry corner, and another few, in the warm-up area. The further the 31st World
Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
went, the more the tears of joy and frustration!
What’s new, one may ask! Tears and
strong emotions go naturally with
women’s sport and particularly with
rhythmic gymnastics. This time, however, there was one more reason to feel
the amplified electricity in the air; at
stake were not only the world medals,
but also the dreamed-of 2012 Olympic
visas.
Only the top 15 individuals from
these worlds, held in Montpellier,
France, Sept. 19-25, and the top six
Groups would secure their tickets for
London next August. For those closest
to them (16-24th places in the
Individual contest and 7-12th in the
Groups), a very last chance was left, to
compete for the remaining 5 and 4
positions respectively at the Test Event
in London, January 2012.
From the very beginning until the last
minute of the championships it was a
nail-biting event!
Yevgenia Kanayeva and
Daria Kondakova stole the show
— and most of the medals —
at the worlds in France
BY VERA ATKINSON
—INDIVIDUALS—
THE Russian domination in the team, individ- ual all-around and apparatus finals was no surprise. As is known already, over the last
two decades Russia has built the mightiest system
for producing world-class gymnasts. Yevgenia
Kanayeva, 2008 Olympic and twice world champion, and Daria Kondakova, the 2010 world runner-up, are its latest products, and there was still
nobody to beat them in Montpellier. (The other two
members of the Russian team were Daria Dmitrieva
and Alexandra Merkulova).
Kanayeva won her third consecutive world all-
around title and became the third competitor to do
this in the history of rhythmic gymnastics. Two
Bulgarians—Maria Guigova (now a member of the
FIG TC) and Maria Petrova (Member of the UEG
TC)—held the record achievement until Friday,
Sept. 23, 2011. (They won their titles in 1969,
’71, ’73 and 1993,’94, ’95, respectively). To this,
Kanayeva added another supreme achievement:
she won the maximum of six gold medals, as she
did at the 2009 worlds. (She won four in 2010.)
