A dropped Club ended her chances of a golden sweep in Rhythmic Gymnastics at The 2017 World Games in Wrocław, / Poland, so Russia’s Arina Averina settled for going three for four. Following her error with the Clubs, which still resulted in a bronze medal, the older Averina twin rallied to take the Ribbon title Saturday, July 22, in Wroclaw’s Centennial Hall.
The Averinas vs. the world
After two near-flawless performances resulted in gold medals with the Hoop and Ball Friday (Jul 21), Arina Averina finally made a mistake, dropping a Club mid-routine in her third Rhythmic final. In stepped her identical twin sister Dina to defend the Averina name. Feeding off opportunity, the younger Averina performed like a magician with the apparatus, making one impossible-seeming catch after another for the gold. Though Arina would go on to best her sister with the Ribbon, Dina's Clubs routine earned the highest score of the entire competition.
Their duel for supremacy in the sport will continue at next month's World Championships in Pesaro, Italy. In the wake of the Averinas, Israel's Linoy Ashram (silver with the Clubs) and Belarus's Katsiaryna Halkina (bronze with the Ribbon) each captured their second medal of the Games, continuing what for both has been a groundbreaking season.
* Here are all the World Games RG results in an overview:
>> H O O P; > hoop's qualification
>> B A L L; > ball's qualification
>> C L U B S; > club's qualification
>> R I B B O N; > ribbon's qualification