03. September 2017  
Pesaro, ITA  
Rhythmic Gymnastics

35th WORLDS of RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS 2017

To the very first time Italy was hosting a World Championship of Rhythmic Gymnastics, but the host city Pesaro welcomed  9-times a World Cup event already!
Competitions of the 35th WORLDS of Rhythmic Gymnastics started August 30 with qualification rounds with the Hoop and Ball, followed by finals with the same apparatus that evening. Qualifications and finals with the Clubs and Ribbon took place the next day, and scores from the first two days of qualification determined the top 24 gymnasts who advanced to the September 1 All-around final. For the Groups, the All-around title was just in play September 2, and Group apparatus finals closed the show September 3.
And at the end top team RUSSIA earned 7 of 8 gold medals, but hosts ITALY cheered over a gold medal (groups final with 5 hoops) at the end ...!
Gymnasts from 53 countries to competed at these World Championships, the first to be held using the new code of points in Rhythmic Gymnastics. In this post-Olympic year, a maximum of two gymnasts per country competed in the individual competition, contending for top honours in the All-around as well as with each of the four handheld apparatus (Hoop, Ball, Clubs and Ribbon). Rhythmic Groups of five gymnasts fihghted for the Group All-around title, as well as gold in apparatus finals with the 5 Hoops and 3 Balls/2 Ropes.
 


A new era in Rhythmic Gymnastics opens with the 2017 World Championships, the flagship event of the season, which begin Wednesday, August 30 in Pesaro, Italy.
In the wake of Rio Olympic gold medallist Margarita Mamun and three-time consecutive All-around World champion Yana Kudryavtseva (2013/14/15), the Adriatic Arena stage is set for the emergence of a new generation of stars to establish themselves on the world scene.

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* Friday, Sep 01
♦ ALL-AROUND FINAL
* f i g - r e p o r t--: Averina Twin peaks
With their World title count tied at two heading into the All-around final, Dina and Arina Averina went head to head once more for the overall crown. Over the course of the four event final, Dina built a slow but steady lead over her older sister, eventually sealing the title with a strong and graceful performance with the Ribbon. The latest in a long line of Russian Rhythmic princesses, the 19-year-old Averina twins have proven nearly untouchable in international competition all year. At the apogee of the season in Pesaro, with one or the other accounting for all five individual World titles, they lived up to the expectations of a country that has developed a taste for gold in the discipline.

Second bronze for Linoy Ashram
Twenty four hours after winning Israel's second ever individual World medal in Rhythmic Gymnastics, Linoy Ashram gave the country its third. As other medal contenders faltered, the 18-year-old kept her cool during each of her four difficult routines. A small bobble with a Club didn't keep her from clinching bronze with a jazzy, crowd pleasing exercise to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."
The immense difficulty of Ashram's programme helped her edge Belarus's Katsiaryna Halkina and Japan's Kaho Minagawa. Rounding out the top six, the USA's Laura Zeng delivered the highest ever finish for an American gymnast in a Rhythmic World All-around final.

Awards also for Italy
They may not have earned medals, but Italians Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (eighth) and Milena Baldassarri (ninth) won the hearts of their countrymen with their dynamic performances at the Adriatic Arena. Agiurgiuculese's imaginative routines also captured the attention of the jury of the Longines Prize for Elegance, a special award given to a selected gymnast who demonstrates elegance on and off the competition floor. As Agiurgiuculese became the first Italian Rhythmic gymnast ever to be honoured with the Longines Prize, which includes a Longines timepiece and trophy, Baldassarri received the Alina Kabaeva Award, bestowed on her by the 2004 Olympic champion and FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics Ambassador herself.

* f i g - report--:  All-around qualification field set in Pesaro Dina and Arina Averina top the list of competitors with the best combined scores taking all four apparatus into account following the conclusion of the qualification rounds Thursday. The top 24 gymnasts have advanced to Friday's All-around final, which will determine the new World champion. The long reigns of Evgeniya Kanaeva (World All-around champion 2009/10/11) and Yana Kudryavtseva (World All-around champion 2013/14/15) mean Friday's winner will be only the fourth woman in a decade to wear the All-around crown.

Dina & Arina AVERINA - each two gold!

♦ Apparatus Finals  (Thurday, Aug 31)
 Identical twins Dina and Arina Averina completed a Russian sweep of the individual apparatus titles on the second day of the World Championships Thursday, confirming themselves as the emerging queens of the discipline in the post-Olympic year. Having already harvested one World title apiece in Pesaro, each twin added a second gold to her cache during finals with the Clubs and Ribbon. Though Dina won the Clubs, her preferred apparatus, by a wide margin, she left the door open after a shakier than usual performance with the Ribbon. Arina, whose Clubs routine netted her a bronze, did not miss the opportunity for another gold, reserving the top rung of the podium for herself with an on-point performance to Hungarian folk music. Even with a few imperfections, Dina's Ribbon routine merited a silver medal, a testament to the difficulty of her exercise.

First World medals for Halkina & Ashram
After a chocolate medal with the Hoop and a fifth place finish with the Ball, Katsiaryna Halkina broke finally through to take silver with the Clubs. Belarus's top gymnast has graced numerous World Cup podiums throughout her career, but Pesaro is the first time she has claimed an individual medal at a World Championships. The same goes for Linoy Ashram, whose bronze with the Ribbon is Israel's second individual World medal in Rhythmic Gymnastics, coming six years after Neta Rivkin gave the country its first.

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* WCh  R E S U L T S / Overview  (Update 03-Sep)

* I n d i v i d u a l :
►► Final ALL-AROUND  (01-Sep)
           > All-around, qualification

► Final Hoop ( Reifen);    ► Final B a l l;
     > Hoop, quali.                            > Ball, quali
► Final Clubs (Keulen);   ► Final Ribbon (Band)
      > Clubs, quali;                           > Ribbon, quali

♦ GROUPS All-around  (Saturday / Sunday, Sep 02-03 )
** VIDEO ON DEMAND:

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* RESULTS, Groups all-around
1. RUSSIA         - 37,700
2. BULGARIA    - 36,950
3. JAPAN           - 36,650
4. Italy - 36,625;  5. Belarus - 36,425; 6. Ukraine - 35,600;
► Final All-around

* FIN    5-Hoops                              3 Balls - 2 Ropes
1. ITA   - 18,900                 1. RUS  - 18,900
2. RUS - 18,700                  2. JPN  - 18,650
3. JPN  - 18,600                 3. BUL  - 18,600
► Final 5 Hoops (Reifen)   ► Final 3 Balls / 2 Ropes (Ball/Seile)
    > 5 hoops, quali.;                    >  3 balls/2 ropes, quali.

 

 

 

 

→ For more about the 35th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships,
please visit the ►► WCh event website.