37th World Championships Rhythmic Gymnastics

* fig-preview--: Fourteen years after welcoming the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships for the first time, Baku is bursting with excitement as the sport’s marquee event returns to Azerbaijan’s capital city 16-22 September, this time with coveted Olympic qualification places at stake. Whether you are an expert in rhythmic or just getting into the sport, here are five things to know about the competition to come. To date, only four women have won three consecutive world All-around titles: Bulgaria’s Mariya Gigova (1969-73) and Maria Petrova (1993-95), then Russia’s Evgeniya Kanaeva (2009-2011) and most recently, Yana Kudryavtseva (2013-15).
* As expected, top nation Russia maintained the aura of "invincibility" through its two exceptional athletes: twin pair Dina and Arina AVERINA won in that order all-around gold and silver (91,400, 91,100 points) ahead of their only real pursuer, Linoy ASHRAM (89,700) from Israel. Between this medal trio and the beaten persecutors inside the ranks are already more than 3 points ....
* After completing the four individual apparatus finals on Thursday, there were the expected 4 world titles for Russia: 3x Gold for Dina AVERINA and gold with the hoop for Ekaterina SELEZNEWA. Israel's Linoy ASHRAM became 3x Vice World Champions, one silver (ball) went to Arina AVERINA ...
* With a clear lead RUSSIA also won the team competition with 186,500 points. The silver medal went to Israel (174,750) and bronze was awarded to Belarus (168,550).
Italy (167.00), Ukraine (166.850) and Bulgaria (164.250) followed, followed by USA, Japan, Georgia and Uzbekistan.
* In Groups all-around final RUSSIA won its 7th Gold. The JAPANESE girls surprised with the silver medal, followed by BELARUS on Bronze place.
Winning the 8th gold medal in the 5-ball-group final Russia finished thes Worlds as the absolutely top-nation again. The only one non-Russion gold wents to the Japanese group with the 5-balls finale at the last event day here in Baku

♦♦ WCh Individual All-around, FINAL:  (Friday, Sep 20)

AVERINA, Dina (RUS)  - 91,400
AVERINA, Arina (RUS) - 91,100
ASHRAM, Linoy  (ISR)  - 89,700
            4. KALEYN, Boryana (BUL)  - 86,275
     5. NIKOLCHENKO, Vlada (UKR)  - 84,150
6. AGIURGIULESE, Alexandra (ITA)  - 83,500
      ►► AA-AROUND FINAL
                  >> AA-around qualification

! After the individual & groups all-around final, the World Gymnastics Federation (FIG)
 announced the ►current status of Olympic qualification
.
* The All-around Medallists ...:

* Youtube (00112)
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♦♦ WCh Apparatus Finals  (Thursday, Sep 19:)
* R E S U L T S: 
► Final HOOP;      ► Final BALL;  ► Final CLUB;   ► Final RIBBON
> Qualification Hoop;   > Qualific. Ball      > Qualific. Clubs;     > Qualific. Ribbon

♦♦ WCh TEAM COMPETITION
      ► TEAM RESULTS
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** Three of four individual Gold went to Superstar Dina AVERINA:

* Youtube (0017)
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*P R E V I E W
More than 300 gymnasts representing 61 nations have descended on the Azerbaijani capital to vie for the nine world titles at stake in individual and Rhythmic Group Gymnastics 16-22 September. In addition to the team ranking, individual titles will be decided in the All-around and four individual apparatus categories (Hoop, Ball, Clubs and Ribbon), while groups will compete for the All-around title, as well as world honours with the 5 Balls and 3 Hoops/2 Pairs of Clubs.

Russia’s Dina Averina, whose massive difficulty scores and on-point consistency give her a big advantage over the rest of the competition, has a chance to join them. The younger Averina twin’s biggest rival may be her own sister, Arina, or Israel’s Linoy Ashram, both of whom have proven capable of challenging her for gold.
* The top 16 individual gymnasts in the All-around final will qualify their countries to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, while the top five eligible groups in the All-around competition (barring the already qualified Russia, Italy and Bulgaria) will earn Olympic berths for their nations, adding an extra layer of intrigue to what already promises to be an incredibly exciting competition.
* The victories in Group competition have been more spread among different nations than in the individual disciplines: . Already this year, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy, Japan and Russia have all climbed atop the podiums at World Cups or World Challenge Cups, while Azerbaijan, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Ukraine cracked the top three at least once. Mighty Russia can never be counted out, especially with a squad that includes 2016 Olympic gold medallists Anastasia Maksimova and Maria Tolkacheva. What it all adds up to is a competition that promises the thrill of suspense.