16. May 2022  
Maia, POR  
Sports Acrobatics

First of two 2022 Acrobatic World Cup in Maia / Portugal

Seven newly crowned World champions  will be back in action at the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup in Maia (POR) 13-15 May, the first of a pair of Acrobatic World Cups scheduled this year. Triumphant at the 2022 World Championships in Baku (AZE) in March, Women’s Pair Rita Ferreira and Rita Teixeira (POR) are the host nation’s headliners at the annual World Cup event, held just outside of Porto and hosted by the city’s Acro Clube da Maia where both train. Ferreira and Teixeira made history by capturing Portugal’s first World title in Acrobatic Gymnastics in 2021, then going on to sweep the Women’s Pair titles in Baku.
The event in Maia will be followed by a second World Cup scheduled 3-5 June in Rzeszow (POL). The global health crisis has limited World Cup competition in Acrobatic Gymnastics, with Maia only the second World Cup event since March 2020. But Acrobatic Gymnastics fans have plenty to look forward to: Acro will be a starring discipline at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham (USA) in July.
* More information on ► Event-Website
* We will inform about the results at the end of competitions

* F I G - R E P O R T --: 
World champions — plus Ukraine — strike more Acro gold in Maia

World champions from Belgium, Great Britain, and the USA reasserted their dominance at the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Cup in Maia (POR) 13-15 May, while Ukrainian gymnasts, competing for the first time this year, captured a gold and two silvers.

The lineup for this Acro World Cup, one of two scheduled for 2022, looked a lot like the roster for March’s World Championships in Baku (AZE). And for the most part, so did the final results, which were decided by the Combined routine in each Acro’s five categories after a qualification that had gymnasts perform their Balance and Dynamic exercises.
♦ The shocker came courtesy of Women’s Pair Viktoriia Kozlovska and Taisiia Marchenko (UKR; photo right  >), whose 28.740 points for their Combined upset four-time World champions Rita Teixeira and Rita Ferreira (POR) on their home turf just outside Porto.
The difference between gold and silver was a mere 0.360 points, confirming the talent of the Ukrainian pair, who qualified to finals at last year’s World Championships in first place.

  IMPRESSIONS of the Competition DAY 3 in Maia


* Youtube (0566)
♦ Men’s Pair Angel Felix and Braiden McDougall (USA), winners of two World titles in Baku, easily dispatched their competition in their first World Cup since 2019. Once again, the challenge came from Ukraine, in the form of Danylo Stetsiuk and Bohdan Pohranychnyi, who kept things within 0.3 for silver.
♦ In Mixed Pairs, Helena Heijens and Bram Roettger (BEL), the reigning queen and king of the discipline, were once again unstoppable. Exceptional artistry and solid dynamics earned the Belgians 30.000 points, one of only two 30-plus scores in the final, and extended Heijens and Roettger’s undefeated streak.
♦ The only others to better 30 were Men’s Group Bradley Gold, Archie Goonesekera, Finlay Gray and Andrew Morris-Hunt (GBR), who smashed their routine for 30.110 points and the title over Belgian rivals Simon de Wever, Wannes Vlaeminck, Jonas Raus, and Viktor Vermeire.
<< ♦ Kim Bergmans, Lise de Meyst, and Bo Hollebosch (BEL), reigning world champions in Women’s Group, also continued their winning ways, topping the leaderboard over Viktoriia Kunitska, Oleksandra Malchuk and Daryna Pomianovska (UKR).
♦ Gymnasts from Azerbaijan won bronzes courtesy of Mixed Pair Raziya Seyidli and Aghasif Rahimov and Men’s Pair Daniel Abbasov and Murad Rafiyev. Almog Green and Maayan Zunenshine (ISR), who did not compete at this year’sWorld Championships in March due to injury, earned bronze in Women’s Pair.
In their final competition as a Group, Erin Brooks, Emily Cuddy, and Isabelle Tarrant (AUS), took bronze, their first World Cup medal.

* Next acro action continues with the second World Cup in Rzeszow (POL) 3-5 June, the final international meeting before The World Games in Birmingham (USA) in July.
* Source: fig