13. September 2007
Patras / GREECE
Rhythmic Gymnastics
PREVIEW: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AND OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION
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After the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart the gymnastics world is now directing ints attention to .
The 28th World Championships of Rhythmic Gymnastics, which will take place from 19th to 23rd of September, is the Olympic qualification competition for Beijing 2008 for the second of the Olympic Gym-disciplines, in the individual and team variety.
Of course though in both categories the world champions will be in the fianls with each hand apparatus will also be determined....
The 28th World Championships of Rhythmic Gymnastics, which will take place from 19th to 23rd of September, is the Olympic qualification competition for Beijing 2008 for the second of the Olympic Gym-disciplines, in the individual and team variety.
Of course though in both categories the world champions will be in the fianls with each hand apparatus will also be determined....
W C H - P R E V I E W
- by Marci FRITZ -
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Olga KAPRANOVA, gewann 2005 in Baku vier der fünf Einzeltitel |
28th WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007
- RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS -
- Patras, Greece, 19 - 23 September -
Patras - Milestone on the road to Beijing
A GYMmedia-preview by Marci FRITZ -
From next Sunday 302 gymnasts from 50 countries will be competing for titles and medals in 9 events in Patras, Greece.
The world championships are also the most important competition in the pre-Olympic year 2007, because they are the only opportunity of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Only the ten best groups and the 20 best individual participants in the all-round competition (Competition II, Individual All-Around) will get a ticket to Beijing - not like in the case of Budapest in 2003, where it was sufficient to be twentieth of the team competition to qualify for Athens 2004.
On top of this wthere will be two wildcards for groups and four for individual gymnasts, of which the F.I.G. awards three and the Tripartite Commission awards one according to geographic aspects: these wildcards will be given to gymnasts from continents which would not otherwise be represented according to the usual selection process.
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Aliya GARAJEWA, Aserbaidschan |
Tough competition for the Olympic tickets
Whereas in the individual competitions the leading nations, Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia, nshould not have the slightest problem in sending two gymnasts to China, there will be a tough competition for ranks eight to twenty.
The rising memebers of the team from Azerbaizhan, represented by three former Russian athletes, deserve attention; some of them, such as Aliya Garayeva, were members of the Russian team in the senior category in 2005, where given citizenship in a fast-track procedure, and their national association thus surely expects two of them to qualify for Beijing.
Whereas in the individual competitions the leading nations, Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia, nshould not have the slightest problem in sending two gymnasts to China, there will be a tough competition for ranks eight to twenty.
The rising memebers of the team from Azerbaizhan, represented by three former Russian athletes, deserve attention; some of them, such as Aliya Garayeva, were members of the Russian team in the senior category in 2005, where given citizenship in a fast-track procedure, and their national association thus surely expects two of them to qualify for Beijing.
So as to fulfill this dream, all the girls continue to live and train it the Olympic centre in Moscow, their 'gymnastics nursery'.
Bulgaria, a country which dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the eighties, will find it harder to qualify.
Although their gymnasts distinguish themselves by performing fast, original exercises and having beautiful apparatus technique, the new rules, which were adapted to hyperflexible ballerinas, no longer really reward qualities such as individuality and attraction for the audience, which are really important for this sport..
Spain also will probably have difficulties of getting two gymnasts to China in 2008,in particular as there will be no Spanish judges, because their F.I.G. pool judge Marta Bobo, who is eight months pregnant, has decided not to travel to Greece.
Bulgaria, a country which dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the eighties, will find it harder to qualify.
Although their gymnasts distinguish themselves by performing fast, original exercises and having beautiful apparatus technique, the new rules, which were adapted to hyperflexible ballerinas, no longer really reward qualities such as individuality and attraction for the audience, which are really important for this sport..
Spain also will probably have difficulties of getting two gymnasts to China in 2008,in particular as there will be no Spanish judges, because their F.I.G. pool judge Marta Bobo, who is eight months pregnant, has decided not to travel to Greece.
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Almudena CID, die Grand Dame der Rhythmischen Gymnastik in Spanien und eine der erfahrendsten und expressivsten Gymnastinnen der Welt! |
SPAIN - still synonymous with Almudena CID!
Spain has the great advantage by comparison with other Western European nations of having Almudena Cid as part of their team again, who has returned to the elite of rhythmic gymnastics aged 27, after almost a year's break and an outing into figure skating.
Almudena Cid is almost apart of the living history of rhythmic gymnastics, an invincible athlete, who never gave up despite great friction within her association in before Athens 2004 and who has proved to all critics that it is possible to perform world class exercises even at an age that is regarded as advanced in rhythmic gymnastics. Wherever the Spaniard performs, she enthralls the audiences with her beautiful, expressive and emotional performancesand she is highly respected by both judges and competitors.
Spain has the great advantage by comparison with other Western European nations of having Almudena Cid as part of their team again, who has returned to the elite of rhythmic gymnastics aged 27, after almost a year's break and an outing into figure skating.
Almudena Cid is almost apart of the living history of rhythmic gymnastics, an invincible athlete, who never gave up despite great friction within her association in before Athens 2004 and who has proved to all critics that it is possible to perform world class exercises even at an age that is regarded as advanced in rhythmic gymnastics. Wherever the Spaniard performs, she enthralls the audiences with her beautiful, expressive and emotional performancesand she is highly respected by both judges and competitors.
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Irina RIZENSON, Israel |
One of Spain's toughest rivals, both in group and individual, is Israel.
<< Irina Rizenson - the allround thirteenth of the 2005 WCh, has established herself in the top ten and will be hard to remove from this rank, although the music and composition of her exercises sometimes gives rise to doubts. Her biggest rival comes from her own team: Neta Rivkin is a tall, elegant gymnasts who performs sensitive, beautiful exercises, but who still lacks experience and who does not belong to Club Holon, which dominates rhythmic gymnastics in Israel.
The further places at the Olympic will be distributed to gymnsts from Mexico and the US, who have spent the summer together with the Russian national team in their new training camp by the sea in Croatia, as well as the girls from Finland, Hungary, Poland, Japan and Canada.
<< Irina Rizenson - the allround thirteenth of the 2005 WCh, has established herself in the top ten and will be hard to remove from this rank, although the music and composition of her exercises sometimes gives rise to doubts. Her biggest rival comes from her own team: Neta Rivkin is a tall, elegant gymnasts who performs sensitive, beautiful exercises, but who still lacks experience and who does not belong to Club Holon, which dominates rhythmic gymnastics in Israel.
The further places at the Olympic will be distributed to gymnsts from Mexico and the US, who have spent the summer together with the Russian national team in their new training camp by the sea in Croatia, as well as the girls from Finland, Hungary, Poland, Japan and Canada.
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Caroline WEBER, Österreich |
Delphine Ledoux from France, Caroline Weber from Austria and Anahí Sosa from Argentina could have an outside chance, however they have the disadvantage of not being able to rely on teams and that they represent their countries as individuals.
Lisa Ingildeeva also had this handicap at the 2005 WCh in Baku. As the only German participant she was only an also-ran, despite an injury and a passable performance, so it will be very difficult for the German team to get a good team result at Patras.
Germans again hope for 'Fair Play"
It has been clear that German participants have a difficult time since this year's ECH in Baku awhere the junior group had to perform last and despite a practically faultless exercise only got a low score because it seemed impossible to exclude the hosts, who made many mistakes from nervousness, from the final.
Lisa Ingildeeva also had this handicap at the 2005 WCh in Baku. As the only German participant she was only an also-ran, despite an injury and a passable performance, so it will be very difficult for the German team to get a good team result at Patras.
Germans again hope for 'Fair Play"
It has been clear that German participants have a difficult time since this year's ECH in Baku awhere the junior group had to perform last and despite a practically faultless exercise only got a low score because it seemed impossible to exclude the hosts, who made many mistakes from nervousness, from the final.
Power play...
The individual gymnasts did not fare much better in Baku: dthough admittedly they made some mistakes in their routines, the rankings had no relation with the performances at this ECh...
The networking and power play in the international rhythmic gymnastics scene has become so complicated, that countries have to take a stand if they do not wish their gymnasts to end up in or below 30th place. This however goes against the grain for many athletes, judges and officials, who remain unimpressed by money, power and doubltful prestige. It is mainly the girls that suffer, who have trained hard day for day for years for the highlight of an ECH, WCh or even Olympic performance and then fall victim to the machinations of a few leading rhythmic gymnastics nations and their allies. The active gymnasts of these countries appear to be merely dispensable and replaceable pawns who are used to achive their nation's expectations.
A new chance for rhythmic gymnastics
It is to be hoped that the world of rhythmic gymnastics will make use of the opportunity offered by this most significant event of the pre-Olympic year to reestablish results and sporting factors as the decisive criteria at the WCh in Patras!
Author: Marci F R I T Z;
(c) GYMmedia; ed. E. Herholz
The individual gymnasts did not fare much better in Baku: dthough admittedly they made some mistakes in their routines, the rankings had no relation with the performances at this ECh...
The networking and power play in the international rhythmic gymnastics scene has become so complicated, that countries have to take a stand if they do not wish their gymnasts to end up in or below 30th place. This however goes against the grain for many athletes, judges and officials, who remain unimpressed by money, power and doubltful prestige. It is mainly the girls that suffer, who have trained hard day for day for years for the highlight of an ECH, WCh or even Olympic performance and then fall victim to the machinations of a few leading rhythmic gymnastics nations and their allies. The active gymnasts of these countries appear to be merely dispensable and replaceable pawns who are used to achive their nation's expectations.
A new chance for rhythmic gymnastics
It is to be hoped that the world of rhythmic gymnastics will make use of the opportunity offered by this most significant event of the pre-Olympic year to reestablish results and sporting factors as the decisive criteria at the WCh in Patras!
Author: Marci F R I T Z;
(c) GYMmedia; ed. E. Herholz