| Alina Kabaeva still became an Olympic champion Russian Alina Kabaeva won the individual championship among masters of rhythmic gymnastics. The sum of the four exercises in the final was 108.4 points. Her team colleague Irina Chashchina won silver with 107.325, the bronze medal went to Ukrainian Anna Bessonova with 106.7.
Even before the start of the tournament, no one doubted that these three athletes would fight for gold. In Athens, Kabaeva was in the lead after qualifying. However, in the final, after the first two events, she was inferior to Irina. In exercises with a hoop and ball, Chashchina looked more graceful and performed the elements at a higher tempo. It should be recalled that the hoop is not Kabaeva’s favorite item. It was in Sydney that Alina missed out on victory due to the loss of her hoop. This time the object did not fall out of the hands of student Irina Viner. But nevertheless, Kabaeva was unable to beat Chashchina, losing to her in this event by only 0.3 points. The situation changed after the third exercise - with clubs, when Kabaeva managed to get ahead of another Russian woman. In order to win Olympic gold, Chashchina had to earn 27.4 points in the last exercise with ribbons. Theoretically, this was possible, especially since Irina competed last - after Kabaeva and Bessonova, knowing their final score. However, the athlete lost her nerve. She made a mistake, getting tangled up in the tape, for which she paid with a low score - 26.3. After the competition, happy Kabaeva hugged Chashchina for a long time. Then she congratulated Bessonova. The Ukrainian and her coaches cast ironic glances into the hall.
The day before, the “artists” from Russia also brought our team a gold medal in the group tournament. Natalya Lavrova, Olesya Belugina, Tatyana Kurbakova, Elena Murzina, Elena Posevina and the youngest participant in the competition, 15-year-old Olga Gladskikh, left no chance for their rivals. After the tournament, the Russians' coach Valentina Ivanitskaya said that her players managed to win in Athens due to complex and sometimes risky elements. “It’s also very important,” the coach added, “that our girls are more beautiful than everyone else. This is a big trump card in our sport.” For the first time, group competitions in rhythmic gymnastics were included in the program of the Olympic Games in 1996. In Atlanta, the Russians were third, in Sydney they won gold and in Athens they confirmed the success of four years ago.
The outcome of group competitions in rhythmic gymnastics was not difficult to predict. The Russians were in the lead after qualifying, scoring 49.875 points. They were almost two points ahead of their main competitors from Italy. It is noteworthy that Ukraine was not among the eight finalist teams. Having perfectly performed exercises with ribbons to the music from the movie “The Matrix,” the Russians scored the highest amount of points – 25.3. And for the second type of program with balls and hoops - another 25.8. The fiery Spanish melodies to which the Russians performed, combined with the most complex elements performed cleanly, brought our girls a well-deserved victory. “We try to keep up with the times, so we chose modern tunes from the films “The Matrix” and “Kill Bill.” The programs were staged by a young choreographer Irina Zenovka,” explained the Russians’ coach Valentina Ivanitskaya. — We are probably following the public’s lead in some way. “I’m not sure about the willingness of the audience to watch with interest programs staged, for example, to the music of Sergei Rachmaninov.” Ivanitskaya spoke negatively about the judges, who, in her opinion, overestimated the Italians’ scores: “They have good programs, but they are less rich in complex elements. In addition, one of the programs is two years old. And we update our repertoire every season.”
Despite the fact that the Russians were second and the fans had to see the programs of six more teams, the first results of the competition were not in doubt. It was not for nothing that IOC Vice President Vitaly Smirnov came to the awards ceremony for the athletes. Unlike other sports, our girls did not disappoint here. Some semblance of a fight ensued for third place. After the first event, the top three was completed by the Belarusian team. However, in exercises with balls and hoops, the Belarusians were surpassed by athletes from Bulgaria, who eventually won the bronze medal.
YOUR OPINION Olga ERMOLINA |
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