Melitina is one of the most successful Belarusian Gymnasts and the great-granddaughter of Belarusian actress Stefaniya Staniouta. Melitina Staniouta finished 5th in Rio Olympic Games overall after a drop in her clubs routine, which pushed her away of podium.
She was born in 15 November 1993 in Minsk, Belarus. She is also a three-time (2015, 2013 and 2010) World all-around bronze medalist, and the 2014 All-Around European Champion.
Yana Kudryavtseva (RUS)
World Champion and Silver Medal at Olympic Games in Rio 2016, Yana Kudryavtseva talked to Russian Magazine Men’s Health about her successful sports career.
The question is, who could beat Kudryavtseva’s victories? She seems to be unbeaten, since Yana is 11 times European Champion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and 13 times World Champion (2013, 2014, 2015). She is also Longines Elegance Ambassador.
In 2013, you became the youngest World Champion in Rhythmic Gymnastics. How can you motivate yourself for all these years?
I can say sportsmen life sometimes become really hard. My motivation consists of thinking about competitions to show as much as I can do.
Which is your favorite apparatus?
My favorite one is ball. But that doesn’t mean that ball routines are easy at all.
Your routines use classical music such as Mozart, Rachmaninov and Sibelius but, which is your favorite kind of music?
It depends on my mood but I like something femenine and melancholic.
After Olympic Games were all over, what did you dream about?
I have already got my silver medal and I dreamed that something is yet to come.
Source and Photos: Men’s Health Russia
Once again, Spanish brand Freixenet is featuring Spanish Senior Group for their popular Holiday Campaign. “The Golden Bubbles” is the name designed for the group. The advertisment was recorded in Barcelona last month and will be broadcasted in December.
Spanish Senior Group (Alejandra Quereda, Elena López, Artemi Gavezou, Sandra Aguilar and Lourdes Mohedano) qualified second in Olympic Games in Rio 2016 just behind Russian Team and 4th in London 2012. The group became more and more popular in the last 6 years.
On December 28th, they will perform in an special event at Teatro Goya in Spain for this Holiday Campaign.
Alejandra Quereda, captain
Lourdes Mohedano and Elena López
Elizaveta Nazarenkova was born in Murmansk, Russia but now she competes for Uzbekistan. Since 2010, Liza competed as an international gymnast. In 2014 Elizaveta switched nationallity, competing for Uzbekistan. Her best results were achieved at Asian Games last year, where she got 2 gold medals: team competition and clubs final.
Her sports career begun in 1999 in her hometown, Murmansk and 10 years later, she moved to Moscow where she started training with her coach Natalia Gorbulina. In 2010 she joined National team of Russia as a junior gymnast. Her influences were Olympic Champion Evgeniya Kanaeva and Silver Olympic medalist, Irina Tchachina.
Liza is one of the most well-known athletes from her Oblast and so that was named the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Athlete of the Year in Murmansk, Russia. She also holds the title of Master of Sport of International Class.
Early in 2016 season, Nazarenkova suffered a leg injury who prevented her to compete until April. Unfortunatly Liza could not qualify in top 8 highest score in Rio Rhythmic Gymnastics Olympic Test. She was one of the favorites to reach a place, however she finished a dissapointing 11th. Her teammate, Anastasiya Serdyukova, was the one who could qualify for Rio.
Liza crying after her ball routine
Rio Olympic Test Event
Varvara Filiou (GRE)
She is an 8 time Greek National All-around Champion and one of Greece’s most succesful rhythmic gymnast.
Marina Durunda (AZE)
Marina is the three time Azeri National Champion. These are her first Olympic Games.
Marina Durunda (AZE)
Son Yeon-Jae (KOR)
She had her highest placement finishing 4th in the all-around at the 2014 World Championships. These will be her second Olympic Games.
Son Yeon-Jae (KOR)
Shang Rong (CHN)
Shang qualified during Olympic Test Event in Rio on April.
Shang Rong (CHN)
Veronica Bertolini (ITA)
Veronica is three-time Italian Champion.
Veronica Bertolini (ITA)
Nicol Ruprecht (AUT)
Austria’s most successful rhythmic gymnast.
Nicol Ruprecht (AUT)
Ana Luiza Filiorianu (ROM)
Three-time Romanian National Champion.
Ana Luiza Filiorianu (ROM)
Anastasiya Serdyukova (UZB)
She is the all-around bronze medalist at the 2014 Asian Games.
Kaho Minagawa (JPN)
Fourth at Asian Games All-Around
Kaho Minagawa (JPN)
Laura Zeng (USA)
YOG all-around bronze medalist. Current US National Champion.
Laura Zeng (USA)
Neta Rivkin (ISR)
Neta is the most succesful Rhythmic Gymnast in Israel. These will be her third Olympic Games.
Neta Rivkin (ISR)
Melitina Staniouta (BLR)
Melitina is the current Belarus National Champion and three-time, World All-around bronze medalist and the European Games All-around bronze medalist. She will fight for a medal in Rio.
Melitina Staniouta (BLR)
Ekaterina Volkova (FIN)
Ekaterina qualified for Olympics in “Rio Prepares” event. These will be her first Olympic Games.
Ekaterina Volkova (FIN)
Neviana Vladinova (BUL)
She is the current number 8 in World Ranking.
Neviana Vladinova (BUL)
Kseniya Moustafaeva (FRA)
Kseniya is the three-time France National Champion.
Kseniya Moustafaeva (FRA)
Jana Berezko-Marggrander (GER)
These will be her second Olympic Games (third if we include Youth Olympic Games, were she was the bronze medallist).
Jana Berezko-Marggrander (GER)
Danielle Prince (AUS)
Danielle is five time Australian Champion. She was Oceania’s highest ranked competitor at last year’s World Championships. She is qualified through a continental wildcard.
Danielle Prince (AUS)
Natalia Azevedo Gaudio (BRA)
She is the 2014 All-around silver medalist and qualified through a wildcard entry for the Olympic Games as an automatic berth for the host country of the Olympics.
Natalia Gaudio (BRA)
Sabina Ashirbayeva (KAZ)
Ashirbayeva won an Olympics license by finishing first amongst a top 8 selection of highest score for non qualified gymnasts at the Olympic Test Event
Sabina Ashirbayeva (KAZ)
Carolina Rodríguez (ESP)
She is the oldest contender (30 years old). She got her qualification for Rio in World Championships last year.
Carolina Rodríguez (ESP)
Salome Pazhava (GEO)
She is Georgia’s most successful rhythmic gymnast after Irina Gabashvili and the first Georgian rhythmic gymnast to win a medal in a World Cup Stage.
Salome Pazhava (GEO)
Anna Rizatdinova (UKR)
She is the 2013 World All-around silver medalist, the 2014 World All-around bronze medalist and two-time (2014, 2016) European All-around bronze medalist. She is fighting for a medal in Rio.
Anna Rizatdinova (UKR)
Yana Kudryavtseva (RUS)
She is the youngest World Champion (Record holder) and favorite for gold in Rio Olympics
Yana Kudryavtseva (RUS)
Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR)
She is medalist of Europea and World Championships and the second gymnast from Belarus who qualified for Rio.
Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR)
Elyane Boal (CPV)
She has been selected to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games after South African’s gymnastics federation refused to Grace Legote’s wildcard.
Elyane Boal (CPV)
Margarita Mamun (RUS)
Current World and European Team champion, Rita is fighting for a medal in Rio.
Margarita Mamun (RUS)
Since the beggining of the year, Eleonora Romanova, who compited for Ukraine last year, is living in Russia. Right now, Elya is living in National Gymnastics Center, Novogorsk, sharing room with Darya Priddanikova and Karina Kuznetsova.
Her coach is Evgeniya Kanaeva, twice Olympic Champion (Beijing and London), who is working on Romanova’s routines. For the moment, she is training her new ball and ribbon routines since Elya could not compete for Russian until 2017.
“The conditions are much better in Russia: we start the sessions during the morning and in my opinion, training are more effective”
The last words said by UKR Gymnastics Federation about Elya’s situation was:
“To sum up : Eleonora Romanova was staying with her parents in Krasnodon (region of Lugansk) after New Year and the coaches of the National team have been shocked to find out of her presence in Russia. Currently, neither the gymnast nor her parents have reached out to Ukrainian RG Federation and never informed the Federation of the wish to change citizenship”
Source: gymnasticsclub.eu
Russian Group training in Brazil
Photo by Dmitry Kornev
Olympic Russian Team of Rhythmic Gymnastics is finaly not banned by the IOC, as some newspapers said a week ago. The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the teleconference has decided not to suspend the entire Russian team to participate in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. This committee gave full authority on the admission of specific athletes and teams in some sports international federations. At the meeting, the President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Alexander Zhukov. He assured that Russia and the ROC will cooperate with all international organizations, commissions of the IOC and WADA in all directions.
Early this week, Russian team flied to Sao Paulo, Brazil, for Olympic Preparation.
The gymnasts who are in the entry list of Rio are:
Yana Kudryavtseva (RUS)
Margarita Mamun (RUS)
“We are really happy we could compete in Rio. We were afraid of IOC’s decision. We have never tested positive and we would never do”
Photo by Alberto López
Natalia García Timofeeva is an individual senior gymnast from Spain. Right now she is the second gymnast of the team, just behind Carolina Rodríguez. Natalia is training in Sant Cugat (where Almudena Cid did) with her coaches Toni and Iratxe since she was 9 years old.
“Almudena Cid is an icon for me. When they invited me to train with her I didn’t realize how great she was”
Natalia García was a star during last World Cup that was held in Guadalajara, Spain:
“When I compete in Spain I feel that I really need to do it well. It is difficult to deal with the tension. My execution is mechanic. I don’t need to think. If I think in a different thing, then it is when the error comes.”
“How can I describe myself? I think that I am a different gymnast. I can say that my elements are quite rare and this is because of my charisma. I want to attract attention from the judges and of course, the audience.”
Source: Rtve.es
Event finals begin this afternoon in Guadalajara, the last stage of World Cup Series just before European Championships that are held in Holon in two weeks.
HOOP FINAL
BALL FINAL
5 RIBBONS
CLUBS FINAL
RIBBON FINAL
6 CLUBS 2 HOOPS
Aleksandra Soldatova (RUS)
International Junior Tournament of Guadalajara concludes today with EF Finals. Belarus gold yesterday, followed by Russia and Ukraine. One of the favorites, Mariya Sergeeva from Russia scored 16,150, while an error during her hoop routine got her in second position, just behind an amazing Khrystina Pohranychna from Ukraine.
Another audience’s favorite, Olena Dyachenko, who reminds Anastasiya Mulmina’s line got a low ball score due to an error (ball out of the carpet).
Spanish gymnasts, Sofía Zanón, María Año and Alicia Fernández perform regular and solid routines.
Team Belarus, who is another of the favorites with Alina Harnasko who won two finals out of three.
Sumire Kita is the new rising star from Japanese Junior team, getting bronze medal in clubs final just behind Alina Harnasko and Mariya Sergeeva.
ROPE FINAL – Results
HOOP FINAL
BALL FINAL
CLUBS FINAL
Olena Dyachenko UKR
Junior International Tournament Guadalajara 2016
Rhythmic Gymnastics Info 