Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 16
By Jani Babayeva - Trend:
The hall of the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku is magnificent, Colombian gymnast Vanessa Galindo told Trend after performing at the qualification competitions of the 37th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships.
“This is my first championship,” she said. “I am very excited, and I worry about how I will perform. I will perform exercises with three apparatuses at the competitions. I came to Baku for the first time and I can say that the organization of the Championships is just wonderful. People in Azerbaijan are very friendly and helpful.”
The 37th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships kicked off in the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku on Sept. 16.
Qualifications in an individual program are taking place on the first day of the competitions, and gymnasts are performing in the exercises with a hoop and a ball.
The 37th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships will last until Sept. 22.
The Championships are the qualification competition for the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo in 2020. So, the first 16 individual gymnasts (max. two gymnasts per country) in the all-around ranking will qualify for the Games.
As for the gymnasts within group exercises, Bulgaria, Russia and Italy have already qualified according to the results of the last World Championships. At this year’s Championships, the best five teams will qualify for the Tokyo-2020 Olympic Games according to the all-around scores.
More than 300 gymnasts from 61 countries will compete for nine sets of medals. “Fairy Tales will come to life" is the motto of the championships.
Nine gymnasts will represent Azerbaijan at the World Championship, which will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena. Zohra Agamirova, Veronika Hudis, Yelyzaveta Luzan and Maryam Safarova will perform in individual competitions. Ayshan Bayramova, Diana Ahmadbayli, Aliya Pashayeva, Zeynab Hummatova and Darya Sorokina will participate in group exercises as part of the Azerbaijani team.