BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 9. The first day of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup competitions has kicked off at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Trend reports.
On the first day, qualifications will be held: for men – floor exercises, exercises on parallel bars and rings, while for women – vault and exercises on uneven bars.
Before Baku, the World Cup stages took place in Cottbus (Germany), and then in Doha (Qatar), where Azerbaijani athlete Nikita Simonov won a bronze medal in the exercise on the rings.
The acting champions and rising stars of artistic gymnastics will perform at the competitions in Azerbaijan's capital.
The FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena until March 12. According to the registration list, Azerbaijan has a record for the number of countries, as 173 athletes from 48 National Federations are expected to participate in the competition.
The first two days of the four-day World Cup competitions in Baku will feature qualifying stages, whereas the remaining days – finals, will determine the winners and prize-winners in exercises on individual implements. Following the results of the four-day competitions, the traditional “AGF Trophy” will be presented to the gymnasts who received the highest execution score.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan will be represented by Nikita Simonov and Ivan Tikhonov (men's gymnastics), Samira Gahramanova, and Nazanin Teymurova (women's gymnastics) at the competitions.