FIG Aerobic Gymnastics World Series B
Ponta Delgada, Azores (POR), April 30 – May 2, 2010
LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, April 27, 2010: From April 30 to May 2, 2010, the FIG Aerobic Gymnastics World Series will stop over in Portugal for the first time in history. As a direct result of a fruitful partnership between the Gymnastics Federation of Portugal, the Ponta Delgada Municipality and the Kebrostress Sports Company, the event is set to take place at the Coliseu Micaelense in Ponta Delgada on the beautiful island of Sao Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores. This tournament marks the third stop-off in a series of six FIG World Series competitions in 2010.
The Azores is one of the Portuguese regions where Aerobic Gymnastics is most popular. This combined with a striking landscape motivated the Local Organising Committee, deeply committed to providing competitors with a unique experience, to bid on a FIG World Series stage this year.
World Cup / Series history in Portugal
Portugal hosted its first FIG World Cup event in 2006 with the Portimão FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup competition. Since then, the country has boosted the FIG World Cup/Series spirit by hosting a variety of events with a focus on the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup competition, which celebrated its 5th edition in 2010. Portugal will also be hosting FIG World Cup competitions in Artistic and Trampoline Gymnastics later this year.
Participants
The Individual Men’s category features world runner-up Morgan Jaquemin of France, who won the recent World Series in Tokyo (JPN), followed by World Champion Ivan Parejo from Spain.
Aurély Joly (FRA) has good chances of topping the Women’s Individual competition this time around, after having finished third in Tokyo. Her adversaries hail from Spain, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Russia and, with compatriot Charlotte Rappy, from France. At the age of 36, Janka Daubner of Germany is the veteran of this event.
In Mixed Pairs we will see a French – Spanish standoff with Aurélie Joly / Julien Chaninet (FRA) and Sara Moreno / Vicente Lli (ESP), who finished one two in Tokyo earlier this month. Hungarians Dora Lendvay / Zsolt Roik are certainly also up for the podium, after barely missing out on a medal in Tokyo (rank 4).
The event will host four gymnasts from Portugal: Sara Sardinha, Elena Rosca, Tiago Faquinha and André Marques. All of them will compete in the Individual events (Women and Men) as well in the Mixed Pair competition (Sara Sardinha/André Marques and Tiago Faquinha/Elena Rosca). The national team is coached by the best Portuguese Aerobics gymnast ever, Ana Maçanita, who is also a member of the FIG Athletes Commission.
Tiago Faquinha is the most experienced Portuguese male gymnast, having taken part in all recent international competitions. Sara Sardinha is a celebrated Azorean gymnast! Born in Ponta Delgada, she has moved to the country’s capital (Lisbon) to pursue her high-performance aerobic dream.
Check out the nominative entries and the official event website!
The detailed schedule can be downloaded here!
Apart from the FIG World Series, the 1st Azores Aerobics International Open will also be held in Ponta Delgada. The event hosts some 70 gymnasts from eight nations in Age Group categories 1 and 2. The programme will be enhanced by hip hop and musical exhibitions during the breaks.
The next stopover of the FIG Aerobic Gymnastics World Series will be in Conversano (ITA) on May 22 – 23, 2010.
