30th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Moscow (RUS), September 19 – 29, 2010
LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, September 3, 2010: The 30th FIG World Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics will get underway in Moscow’s Olympiysky Sports Complex in a mere two weeks!
Organisers of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation look forward to welcoming some 300 gymnasts from over 50 countries to the motherland of the discipline, and home to countless World and Olympic Champions. As one of the biggest centres of Rhythmic Gymnastics, Russia’s capital looks back on a long tradition of organising international competitions, having hosted a number of World Cup Events and Finals, European Championships and Grand Prix Series in the past. However, the upcoming World Championships will be the first to be held in Moscow, and as an anniversary edition organisers will have the opportunity to celebrate alongside Rhythmic friends from around the world!
The 2010 World Cup circuit concluded in Pesaro (ITA) end of August, and on their way to the Olympic Games 2012 in London (GBR) we will not only see the winners of this season in Moscow, but also many of those who competed for the World titles last year in Mie (JPN).
Individuals
Having won all Individual Gold medals at the 2009 Worlds in Japan and topping the 2010 World Rankings on all apparatus, the reigning Olympic and World Games Champion, Evgenia Kanaeva, is in the best position to continue her triumph in front of her home crowd in Russia.
For Kanaeva, her toughest competition comes in the form of compatriot Daria Kondakova, who placed second in the 2009 All-around competition as well as in the Apparatus Finals on Rope and Hoop. She tied with Kanaeva in first place on Hoop in the final 2010 World Ranking and placed second on Rope and Ribbon.
Belarusian Melitina Staniouta, who barely missed a medal in the All-around in Mie, presents herself strongly on all apparatus this year and is certainly a justifiable medal aspirant this time around.
Particularly strong on Ribbon and Hoop, Liubou Charkashyna, also from Belarus, is a serious contender in Moscow, while Bulgaria’s Silvyia Miteva, 2009 Bronze medallist on Ribbon, had her best results on Ball and Hoop this year, finishing second and third respectively in the overall rankings.
Other key players in the Individual competition include Azerbaijanis Aliya Garayeva and Anna Gurbanova, Israelis Irina Risenson and Neta Rivkin, Anna Alyabyeva from Kazakhstan, Ukraine’s Alina Maksymenko, Poland’s Joanna Mitrosz and Ulyana Trofimova of Uzbekistan.
Groups
In the Group events, Belarus looks the most promising this year, entering the competition as World Ranking leader on 5 Hoops as well as 3 Ribbons and 2 Ropes. With third places in Beijing and Patras and Silver in the All-around 2009 in Mie, they’re definitely on the up and up! We’re excited to see how well they do in Moscow!
Russia’s own Group, who holds place two in the World Rankings, and Italy, the 2009 World Champions in the All-around and on 3 Ribbons and 2 Ropes, are the main challengers, but tough competition also hails from Israel, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Japan, France and Germany.
Click here to download the provisional nominative entry list (updated on August 19)!
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has developed a microsite specifically for these World Championships; fans can find all information relevant to the event. Information will be updated regularly throughout the competitions with news and results.
