site.btaSofia to Host Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, September 9-16

Sofia to Host Rhythmic Gymnastics
World Championships,
September 9-16


Sofia, September 9 (BTA) - The 36th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics
World Championships (September 10-16) will begin at the Arena
Armeec Sofia on Monday.

This is the first time that the Bulgarian capital will host the
event, which was staged twice in the Black Sea city of Varna (in
 1969 and 1987).

More than 350 gymnasts from 61 nations will enter this year's
championships: over 150 entrants will contest 27 medals in five
individual events (All-around, Hoop, Ball, Clubs and Ribbon). In
 the Group competition, 36 countries will compete in the three
medal events (All-around, 5 Hoops, 3 Balls + 2 Ropes). The three
 medal-winning nations in the Group All-around competition will
qualify as federations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) President Morinari
Watanabe said that "Bulgaria has played a pivotal part in
Rhythmic Gymnastics for more than half a century."

Bulgaria boasts a longstanding tradition in Rhythmic Gymnastics,
 which it dominated in the 1980s thanks to Adriana Dunavska,
Dilyana Georgieva, Lilia Ignatova, Bianka Panova, Iliana Raeva,
Anelia Ralenkova and many others who became known as the "Golden
 Girls" for their numerous international medals.

"It is a great honour for us to host the World Championships in
Bulgaria, a country in which millions of people follow the
sport," said Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation President
Iliana Raeva.

The host country will be represented by Neviana Vladinova, 24
(Ball bronze medallist at the 2017 World Championships in
Pesaro, Italy), Katrin Taseva, 20 (10th in the All-around final
in Pesaro), and newcomer Boryana Kaleyn, 18.

Russia's lineup is led by defending world champions - and
identical twins - Dina and Arina Averina, 20. Israel's Linoy
Ashram, 19, is another one to watch at the World Championships,
where she returns as the defending bronze medallist in the
All-around. Katsiaryna Halkina, 21, of Belarus took the
All-around bronze medal in Guadalajara and is the defending
silver medallist with the Clubs. Japan's Kaho Minagawa, 21, is
the host nation's top hope for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The Group event is expected to be dominated by Belarus,
Bulgaria, Italy, Japan and Russia. Russia is the reigning World,
 Olympic and European champion in the All-around, and also the
defending European All-around champion from Guadalajara, where
the Russians also won the 3 Balls + 2 Hoops exercise.

Bulgarian National Television will cover the Championships from
a studio of its own at Arena Armeec. It will use nine cameras up
 to FIG standards to provide feed to all TV organizations
worldwide which have the right to report the competition. SN/LG
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