The gymnastics competition at the 2nd edition of the European Games starts tomorrow in the Belarussian capital Minsk. The Olympic discipline of rhythmic gymnastics will compete together with the non-Olympic acrobatic gymnastics.
52 women will compete in the rhythmic competition: 8 groups and 12 individuals are on the roster. Eight mixed pairs and eights women’s groups will compete in acrobatic gymnastics.
Competition format
Rhythmic individuals: 12 gymnasts (max. 1 per country) will compete in the qualifications which also serves as all-around final: the gymnast with the highest combined score of all 4 apparatus, wins the all-around title. With each apparatus the top 6 gymnasts advance to the apparatus finals.
Rhythmic groups: 8 groups (max. 1 per country) present 2 exercises (5 balls and 2 pairs of clubs + 3 hoops) in the apparatus finals. The combined score of these exercises will determine the all-around ranking.
Acrobatics: both mixed pairs and women’s groups present 2 exercises on Saturday: 1 balance and 1 dynamic. The results determine the medallists for each category. On Sunday the gymnasts perform their combined routine. This score will determine the all-around ranking.
Who to watch
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Reigning World all-around Champion Dina Averina leads the field. She will face competition from, among others, Ukraine’s Vlada Nikolchenko, Italy’s Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, Bulgaria’s Katrin Taseva, Israel’s Linoy Ashram, Georgia’s Salome Pazhava, Azerbaijan’s Zohra Aghamirova and the star of Minsk Katsiaryna Halkina. The groups represent Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Spain, Estonia, Italy, Russia and Ukraine.
Acrobatic Gymnastics
Eight mixed pairs and eights women’s groups will compete in Minsk, headlined by local heroes Veranika Nabokina, Julia Ivonchyk and Karina Sandovich and the mixed pair of Volha Melnik and Artur Beliakou. World Cup series winners Kirill Startsev and Viktoria Aksenova will aim to follow in the footsteps of Marina Chernova and Georgiy Pataraya to bring the European Games titles for mixed pairs back to Russia.
Competition schedule
How to follow the competition
All Guides (work plans), official start lists and results, competitions reports and photos will be published on our event page: http://www.ueg.org/event/2019-european-games/overview and social media channels:
General information about the European Games can be find on the official website https://minsk2019.by/en where you can also follow the live scoring and medal tables.
For TV coverage check your national TV listings! There is an official livestream too, free and non-geoblocked: http://livehdtvonline.com/minsk-2019/?fbclid=IwAR1VPgfCU3B0gl_HImx6WmZZ10-R1fqNqGfKN-kHqopPKkYJS-jWttONeEY
#Minsk2019 is the hashtag used for all events at the European Games, in addition to the slogan #brightyear #brightyou.