At the conclusion of the 13th European Championships in Aerobic Gymnastics, Aida Shaliyeva, Project Manager of our Global Partner SmartScoring, presented the SmartScoring Shooting Star award to Greece’s Vasileia-Faidra Diamanti and Romania’s David Gavrilovici.
Started in 2018, this award aims to put a gymnast with an exceptional story in the spotlight, someone who is an inspiration for the future generation of gymnasts and the general public alike.
Vasileia-Faidra Diamanti started in Rhythmic Gymnastics at 4 as a way to consume her endless energy. At 8, her then coach sent Faidra to the Aerobics team. Times were difficult in Greece back then due to financial crisis. Faidra's father, with whom she had a special bond, left Greece when Faidra was only 10 years old. Her mother had to work long hours, go abroad almost every summer to work, so her grandpa was the one who drove her to training. After her first national championships, her coach decided that she should take part in a competition abroad. She did, and she won the silver medal, despite being the youngest participant. This made her believe in herself and work hard for the best possible result. Overcoming injuries and lack of resources, Faidra claimed the silver medal in junior Individual Women at the 2022 World Championships. In Antalya, she competed in the senior category for the first time. If you ask her today ''Would you do that again?'', she would answer without any doubt or hesitation that she would.
David Gavrilovici is a highly successful competitor with several European and World medals. Unfortunately, the Romanian star suffered a knee injury in May 2022 which required cruciate ligament surgery, causing him to miss both the World Championships and the World Games. The easiest thing to do would have been to retire, as he is currently studying for a Masters in Banking and Insurance and is also a coach, but he wanted to continue and show the world that he still has something to say as an athlete. After a very rigorous recovery programme, Gavrilovici is making his comeback at these Europeans, participating in no less than three categories: Trio, Group and Aerobic Dance.