Highlights of #AcroPesaro2021

Europe’s best junior and senior acrobatic gymnasts battled for continental glory in Pesaro’s Vitrifrigo Arena. There were medals to be won in balance, dynamic and the all-around with the ultimate crown going to the pairs and groups winning all three gold medals in their category! Interesting fact, 4 out of the 5 World all-around Champions, crowned in Geneva at the beginning of July, confirmed their status, winning the European all-around titles!

Here are some of our most memorable moments … in no particular order!

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Russian stars confirm status

Crowned triple European Champions in 2019 already, Russian stars Viktoria Aksenova and Kirill Startsev, also the European Games Champions and the reigning World Champions, overcame a slight hesitation in qualifications to ultimately cruise to victory in all three finals, cementing their status as the World’s best Mixed Pair!

On top of the world since the 2017 World Games, Daria Chebulanka is the rock of Russia’s Women’s Group. Now partnering with Daria Tikhomirova and Sofia Polishchuk, these ladies are the current World Champions and earned triple gold in Pesaro!

In a league of their own, the gorgeous Men’s Pair formed by Timofei Ivanov and Maksim Karavaev, ruled out right in Italy, claiming all three titles with style and determination.

Double Rita’s delight

Rita Ferreira and Ana Teixeira, the first Portuguese gymnasts to win the World title, successfully defended their European all-around title, also clinching the balance gold and the bronze medal in dynamic. With these excellent results, Rita Ferreira became Portugal’s most decorated Acro gymnast!

Jackpot for Ukraine

After winning the bronze medal in the all-around, Ukraine’s senior Women’s Pair Viktoriia Kozlovska and Taisiia Marchenko excelled in the dynamic final, earning a well-deserved victory and Ukraine’s sole European title of this event.

Israel’s still rising

The strong rise of Israeli Acrobatics in the past years continued in Pesaro. Second behind only Russia in the overall medal table, gymnasts representing Israel claimed 15 medals, 8 of which were gold! Amy Refaeli and Yonatan Fridman, the 2019 European Age Group 11 – 16 Champions, transitioned well into the junior category with other juniors showing equally strong skills and routines, like the  women’s group of Yarden Ron, Michal Stratievsky and Tamar Stollar and men’s group featuring Odem Gidron, Or Abraham, Or Strohmayer and Maor Nekave.  On a senior level, 2019 junior European Champions Almog Green and Maayan Zunenshine showed their worth, just like the men’s group of Amir Daus, Lior Borodin, Tomer Offir and Hen Banuz who won the European all-around gold, just months after their silver medal at the Worlds.

The 2024 edition of the Acrobatic World Championships will be held in Israel, in Holon, site of the 2019 Europeans!

Men’s Groups luxury

For the Russian gymnasts competing the Men’s Groups category, probably the most difficult challenge lies within themselves. With 2 fabulous groups competing at the highest level and only 1 of them advancing to each final, every mistake, even the smallest one, is punished immediately. In Pesaro, the 2 Russian groups went head-to-head again. Bogdan Makeev, Viktor Grechukhin, Dmitrii Slabukha and Vadim Nabiev were absolutely fabulous in the balance final, posting a massive score of 29.820 for the title while compatriots German Kudriashov, Kirill Zadorin, Valery Tukhashvili and Mikhail Vikhrov returned home with the gold in dynamic.

Germany shines

World silver medallists Pia Schuetze and Daniel Blintsov set a high standard, qualifying in top position to the balance final. Known for their ballet-like graceful routines, the German Mixed Pair captured two medals, silver for their balance routine and bronze in the all-around.

History written for Spain

Special mention goes to Luz Lupianez and Ismael Medina. This talented Spanish Mixed Pair competed superbly in the dynamic final and earned the first ever European medal at senior level for their country!

SmartScoring Shooting stars Francisca Maia and Valery Tukhashvili

22-year-old Francisca Maia from Acro Clube da Maia near Porto has an impressive collection of medals, including from European and World Championships and the European Games.  She’s not only an accomplished athlete though. Francisca studies medicine and is part of a research team that investigates injury prevention in gymnastics. The future generation is definitely in excellent hands.

Valery Tukhashvili has been in acro for most of his life so when a torn Achilles threatened to cut his career short, Valery did everything in his power to return to top shape. After 6 months of recovery, he had just 6 weeks to get ready for the Baku World Cup which his men’s group won. Unfortunately, the Achilles tore again and many thought that was the end. But Valery couldn’t live without sports, without acro. He convinced his coaches to let him train again and is still going strong several years later.