Highlights of #AER2025 - senior edition!

Following on a hugely successful U15 and junior European Championships, the Azerbaijani city of Ganja welcomed over 150 Aerobic gymnasts from 18 countries to the senior Europeans. With the stage set and the spotlight on Ganja again, the participants put on an amazing show for the audience in the hall and the spectators online to enjoy.

Here are our highlights!

Home success

Competing in front of a home crowd always add extra spice to a performance, and extra pressure! Azerbaijan’s experienced mixed pair Vladimir Dolmatov and Madina Mustafayeva stayed calm and composed in their preparation, fuelling the fire with a brilliantly executed choreography. Scoring highest in both artistry and execution, the pair showed their worth and were rewarded. The Vice-World Champions and Vice-World Games Champions are now the European Champions!

The Warrior way

In Individual Men final, the top 3 qualifiers all finished within a tenth of each other: reigning World Champion Miquel Mane (ESP), defending European Champion Davide Nacci (ITA) and Romanian rising star Leonard Manta. As scores start from scratch in the final, the three men went all out, showing their passion and strength on the competition floor. Mane blew the field away in artistry and execution while Nacci and Manta tied for the highest difficulty score. With clear precision and skill in his warrior-style routine, Manta made it to the top of the leaderboard for the first time after placing fourth two years ago, relegating Nacci to second place by two tenths of a point, with Mane in third place.

Kurashvili on top

The battle for the continental title in the Individual Women final was incredibly tight. Two former World Champions, Anastasiia Kurashvili from Ukraine and Türkiye’s Ayse Begum Onbasi, gave the best of themselves, impressing the audience with their skills and choreography. Kurashvili, the top qualifier, scored 20.050, slighty down from her qualification score, while second qualifier Onbasi scored a bit higher than Friday. The result … with a margin of just 0.050 21-year-old Kurashvili clinched her first European title while Onbasi earned the silver.

Romania’s comeback

Bulgarian trio Borislava Ivanova, Manolo Hristov and Antonio Papazov set the standard early on in that final, scoring 19.410 for their exciting routine. Top qualifiers Sara Cutini, Davide Nacci and Francesco Sebastio (ITA) tried their hardest to surpass that mark, coming almost two tenths short. Then, Romania entered the hall. In fine form, Leonard Manta, Claudia Ristea and Daniel Tavoc who qualified in fourth place, improved their score by three tenths, posting 19.610 and overtaking their competitors to take the European title.

Fierce Italians

Fresh off their trio bronze medal Sara Cutini, Davide Nacci and Francesco Sebastio were joined by teammates Marcello Patteri and Matteo Falera, looking to defend their groups title. And they left no doubt about it! Posting the highest scores in all three sections – artistry, execution and difficulty- Italy cruised to victory, holding off a strong challenge from Romania.

Dance royalty

The favourites in the Aerobic Dance final, the reigning World Games Champions Hungary impressed with a delightful composition. Represented by Fruzsina Fejer, Kamilla Goda, Tunde Himmel, Antonia Konig, Zoltan Locsei, Anna Makranszki, Andras Agoston Mikulecz and Vanessza Ruzicska, the Hungarians lived up to the expectations, taking the European crown with half a point advantage over Romania and Italy.

A team effort

Defending Team Champion Italy certainly had its eyes on the prize again. With a first place in qualifications for their group and their trio, a second place for Davide Nacci in Individual Men and a third place for the Aerobic Dance performance, the Italians cruised to victory. Eternal rivals Romania clinched the silver courtesy of the stellar performances of their group, Aerobic Dance team and Leonard Manta in Individual Men while Miquel Mane and Sonia Vidal led their Spanish teammates to the bronze medal, earning valuable points for the team first individually and then in the Mixed Pairs and Trios.

Shine like a Diamant

The charismatic Vasileia Faidra Diamanti, our previous Shooting Star, grabbed the bronze medal individually, a first for her nation Greece: “I’m really proud of myself. It’s something that I really wanted since I was a kid. I’m really grateful for this medal, and I feel like it’s something big for Greece.”

The Shooting Stars are …

Zoltán Lőcsei is one of the most successful athletes in the history of Hungarian aerobic gymnastics, holding three European, two World and two World Games. At the age of 17, the former acrobatic gymnast approached his current coaches Andrea Sinko and Monika Sipos, expressing his desire to try aerobics. He advanced to the national team relatively quickly, and over the past decade has become one of the sport’s most accomplished figures. His charismatic personality and kind attitude have laid the foundation for many international friendships and made him a perfect a role model for young athletes.

The journey of Anastasiia Kurashvili (UKR) in aerobics began at the age of five, in a small gym where she first discovered what rhythm, strength, and character truly mean. Back then, she didn’t yet know that one day she would be called “Grace” for her unique elegance, natural artistry, and ability to turn every movement into a story. Now she is 21. Behind her are years of hard work, thousands of training sessions, and countless victories. Her journey was far from easy. During the war, her hometown came under occupation, forcing her to seek refuge abroad. Yet, as soon as it became possible, she returned home. She never sought the easy way, she simply knew her place was here: with her team, with her country, with Ukraine. Today, Anastasiia continues to train in a border town despite cold gyms, air raid alarms, and power outages. And still, when she steps onto the floor, the world around her fades. There is only music, movement, and the magic she creates through her grace, reaching the very top of her sport. She stands as a symbol of beauty, strength, and unbreakable faith in one’s dream. And her story is far from over: with every performance, she continues to write a new chapter in the history of Ukrainian gymnastics.

A huge Thank you goes to the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation for taking the organisation of this event on hand and for taking it out of the Baku comfort zone, to one of the regions. To all participants, coaches and judges: your passion and enthusiasm shines a bright light on this discipline!