Highlights of #Budapest2024

The 40^th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics attracted an enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowd to the Papp Laszlo Sports Arena to the Hungarian capital Budapest. It’s the third time the city organised this event, after successful editions in both 1999 and 2017.  We welcomed 40 countries, with a total of 303 gymnasts taking to the floor: 203 seniors and 100 juniors.

Here are our 14 highlights, as usual in no particular order!

Queen Stiliana

Competing in the second set in the all-around final, all eyes were on Stiliana Nikolova. The Bulgarian starlet got off to a brilliant start with clubs, scoring a massive 36.050, the highest score of the event so far with that apparatus. Her Paris-inspired ribbon routine brought in another great score. Performing last with ball, Nikolova gave it her all. Her already iconic ‘Arabian Nights’ routine got the audience onto its feet with delight. Scoring a phenomenal 37.200, we witnessed the coronation of a new Queen of Europe, Stiliana Nikolova!

Sofia shines

For the second year in a row, Italian superstar Sofia Raffaeli earned the silver medal in the all-around. Going into this competition as the defending Champion with ball and clubs, she led the field with ball, delivering a fabulous routine to successfully defend her title.

Dar(l)ing Dasha

Germany’s Darja Varfolomeev clinched the bronze medal in the all-around and must have thought ‘How about ending these individual finals with some World Champion material’ as the quintuple World Champion entertained the audience with ribbon, scoring 34.400 to defend her title.

Bulgaria’s best again

Determining the team ranking were the results of the eight individual qualification routines plus the two group routines. Thanks to the combined efforts of Boryana Kaleyn, Elvira Krasnobaeva and Stiliana Nikolova and their brilliant group, Bulgaria successfully defended their team title.

Impressing the VVIPs

Many VVIPs attended the apparatus finals, including Mr. Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria. Starting the final day with hoop, Bulgarian star Boryana Kaleyn showed exquisite pivots and energetic dance movements as she held off her compatriot Stiliana Nikolova for the title. A Bulgarian one-two finish under the appreciative eye of Mister President.

Sweet sixteen

On her sixteenth birthday, Ukraine’s rising star Taisiia Onofriichuk clinched the bronze medal with hoop for her thrilling ‘Thriller’ interpretation. Her first European medal, and that on her birthday, this certainly was a moment Onofriichuk will never forget.

History for Hungary

To the delight of the home crowd, Hungary’s leading lady Fanni Pigniczki aced her ball routine for the silver medal. A historic moment for Pigniczki as she won her first European medal, a historic moment for her country as this is the first ever medal for Hungary at this level, and what better way than to achieve this feat at home!

Munits Mania

Former junior standout Daniela Munits proved her talent by taking the bronze medal with the Israeli team, followed by ball bronze. Munits then went on to do even better. The 2022 junior European ribbon Champion handled the clubs effortlessly and with great style to secure her first major senior victory!

Landmark Lila

Making her senior debut in this year, double jour World Champion Liliana Lewinska from Poland, earned the silver medal with clubs, a landmark achievement for Poland as Lewinska becomes the first senior Polish gymnast to win a medal at a Rhythmic Europeans!

Olé Olé!

After bronze in the all-around, Spain proved to be the most successful group of the apparatus finals. Their 5 hoops routine earned 38.750. Enough for the silver medal behind the experienced Farfalle from Italy. Then Spain did one better, grabbing the last gold medal of these Championships, after a simply stunning 3 Ribbons & 2 Balls performance. Olé!

Unbeatable Bulgaria

Defending Champions Bulgaria opened with a fantastic 5 hoops performance, reward with a score just shy of 40 points. With mixed apparatus, Sofia Ivanova, Magdalina Minevska, Kamelia Petrova, Rachel Stoyanov and Margarita Vasileva earned another top mark, 34.850, to convincingly retain their European all-around crown.

Amazing Amalia

In junior qualifications, Amalia Lica excelled, leading Romania to a historic team victory. In apparatus finals, Lica showed her talent once again as she emerged as the absolute superstar of this junior competition. Performing in three finals, she aced all her routines, winning not one, not two, but all three European titles. Her hattrick began with hoop, the apparatus she won silver on at last year’s junior World Championships. With clubs she successfully defended her gold won in Tel Aviv in 2022. The finishing touch came with ribbon as she cruised to victory, posting a massive 30.950, over a point ahead of her nearest rivals. 3 individual titles today, and one team gold yesterday, 100% success rate for the young Romanian. Amalia Lica absolutely is the rising star of Budapest.

Tickets to Paris

Two more Olympic tickets were up for grabs at these Europeans: 1 for an individual gymnast, 1 for a group. After a nail-biting battle, Vera Tugolukova (CYP) and the group of Azerbaijan came out on top, earning a trip to Paris for the Games.

The Shooting star award goes to … Emily Beznos (MDA)

Emily Beznos truly aims to inspire by example. She’s not only a Rhythmic gymnast, but also an accomplished scholar and a girl power advocate. And all that at just 17 years old! Being accepted into university at just 14, Emily graduated from UCLA in 2022 at only 16 years old, becoming one of the youngest graduates in the history of this prestigious university, as she earned a Bachelor degree in Cognitive Science. In the future, she plans to continue her studies in artificial intelligence and medicine. Asked what her goal in life is, she clearly answers: “In my quest to inspire other girls to pursue STEM education, I will be partnering with organisations that offer mentoring, assistance and support for women in STEM and work on empowering female leaders in science and technology.”

Impressive Emily, you definitely deserve this award! Congratulations!

What a wonderful 40^th edition of the Rhythmic Europeans! We warmly thank the Hungarian Gymnastics Federation and the Local Organising Committee for their hard work to ensure the highest standard. Thank you also to the gymnasts for their dedication to the discipline, and to all the volunteers and staff involved.