Host nation Bulgaria shines at Rhythmic Junior Worlds

From 18 to 22 June, the world’s best junior gymnasts gathered in the Bulgarian capital Sofia to participate in the third edition of the Junior World Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics. 355 gymnasts from 69 countries competed in the individual and group competitions.

Famous for their rhythmic gymnastics capabilities, host nation Bulgaria impressed yet again, emphasizing the depth of their talent pool. Their junior group featuring Raya Bozhilova, Anania Dimitrova, Elena Hristova, Yoana Moteva, Gabriela Traykova and Ivayla Velkovska excelled in the qualification rounds. Showing off two fabulous routines, the Bulgarian girls scored 49.900 to clinch the all-around gold, one point ahead of Brazil. These scores combined with the individual qualification points earned by Aleksa Rasheva, Anastasia Kaleva and Magdalena Valkova ensured Bulgaria cruised to team victory, with a margin of over 4 points over nearest rivals USA and Uzbekistan. In apparatus finals, Valkova clinched gold with hoop, and bronze with ribbon while the junior group won another gold, for their performance with 5 hoops, and a bronze medal for the 5 clubs routine.

More European success came thanks to Poland’s Kseniya Zhyzhych who tied for silver with clubs and to Georgia’s Nita Jamagidze who earned the bronze medal with ball. Fresh off junior European success, Ukraine’s group grabbed bronze in the all-around and bounced back to earn gold for their majestic 5 clubs performance. Italy secured the silver with 5 clubs, and tied Estonia for bronze with 5 hoops.

The future sure looks bright!

 

Enjoy our photo gallery courtesy of Simone Ferraro! Galleries | European Gymnastics

 

Congratulations to the medallists!

Junior Individuals

Hoop

GOLD Magdalena Valkova (BUL) 27.350

SILVER Akmaral Yerekesheva (KAZ) 26.950

BRONZE Natalie de la Rosa (USA) 26.450

 

Ball

GOLD Akmaral Yerekesheva (KAZ) 26.150

SILVER Wang Qi (CHN) 25.950

BRONZE Nita Jamagidze (GEO) 25.550

 

Clubs

GOLD Zlata Arkatova (KGZ) 25.600

SILVER Farida Bahnas (EGY) & Kseniya Zhyzhych (POL) 25.550

 

Ribbon

GOLD Akmaral Yerekesheva (KAZ) 26.400

SILVER Lina Heleika (EGY) 25.850

BRONZE Magdalena Valkova (BUL) 25.500

 

Junior Groups

All-Around

GOLD Bulgaria 49.900

SILVER Brazil 48.900

BRONZE Ukraine 48.500

 

5 Hoops

GOLD Bulgaria 26.600

SILVER Brazil 25.350

BRONZE Estonia & Italy 25.100

 

5 Clubs

GOLD Ukraine 24.900

SILVER Italy 24.200

BRONZE Bulgaria 24.150

 

Team

GOLD Bulgaria 147.350

SILVER USA 143.200

BRONZE Uzbekistan 141.850

 

Find the full results on the FIG website: FIG Results - 17678