The Shooting star award goes to … Alina Puhach (UKR) and Daniel Blintsov (GER)

At the conclusion of the 31^st European Championships in Acrobatic Gymnastics in Varna (BUL), Sabina Shaliyeva, Sport Event Manager of our global partner SmartScoring presented the SmartScoring Shooting star award to Ukraine’s Alina Puhach and Germany’s Daniel Blintsov.

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.

For Alina Puhach life as she knew it ended on 24 February2022. That day the full-scale war in her country started. Training was interrupted by alarms and rockets flying. Finding refuge in Belgium the first months of the war, the young Ukrainian has since returned home to train with her coaches Yurii Golyak and Halyna Kovalchuk and teammates Elina Kozachanska and Karina Ostrovska. Studying at university, combined with high-level training is never an easy feat. Add to that the repercussions of war and it becomes near impossible. However, Alina perseveres in this difficult situation, like last winter when there was no electricity due to bombing of the energy facilities. She’s grateful to participate in international competitions as she views it as an opportunity to remind the world about Ukraine.

To say that Acro runs in his blood, is an understatement when it comes to Daniel Blintsov. Coached by his parents Nina and Igor Blintsov, Daniel lives and breath Acro. As a gymnast, success came in the mixed pair category with partner Pia Schuetze, winning medals at the 2021 Europeans, 2021 and 2022 World Championships and the 2022 World Games. Now partnering with Diana Lust, he continues to impress, winning medals at the World Cup stages and at these Europeans! Daniel is also the gymnast who participated in the most European Training Camps. As a person, Daniel actively contributes to sharing his knowledge and friendship with other gymnasts from European countries. Passionate about sport, Daniel recently got selected as volunteer for the Gymnastics competitions at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Who better to promote our sport than Daniel?!