Event Review

BENIDORM (ESP) Pallau L'Illa FIG Office, October 5, 2008: Crowded competition hall for this last final day. Spain loves Rhythmic and the fans show it. Loudly! What an atmosphere!

Today's programme features 3 finals: Clubs and Ribbon for the individuals and 5 Ropes for the Groups.

Final Clubs

Aliya Garayeva (AZE): Excellent start with a risky throw. High difficulty score (9.000 points), but some deductions for execution (8.500 points), one drop in the middle of the exercise. Total score17.525 and 6th place. Typical club exercise for  Vera Sessina (RUS), with a clear dominance of Balance difficulties and a total score of 17.650 points, for a 5th place. Then Anna Bessonova (UKR). The audience loudly supports its favourite gymnast. Beautiful performance, with an Artistry score of 9.40! Total score to beat 18.300 points.

Eugenia Kanaeva (RUS), Bessonova’s most serious challenger performed a very difficult routine (9.500 points). Perfectly executed movements, no hesitation. Highest artistry score (9.500) and highest total score 18.750. Aliya Yussupova (KAZ) is a very experienced gymnast. Some small execution mistakes (Execution score 8.900), nice handling (Artistry score 9.150). Final score 17.825 and the 4th place. Natalia Godunko (UKR) performed a speedy and energetic routine. Drop of 1 club. but needs more difficulties (8.300) to challenge the top three. Final score 17.100 and 7th place.

Irina Risenson (ISR), a 20 year old gymnast, with the nice smile, could soon join the top gymnasts, once achieved a higher difficulty score (7.800 points). Time penalty of 0.15 point. Final score 16.550 points and 8th place. Olga Kapranova (RUS) showed a spectacular start with a difficult flexibility. Difficulty score 9.000, Artistry 9.000. Olga isn’t in her best shape. Execution score of 8.950 for a total score of 17.950.

Well deserved gold medal for the young Russian lady, who reached in all parts the highest score. Once again Anna Bessonova ends on the second place.

Podium: 1. Eugenia Kanaeva (18.750), 2. Anna Bessonova (18.300), 3. Olga Kapranova (17.950) 

Final 5 Ropes

Belarus, winner of the gold medal for the previous exercise (3 hoops, 2 clubs) starts the group competition with an interesting collaboration and very well synchronised difficulties on a speedy music.  Nice Cossack pirouettes and a good artistry score of 9.300points. Total score 17.500 points.

The young ladies from Ukraine, country with a long Rhythmic Gymnastics tradition, showed a pleasant routine, however with some execution mistakes for a score of 7.500 points). Total score 15.775 points (penalty 0.10 point) and third final place.

Spain starts loudly supported by the whole audience. Nice apparatus handling and an Artistry score of 8.800. Especially thanks to the higher Difficulty score, Spain beats Ukraine (final score 16.450 points), by 0.675 points.

Once the routine performed with higher difficulties, and once more experienced, the Russian group can have a promising future. Due to the losses of the rope and several small execution mistakes, the judges give an execution score of 6.850 points.  

No doubt, Belarus deserves its second gold medal

Podium: 1. BLR, 17.500 points, 2. ESP 16.450 points, UKR 15.775 points

Final Ribbon

Olga Kapranova (RUS) starts the last round of this World Cup Final in Benidorm. In a pink leotard, she shows wonderful pivots accompanied by a Russian music. The last routine at the end a long season, performed with some execution mistakes (8.800 point) for a total of 17.750 points. Aliya Garayeva (AZE), despite a mistake in a pivot after a few seconds only, Aliya shows the routine with her well known smile. Final score 17.175 points. Vera Sessina (RUS) The Russian ballerina shows her great talent in each of the numerous pivots typical for the ribbon exercise. Good Artistry score (9.200 points) and a final score of 17.950 points.

And Anna Bessonova (UKR) came. Once again the audience is loudly supporting its favourite; one can hardly hear the music. The ribbon routine in which pivots predominate fits her perfectly. Good Artistry score (9,450 points) and a final score of 18.450 points.  She is thanked with a long standing ovation and the well known BESS-O-NOVA chorus.

Aliya Yussupova (KAZ): After a good start, she has to interrupt her routine due to a knot in the ribbon. As a consequence Aliya misses several difficulties and the difficulty score drops to 6.500 points. Final score 14.400 points. She will remember her last routine in Benidorm!

Natalia Godunko (UKR), as usual, shows a high speed routine, without any special mistakes and three almost identical scores: Execution 8.900, Artistry 8.900, Difficulty 8.800 final score 17.759 tied with Kapranova, but the tie breaking rules are in favour of Godunko (4 counting E scores). Irina Risenson (ISR) finishes with a nice routine this World Cup Final for which she was invited at the last minute. Final score 16.600 points.

The very last routine of this World Cup Final! Will Eugenia Kanaeva (RUS) be able to beat Anna Bessonova? The young lady in light pink performing on a very nice and slow music doesn’t make any major mistake. The audience is waiting for the score…. Finally, with a final score of 18.600 points, Eugenia beats Anna Bessonova by a tiny little advance of 0.175 points. Eugenia Kanaeva wins her third gold medal at this World Cup Final, Bessonova is once again second and wins her third silver medal, Sessina wins the bronze medal, after a gold medal for the rope exercise.

Podium: 1. Eugenia Kanaeva, 18.600 points, Anna Bessonova, 18.425 points, Sessina, 17.950 points.