Marina Durunda: thanks to everyone who supported us at Islamic Games in Baku!

The rhythmic gymnastics individual finals at the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku was not easy, but the Azerbaijani team managed to perform with dignity, the first ever Olympic Games champion in rhythmic gymnastics, Marina Durunda, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.

"The day was not easy, but we coped with the finals - when something went wrong, one gymnast was replacing the other. Of course, we could perform better, but four gold medals out of five possible is a good result, " she noted.

Marina Durunda warmly thanked the coaches, choreographers, the Federation of Gymnastics of Azerbaijan in general, and the fans for supporting the Azerbaijani gymnasts at the Islamic Games. "It's very pleasant, when the whole hall chants your name or Azerbaijan. Then the emotions go off scale and you want to perform even better, " she confessed.

During all four awarding ceremonies, when the Azerbaijani gymnast took the first place, Marina Durunda sang invariably the anthem of Azerbaijan. "It's a great honor to stand on a pedestal in your country and sing the anthem, when the whole hall sings it with you. This is a dream of every athlete,’’ the gymnast said.

The next week, Marina Durunde along with the team will participate in the European Championships. "There, it will be necessary to perform even better and more confidently. For me, the Islamic Games in Baku were the first start during this year, so I will continue to work on the mistakes to perform as well as possible at the European Championships, " she concluded.

The 4th Islamic solidarity Games are held in Baku on May 8-22. Athletes will compete at 16 sports facilities in 17 Olympic and three non-Olympic types of sports. Rhythmic and sports gymnastics competitions were included in the program of the Islamic Solidarity Games  for the first time on the initiative of the First Vice President of Azerbaijan, President of the Federation of Gymnastics of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva.