Trampoline Gymnastics FIG World Cup starts in Baku for the first time

The Trampoline Gymnastics FIG World Cup is to start today in Baku at the National Gymnastics Arena for the first time in the history of Azerbaijan. The tournament will last two days. Qualifying performances in individual and synchronized programs for men and women will take place today. At the moment, the athletes are training.

Well-known gymnasts on trampoline of Europe, Japan, Australia and the United States are to participate in the competition. 78 gymnasts (46 men and 32 women) from 18 countries will compete for medals.

The bronze medalist of the First European Games in Baku Ilya Grishunin, gold medal winner of the Open Championship Oleg Piunov, Dmitry Fedorovsky, Ruslan Agamirov and finalists of the First European games Svetlana Makshtarova and Sabina Zaitseva will represent Azerbaijan at the tournament.

The representative of the Gymnastics Federation of Azerbaijan Shahin Kyazimzade told in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that the World Cup is very important for the AGF, as it is the first major international gymnastics tournament of this type in the calendar of the International Federation. 

"As you know, we are expecting the Olympic Games, so the World Cup in Baku is of great importance for the preparation of both the athletes who will participate in the test event in Brazil to qualify for the Olympics, as well as those who already qualified and train on the threshold of the major championship during four years,’’ he said.

It is also important for the Federation to organize it at the highest organizational level because this is the first World Cup Trampoline tournament in Baku. "Two weeks ago the World Cup in artistic gymnastics took place in Baku, and the organization surpassed participants’ and organizers’ expectations. We hope that the World Cup trampoline will also be held at the highest level and onlookers, athletes, the Federation and numerous guests of the competition will be satisfied. The technical delegate of the international delegation will be Dmitry Poliarush, repeated world and European champion on trampoline will also pay a visit to assess the progress of the competition, as well as President of the technical Committee of the international gymnastics Federation Horst Kunze, Shahin Kyazimzade said.

"Tournament geography is very vast. This is the territory from the Atlantic US coasts to the Green continent, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Poland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, etc. We hope our hope that the World Cup will be held at high organizational and interesting levels and leave unforgettable impressions,’' the representative of Azerbaijan gymnastics Federation concluded.