Last weekend the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship was held in Nizhni Novgorod. It was the first time the ancient capital of the Volga region had hosted such a large-scale competition.
At the press conference opening the European Rhytmic Gymnastics Championship the deputy head of the Nizhni Novgorod regional government, Dmitri Svatkovski, said that more that 500 gymnasts from 35 European countries participated in the competitions.
"It is very pleasant that our city became one of the hosts of the European Championship, such as Geneva, Brussels, Moscow, Paris and Saragossa, in which such prominent events were held. It is a high privilege for us that the dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games will take place here, and all the gymnasts that will compete for medals in London will go through trial by fire in our region. And it's wonderful that the best gymnasts of Europe are here."
Rudolf Hediger, the Vice President of the European Union of Gymnastics, made the following speech:
"On behalf of all the European Union of Gymnastics I greet you at the press conference of the 28th European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship which is held here, in Nizhni Novgorod.
As the Vice President of European Union of Gymnastics I would like to wish you all the best, in particular on behalf of our Executive Committee and our President, Georges Guelzec. This year the European Union of Gymnastics celebrates its 30th anniversary, and it became a prominent organization dealing with rhythmic gymnastics in particular and with gymnastics in general. Nowadays, eight kinds of gymnastics events are the most important ones: these are events for men, events for women, rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining, acrobatic gymnastics, aerobic gymnastics and all-around.
Turning back to holding the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Nizhni Novgorod, I would like to acknowledge that the organization and the infrastructure are at the highest level. I'm sure that the championship will also be held at the highest pitch. National federations use this competition in order to prepare for the summer Olympic Games in London in 2012. This championship can help them prove their achievements. The competitions are held here, in Nizhni Novgorod, under the guidance and the control of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee and its President Heide Bruneder, who is very experienced in this field.
In conclusion I would like to thank the representatives of the Russian Federation, the city of Nizhni Novgorod and the Nizhni Novgorod Region and, in addition, the organizing committee and all the volunteers who took part in organizing this event. Every one of them worked with especial devotion. Rhythmic gymnastics is very popular with the populations of the countries of Eastern Europe; that's why we are happy to involve Russia in our activity. We are aware of the fact that a lot of Russian cities have hosted such large-scale events, including sports competitions, in the past, so we are always glad to visit Russia. Amongst the countries who competed for holding the 28th European Championship there were such countries as Spain, Italy and others; however, we discussed this issue and finally decided to visit Nizhni Novgorod".
Irina Viner-Usmanova, the President of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, said that the Russian part did its best. "Maybe we missed something, maybe others worked harder. Anyway, the competition will
take place. The most important thing is the result of our efforts. As our Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says, the final result is the crucial moment.
This is an ancient Russian land near the Volga, an ancient Russian river, and this is marvelous that such a young sport as rhythmic gymnastics organizes its competitions here. The only twice Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics, Yelena Posevina, lives here".
Valery Shantsev, the Governor of the Nizhni Novgorod Region, noted that his impression was delightful. "The inauguration was spectacular, with all the ceremonies attributed to this sporting event. The most important thing is that more than 400 participants from 34 countries, the cream of the crop, are here, in Nizhni Novgorod. We hope for victories!
In order to host such prestigious competitions in other sports events, we need to raise more funds and to construct new facilities and repair the existing ones. In my opinion, we will be able to host the Olympic Games in four years.
You know, such large-scale competitions, as I know from the experience of Nizhniy Novgorod, Moscow and a number of other prestigious international competitions, are always the impulse which provokes the development of some sports event. In a single week rhythmic gymnastics classes will be overfilled with mothers with their daughters desiring to have them enrolled in these classes - every mother wants her daughter to become such a gymnast. There is the same situation with synchronized swimming, hockey and other events, so we're eagerly waiting. Even now, rhythmic gymnastics is very developed in our country and very popular with our people. We're waiting for flows of new talents in our classes; we have just organized reasonable conditions in the Olympic Training Center, and rhythmic gymnastics classes have already been opened in our sports and recreation centers. The more people will train there, the more new stars will represent us at the European Championship, the World Cup and the Olympic Games."
The Russian team confirmed its undoubted leadership in this event. On the 2nd of June Yevgeniya Kanayeva, the Olympic champion, became the European champion in the all-around event once again. Russian gymnast Alexandra Merkulova got the silver medal. The Azerbaijani gymnast Aliya Garayeva came third and performed at the highest level. The performances of the elite athletes were welcomed by the audience. The Azerbaijani fans were the most active, with their flags, songs of Muslim Magomaev and even drums. The fans did their best in order to make the way of Aliya to the podium less difficult.
VK: Aliya, our warmest congratulations! This competition was wonderful. You gave us lots of impressions. Actually, the possibility of standing on a podium is not for everyone. Tell us, what is it like? What did you feel there?
Aliya Garaeva: Of course, it is great, because we worked hard and finally got this medal. We worked side by side: coaches, doctors, massage therapists, referees and all the federation. To my mind, we got this deserved medal together, and I think we are worthy of it.
VK: It is more than a deserved medal! You've felt the support of the audience, haven't you?
Aliya Garayeva: It was very pleasant, and it really supported me. I'd like to thank all the fans for it. When I got into the hall, I was told: "Have you already seen your cheerleading squad?" I said: "I guess it's great though I haven't seen it." Then I was told: "They brought drums with them and decorated the hall with flags." It was very nice.
After the medal ceremony the fans organized their own celebrations near the Nagorni Sports Hall. The mother of Aliya Garayeva didn't try to cover her joy and took part in dancing in the street.
Valentina Garayeva, the mother of Aliya Garayeva: I am very grateful to God for everything I have got now. Actually, I feel very happy. Even before her performance I was very afraid, I thought that something could go wrong, but I thought: "It is enough that she is performing at such a prestigious and large-scale competition. And now she got the medal... I'm very happy.
Dinara Gimatova, Aliya Garayeva's coach: We are certainly very glad that Aliya became the bronze medal winner at the European Championship, every one of us is very happy. She did very well. Thanks a lot to everybody who came to support her, it was very nice, and thanks a lot to the Federation of Azerbaijan, which always supports us.
Irina Viner also congratulated Aliya on her victory.
"Aliya Garayeva is a very talented and strong-willed gymnast. She trains persistently, she never misses the trainings, and she is charismatic and popular with the audience. She performs for an audience that loves her. She respects her elders and remembers all her mistakes that are shown to her. She is always happy seeing the flag of her country and standing on the podium. We are also happy, because we give her our support and consultations. We are happy for Azerbaijan and for Aliya, that a Muslim flag is raised at a sports event for women. We send our compliments to everybody, in particular to the President of the Azerbaijani Gymnastics Federation, Mehriban Aliyeva.
