2014 Worlds in Izmir wins

LET'S LOOK BACK AT 2014 WCh IN IZMIR, TURKEY, through "the eyes" of World of Gymnastics website, e.g. with some statisics and quotes. Bulgaria was really successful there, with a gold AA won by "the golden group" and as a national team being second to Russia . You can find all the interesting facts, videos, and comments through the link at the bottom, and here are just some excerpts, e.g. satistics, facts with comments, and a video.

STATISTICS:

Total federations 58 Total gymnasts 312 Total teams 32 Total groups 31 Total individual gymnasts 133

Average age 18.30 years Oldest: Carolina Rodriguez Ballesteros (ESP) 28 years Youngest: Iriya Rungrueang (THA) 16 years Sofia Lodi (ITA) 16 years

MEDAL STANDINGS:

__________Gold S Bronze 1 RUSSIA_____8 4 0 2 BULGARIA ___1 1 0 3 SPAIN_____ 1 0 0 4 BELARUS ___ 0 1 4 5 ITALY______ 0 1 0 5 ISRAEL_____ 0 1 0 7 UKRAINE____ 0 0 4 8 KOREA_____ 0 0 1

And a few quotes:

"The biggest question surrounding the individual competition at the 33rd World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Izmir (TUR) September 22-28 was less who would win, but how many gold medals she would take.

“She” is Yana Kudryavtseva, and she has been Russia’s Rhythmic darling since becoming the youngest-ever gymnast to win the World All-around title, which she did in 2013 in Kiev (UKR). But if the competition lacked the tension of a meet where anyone can win, lithe blonde Kudryavtseva, a few days shy of her 17th birthday, made up for it with delightful performances with all apparatus. FIG President Bruno Grandi, sitting front and center at the head table, put it concisely after seeing Kudryavtseva perform with the Ball on the first night of competition. “I thought I was sitting in the Grand Theatre in Milan, watching a ballerina on the stage,” he said.

(Yana Kudryavtseva ball: https://youtu.be/Xzf7p8qfWvM ) .

... As it has all season on the World Cup circuit, the individual All-around competition came down to Kudryavtseva and her friend and rival, Margarita Mamun (RUS). ..

GROUP ALL-AROUND FINAL BULGARIA FOR THE WIN!

In addition to providing some of the most stunning moments of the individual competition, Russia was also responsible for one of the most surprising of the Group All-around final: In the one-and-done format that determined both the All-around champions as well as the event finals qualifiers, Russia was left chasing the leaders after one of its gymnasts had to chase a Club out of bounds during an otherwise entertaining routine. ... Russia’s loss was a gain for Bulgaria, which swooped and danced through two error-free routines to win the World All-around title, much to the delight of its gymnasts, most of whom had trained more than half their lives dreaming of such a day. Italy, by turns dramatic with the Clubs and playful with the Balls and Ribbons, took silver after turning in two high-quality and error-free routines.

2013 World All-around champions Belarus came to Izmir with their new generation following the retirement of several Group members after their triumph in Kiev. The developing squad proved their talent, winning bronze."

(End of quote) :)

I didn't follow this tournament then, but have seen the Bulgarian group performances many times on YouTube. And yes, I liked that golden girls group very much, and am so happy the Bulgarian golden RG tradition has got today's brilliant successors

Did you follow 2014 WCh? What do you remember/associate it with? --- The whole review (with videos embedded) here: http://www.fig-gymnastics.com/…/74_e…/review-izmir-2014.html .