|
EUROPEAN AGE GROUP PRELIMINARIES, POLAND 2006
An exciting high quality acrobatics selection event at Llleshall saw two very strong teams heading to the Polish city of Zielona Gora for the European Age Groups Competition and European Team competition with high hopes of medal success. With the international acrobats from Spelthorne on their well deserved annual break, sports acrobats from around the UK were eager to seize their opportunity of International selection. The British Teams who were selected featured a fascinating mix of established Internationals as well as new partnerships including two pairs who had only been together for 6 weeks before the Trials who performed outstanding routines at the Lilleshall selections to gain places at the Championships! Could the new GB Acrobats fulfill their dreams of medal winning performances on their International debuts?
As well as the Age Group Tournament for the 11-16’s, the Championships featured a new European Acrobatics Team event with each team consisting of one group and two pairs with ALL scores counting towards the team result. Judges therefore had the unique task of marking mixed pairs and womens pairs competing side by side plus top mens and womens groups competing in an exciting format which drew European and World Champions all battling for the new European Team Titles.
The Age Groups Preliminaries began well for Great Britain in Mixed Pairs with Kaman Mitchell and Tasha Lawrence from King Edmunds produced a superb performance to score a total of 57.050 with GB and King Edmund team mates Douglas Fordyce and Shelley Evans with 56.500. Doug and Shelley were unlucky not to qualify for the Finals as only one pair from each country were able ro qualify for the Finals, but this was another excellent performance from the IAGC Champions from Coimbra and 1st and 2nd for Great Britain. Olga Bastrygina and Alexander Razumovsky from Russia also qualified in 3rd place with 56.100.
The Women’s pairs featured a GB debut for Rachael Prest and Hannah Feeney from Harefield Gymnastics Academy who faced strong competition from the current IAGC Champions in the 11-16 Age Group Raushanya Khakimova and Alena Ploskova from Russia. Amazingly Rachael and Hannah only became partners 6 weeks before the European Trials, but the GB girls produced a stunning performance on their GB debuts. Khakimova and Ploskova led the field including the highest scores for balance and dynamic routines with a total of 57.400 and Russian team mates Yulia Filatova and Yulia Filatova who scored 56.950 points to finish 2nd. Rachael and Hannah were in 3rd position with a total of 56.850 which featured a very strong balance exercise. Abbey Carvell and Hannah Palmer from King Edmunds were unlucky to miss qualifying for Finals on their International debuts after scoring 56.700 which included 28.600 for their balance to finish in 4th position, but sadly the girls were unable to compete in Finals due to the one group per country rule. Acrobats from Poland and France also qualified for the European Age Groups Finals.
Mens Pairs featured a facinating contest between the Silver medalists in the World Age Groups competition Dorian Walker and Stephen Raine from Great Britain who were paired against the bronze medalists from Coimbra Yuri Kopnin and Andrei Poteshkin from Russia. Dorian and Stephen from Great Britain’s Deerness Valley are of similar height and build whereas Kopnin and Poteshkin are a small top with a strong base, and they received a 0.5 height deduction in Coimbra. However this time the judges made no height deduction and the Russian pair built a solid lead in Prelims scoring 57.050 including an outstanding balance routine. Stephen and Dorian lay in second position scoring 56.150 equalling the score of the other Russian pair Vassili Uryasiev and Dimitri Bryzgalov. Matthew Short and Ashley Payne from Great Britain also made their International debut with the Monarchs boys finishing in 4th position after a good performance which scored 55.200. Sadly only 4 pairs competed in the Mens event, but we had a fascinating Final to look forward to as the World Age Groups Silver and bronze medalists go head to head in a repeat of the Coimbra Finals!
The Women’s groups Preliminaries included an exciting new group from Great Britain as Joanna White, Amber Ballyntyne- Styles and Rosie Burr from Oxford School of Gymnastics made their debuts. The girls had produced beautifully choreographed routines at Trials and at the British Championships earlier this year. The Russians dominated this event once more as Yulia Esina, Viktoria Scherbatykh and Nadezhda Zelenkova scored 57.200 with team mates Olga Gofman, Ekaterina Gofman and Regina Islamova in second place scoring 56.900 points. But Joanna, Amber and Rosie produced a terrific performance to finish just 0.10 behind in third place with 56.800. Just 0.40 seperated the top three womens groups with yet another great Final to come! Great credit also goes to Deerness Valley gymnasts Lauren Whelpdale, Rachael Steel and Deborah van Zwanenberg who finished in 6th position with a total of 56.00 and included 28.200 for their Dynamic routine.
In the men's group event, the 2005 European Age Group Champions Nikolai Aulov, Igor Nogtev, Denis Kimand and Alexei Karnaushko from Russia were competing against their Russian team mates Valery Kruglov, Viktor Gorshkov, Alexei Ivannikovand and Maxim Soprunovo who won the 2006 International Age Groups Title in Coimbra! The current Age Groups Champions Aulov, Nogtev, Kimand and Karnaushko edged the Prelims by 57.40 to 57.000 which eliminated Kruglov, Gorshkov, Ivannikovand and Soprunivo as only one group per country can qualify. The GB Mens Group of Richard Hurst, Simon Peart, Josh Robinson and Jesse Heskett from Deerness Valley produced an assurred performance to score 56.500 and take a fine 3rd place in preliminaries. Sean Malone, Barnaby Llewellyn, Elliot Woodman and Rhys Batten from King Edmunds also competed for Great Britain and finished in 5th position with a score of 55.150.
EUROPEAN AGE GROUPS FINALS, ZIELENA GORA, POLAND 2006
The Russians continued their fine performances in the European Age Group Finals continued in the same vein, but Great Britain were determined to stake their claim for European medals and what a great challenge it proved to be!
The Mixed Pairs Finals featured Great Britain’s Kaman and Tasha who led in preliminaries. The routine began well, with good steady balances and choregraphy but unfortunately their mount to one foot stand failed, incurring a penalty of one whole point for a total score of 26.400. The Russians seized their opportunity as Olga Bastrygina and Alexander Razumovsky took the Gold medals with 28.150 and Poland claimed Silver as Rafal Antoniewicz and Anna Sokolowsk scored 27.600 to the delight of the home fans. Great Britain claimed the bronze medals as Kaman Mitchell and Tasha Lawrence acknowledged the great support from the British team and it’s supporters as they stood proudly on the European podium.
In Womens Pairs Great Britain’s Rachael Prest and Hannah Feeney had qualified in 3rd place in Prelims, and they produced another excellent routine and were rated at over 9.00 by two of the Artistry judges which is a rare achievement in this Event with most competitors marked at 8.7 or below. The girls have beautiful original entries and exits from their balances and were delighted with their performance as the judges held up a total of 28.400 earning a Silver medal at Europeans for Great Britain and a first International medal for the new Club of Harefield. The Gold medals went to the 2006 International Age Group Competition winners Raushanya Khakimova and Alena Ploskova Russia with an outstanding routine for a total of 28.800. Another medal for Poland too as Kinga Grzeskow and Kinga Beker took bronze with 28.150, with the French womens pair of Manon Bidaud and Maelys Val who won bronze at the 2006 IAGC denied a place on the podium after they finished in 4th place.
The Mens Pairs Finals featured a much anticipated contest between the Silver Medalists at the World Age Groups competition Dorian Walker and Stephen Raine against World Age Groups bronze medalists Yuri Kopnin and Andrei Poteshakin from Russia. In a closely fought competition Stephen and Dorian produced an excellent routine with high technical difficulty, but with no size penalty being deducted from the Russian pair, the Russians emerged triumphant scoring 28.550, with Stephen and Dorian awarded 28.250 winning well deserved Silver medals for Great Britain.
Yet another Gold medal for Russia as they continued their clean sweep of the Gold Medals as Yulia Esina-Viktoria Scherbatykh-Nadezhda Zelenkova claimed the gold medals in the women's group event with 28.550. Local home favourites Katarzyna Jastrzebska and Dominika Bernat-Magdalena Helon from Poland claimed the Silver medals with 28.450 in an absorbing Final which saw an excellent performance from the Great Britain trio of Joanna White, Rosie Burr and Amber Ballantyne-Styles . The GB girls produced a spectacular routine which drew gasps of admiration from the knowledgable audience for their lift to high bridge to score 28.400 to win bronze medals and finish just 0.15 behind the Russian Gold medalists on their GB debuts!.
In the Mens Groups Finals Richard Hurst, Simon Peart, Josh Robinson and Jesse Heskett produced another excellent balance routine with good choreography and got a great reaction from the audience. The judges awarded 9.45 for Technical and 8.95 for Artistry with a total of 28.400 putting them in strong contention. Both the Russian and Polish groups who had finished in 1st and 2nd position were still to perform and the British fans held their breath as the Poles srepped out to a noisy welcome from the home supporters. Michal Miecznikowski, Maciej Miecznikowski, Maciez Sternik, Damian Szczepanski also performed their balance routine for the Final but a drop of a foot in planche cost them 0.5 and a score of 27.250. Not to be outdone the Russian 2005 European Age Group Competition winners Nikolai Aulov, Igor Nogtev, Denis Kim and Alexei Karnaushko who performed so magnificently in Prelims went clean to claim the final Gold Medal for Russia with a score of 28.600, just 0.2 ahead of the British mens group who were awarded the Silver Medals!
Russia came 1st in all five European Age Groups Finals but Great Britain can be proud of our young acrobats who performed superbly against very experienced International opponents to bring home 5 well deserved European medals winning one medal in every event they entered. GB won 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. Many congratulations to all of the acrobats and their Coaches on an excellent competition to add to the spectacular successes which Great Britain achieved in Coimbra, with the European Junior & Senior Team Events still to come.
DON’T MISS OUR REPORT FROM THE FIRST EUROPEAN JUNIOR AND SENIOR TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING THIS WEEK ON GYMNASTICS ONLINE!
|
