Son Yeon-Jae, a Korean rhythmic gymnast, took home her first title at the 2016 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Finland.
At the said competition, Son took home the gold medal in the event’s ball competition after finishing with a score of 18.45. The young Korean rhythmic gymnast was followed by Russian athlete Dina Averina who scored 18.1 points and Ukranian gymnast Ganna Rizatdinova who got a score of 18.
The medal she got from the competition was her first FIG World Cup gold medal ever since she snatched four gold medals in the individual all-around, ball, ribbon and clubs events at the 2014 FIG Lisbon World Cup.
The 22 year-old Korean gymnast expressed her satisfaction with the results after the competition.
“I am so happy to put the Korean national flag on the highest spot in the arena once again in 2016,” Son stated on social media subsequently after the awards ceremony “Thank you all. I wrapped up the first World Cup with good results. I will keep fighting until the Olympics.”
Right before the ball event, the 22-year old athlete has won the bronze medal in the hoop competition. Performing to the soundtrack of French film “Fanfan,” Son has scored 18.4 points. Her score was followed by two Russian gymnasts Ganna Rizatdinova, who scored 18.55 and Aleksandra Soldatova who earned 18.500.
Son Yeon-Jae also won in the individual all-around event on Saturday, after garnering a career-high score of 73.550 points, just 0.2 points away from the prominent Russian gymnast Aleksandra Soldatova. Her previous best score was 72.694 for a silver medal, which she had won at the 2016 Moscow Grand Prix a week ago.
Despite the absence of the three-time all-around world champion Yana Kudryavtseva and two-time all-round world silver medalist Margarita Mamun in the competition, Son has moved far ahead her possible Olympic rivals Rizatdinova and Melitina Staniouta.
Son Yeon-Jae was the first ever Korean rhythmic gymnast to advance into the individual all-around final at the 2012 London Olympics, placing fifth in the competition.
With just 6 months left until the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, gymnasts from over different countries are taking advantage of all the upcoming competitions in order to hone their skills and refine their routine.
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