Germany, Ukraine: World Cup Series For Artistic Gymnastics Titleholders

The final leg of the FIG World Cup has concluded in the O2 Arena of London last weekend, finally crowning the champions of the series. Hailed master of the sport for the men’s division is Ukraine’s best and Olympian Oleg Verniaiev. For the women’s division, Tabea Alt was the queen. Both athletes have successfully brought the 2017 All-around World Cup Series in Artistic Gymnastics title to their home country.

Verniaiev has been successful since last summer’s Olympics, but he didn’t let this get in his head. At this year’s World Cup Series, he went on to win a silver at the AT&T American Cup and gold medals from the DTB-Pokal World Cup in Stuttgart and finally in London. Because of this, he has assured Ukraine would win on the men’s side.

His performances on rings and vault awarded him with gold medals, while on the floor exercise and parallel bars he only got silver medals. He wasn’t as strong at the high bar, where he placed sixth, and on the pommel horse where he was fourth.

At the All-around, close on Verniaiev’s heels was USA’s super tumbler Donnel Whittenburg who had the highest score of the day on floor exercise and the second best on rings and vault. 2016 Olympic team finalist from Germany, Lukas Dauser, was third as he had the highest score of the men’s competition on parallel bars and impressed on horizontal bar, pummeling him up to the third spot.

For the women’s competition, Tabea Alt showed she wasn’t contented with her win on the Stuttgart as she dominated the sport once again in London. She was gold on uneven bars and floor exercise. On beam and vault, she was second as she allowed Spain’s Ana Perez and Great Britain’s Amy Tinkler to take the gold on the respective apparatus. Despite this, Alt still finished as the All-Around champion.

“It's always good to be stable and have good routines, so that's the goal for success,” Alt said after the competition even though she wasn’t expecting to win. "I am speechless. It is incredible that I am now standing here with the FIG Cup in my hands and the medal around my neck."

Alt’s victories, added with compatriot Kim Bui’s fourth-place finish at the American Cup, made it possible for the Germans to win the women’s title.

USA’s Viktoria Nguyen, a replacement for Ragan Smith, was third on uneven bars, beam and floor. She was also fourth on vault, making her the silver medalist in the All-Around. Behind her was Tinkler who was recorded to admit that she had calf problems this year so she wasn’t expecting to win either. 

The top three winners in the All-Around World Cup standings all took home, aside from the medals and trophy, the cash prize of between 15,000-25,000 Swiss Francs.

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2017 FIG World Cup In Pesaro Features Renowned Gymnasts

The 2017 FIG World Cup circuit in Rhythmic Gymnastics includes four World Cup and four World Challenge Cup events. Tomorrow, in approximately 7 hours from the posting of this article, the first leg of this circuit is going to kick off in Pesaro, Italy, until the 9th of April, Sunday. 

The 2017 FIG World Cup in Pesaro, Italy is one of the said four stops of this series. The other ones are Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Bulgaria. It is one of the many world cups that the international governing body for gymnastics, FIG, has approved and organized. The world cup for artistic gymnastics is also in execution currently. 

This year, the FIG World Cup for Rhythmic Gymnastics is quite different from the previous years’. Before, the series is divided into Category A and Category B, where the former is reserved for invited athletes and the latter open to all athletes. These categories have no limit for the number of meets each year. 

In 2017, however, all of this has changed. Firstly, there is now a limit of four World Cup events and four Challenge Cup events. Also, both of these events are now open to all athletes. After the World Cup circuit, the gymnasts are going to come full circle as they come back in Pesaro, Italy, where the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships is going to be held in September. 

Perhaps it is a right thing to say that people are practically on the edges of their seats right now in anticipation for this event, especially since it featured an eclectic lineup of competitors complete with veterans and newcomers. 

After winning the Baltic Hoop competition last month, Victoria Filanovsky of Israel is once again out to shower us with her amazing talent. Compatriot Nicole Zelikman is also present. Dina Averina and Aleksandra Soldatova from Russia, who has quite a few notches on their belts already with their continuous wins at the Grand Prix series, are also going to grace us with their presence. 

While we’re at the topic of Grand Prix, some gymnasts who are shining at this series are also going to be present at the World Cup in Pesaro, like Olena Diachenko (UKR), Katsiaryna Halkina (BLR), Alina Harnasko (BLR), Neviana Vladinova (BUL), and Viktoria Mazur (UKR). 

Keep up with the latest news and updates about the 2017 World Cup in Pesaro by following our official blogs and social media sites. Enroll today at Bianka Panova Sport and Art Academy and learn gymnastics for kids with us! Come and experience world class training and education!