World
Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics
Groups
Seville,
May, 8th to 10th, 1998
Premiere in Seville
Seville (Spain) is hosting the World Championships of Rhythmic Sports
Gymnastics from 8th to 10th May 1998 in an unprecedented format: for
the first time, only groups enter, there are no singles competitions. Even though FIG
already described the 1996 World Championships as 'Group Championships', they had
disguised this with an attractive little tit-bit by inviting the world best individual
gymnasts for a ‘little world championships’. Well, following the individual
World Championships in Berlin in 1997, this is a group competition, which is no doubt
attractive enough to offer the spectator an alternative to the individual world
championships. At least that ...
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Who are the winners going to be in
Seville? The Greeks won the exercise with 5 balls in Bochum in
April (Grand Prix) followed by Belarus and Germany.
Demanding exercises and finely-tuned technique – the group from Belarus. Displaying
one of the most attractive exercises with hoop and ribbon, they are among the favourites
for the apparatus finals. |
Who are the
favourites?
Difficult to say, as, following the Olympic Games, which were the
last big test for the group gymnasts, a large part of the groups has changed the members.
For instance, the German group: none of the 1996 participants are in the group
anymore.
Judging by the results of this season, it will be really exciting .
Olympic winner Spain won the largest group competition until mid March – in Thiais
(France) – leaving behind Russia, Bulgaria and Belarus. This may not seem so
surprising, but two weeks earlier, the Greek group had won over both Russia and Belarus in
Funchal (Portugal)! The young German group had even been able to snatch the 4th
place from the Belarus team in the finals with 5 balls! In Paris, within the framework of
the France Telecom Tournament, Russia, Bulgaria and France presented some appealing
exercises, but all in all pretty unstable.
At the international DTB Cup (Grand Prix) in Bochum in mid April,
the Belarussians and a young Greek group, led by the former Russian national coach Marina
Fateyeva convinced the audience. In other words, it is sure be exciting – and no
doubt very attractive for the spectators!
Demanding exercises and
finely-tuned technique – the group from Belarus. Displaying one of the most
attractive exercises with hoop and ribbon, they are among the favourites for the apparatus
finals.
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Will they manage to achieve the great surprise? They
want a medal in any case: the Greek group gymnasts, seen in their training outfit here.
They have the greatest chances in the finals with the balls.
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The German national group performed well at the first
tournaments.
The regular members of the group, trained by Federal coach Carmen Weber at TV
Wattenscheid, include the following gymnasts:
Susan Benicke (Halle), Jeanine Fissler
(Berlin), Anne Jung (Großzimmern), Anna Knödler (Söflingen), Selma Neuhaus
(Isselhorst), Annika Seibel (Dahn) and Maxi Zoyke (Leipzig). Ellen Jäckel (Schmiden
– starting in Seville) joined only a few weeks ago.
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The German group. Anne Jung
(4th from the left) is captain and her team has
great plans for the World Championships.
‘We are opening the World Championships and
have to start first’, she told GYMmedia in Bochum.
And she continued, ‘Well, why
not – at least we’re through with it then...’ |
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