The 31st European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships took place at Minsk-Arena in Minsk, Belarus, from 1 to 3 May 2015. Belarus has one of the deepest rhythmic traditions in Europe, and the arena was a natural home for the sport’s continental championships.
A team event built into qualification
The 2015 senior programme combined a team competition with individual apparatus finals. Qualification doubled as the team event, and Russia won the team title. In the finals Yana Kudryavtseva won three gold medals, on ball, clubs and ribbon, while Margarita Mamun took the hoop title.
Those results describe the pecking order of the Rio cycle well. Kudryavtseva was the most consistent gymnast of the period, and Mamun was the athlete most likely to beat her.
Junior groups
The junior groups competed in an all-around and a 5 balls final. Russia won the all-around, and the host nation Belarus took gold with 5 balls, one of the home highlights of the weekend.
What the format tells us
– Apparatus finals reward specialists, so a gymnast can win titles without winning every event. – A team result built from qualification scores favours depth: every routine counts, not only the best ones. – Junior groups are the pipeline for senior groups, which is why national federations treat these titles seriously.
Related
Minsk hosted the Europeans four years earlier as well: see the 2011 championships. The next edition was the 2016 Europeans in Holon.
