The 35th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics were held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku from 16 to 19 May 2019. The programme featured senior individual gymnasts and junior groups, with a team competition calculated from the qualification scores.
Four days in Baku
The championships opened with a ceremony and junior group qualifications on the Thursday. Senior individuals then competed with hoop and ball on the Friday and with clubs and ribbon on the Saturday, divided into sets of gymnasts. Finals followed at the weekend. That spread of qualification over two days is typical for rhythmic gymnastics, where each gymnast performs several separate routines.
The Averina twins
Russia's Dina and Arina Averina led the hoop and ball qualification rankings, continuing a period in which the twins set the standard in individual rhythmic gymnastics. Their routines combined very high difficulty with polished apparatus handling, and their rivalry with each other was one of the stories of the cycle. We revisit their Baku qualification in a separate story.
Italy interrupts a Russian sweep
In the junior group competition, Italy prevented Russia from taking every junior title, a result that reflected the strength of the Italian group programme from youth level upwards. More in our retrospective on the junior finals.
Why Baku 2019 still matters
Many of the junior group gymnasts in Baku moved into senior groups for the next Olympic cycle. And for the individual seniors, the 2019 season was the build-up to the World Championships that autumn, where Olympic qualification places were at stake.
What to look for if you rewatch
- Risk elements with multiple rotations under a high throw. - Clubs routines, where asymmetric handling separates the very best. - Junior groups' exchanges of apparatus, performed at remarkable speed.
Related
Rhythmic apparatus explained and our Rhythmic Gymnastics discipline page.
