The 29th European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Vienna, Austria, in 2013. The final day brought the junior group final and the four senior individual apparatus finals.
Junior groups
Eight junior groups reached the final: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine. Russia won with 17.150. Azerbaijan took silver and Belarus bronze, with Italy fourth, less than a tenth behind the podium, ahead of Bulgaria.
Senior apparatus finals
The eight best seniors on hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon competed in the afternoon. Russian gymnasts won almost every title. The exception was ribbon, where a mistake left Yana Kudryavtseva in bronze position. She was still one of the stars of the championships, with a ball routine that was singled out in the original report as the most memorable of the weekend.
Context
2013 was the first year of a new Olympic cycle, and Kudryavtseva was at the start of the run that made her three-time world all-around champion between 2013 and 2015.
What to take from Vienna
– Junior group finals are close: a tenth separated fourth from third. – A single mistake in an apparatus final can decide a medal, even for the strongest gymnast.
For the next editions see the 2015 Europeans in Minsk and the 2016 Europeans in Holon.
