2015 Rhythmic Worlds, Stuttgart (GER) - Highlights 1, Hoop+Ball Finals - We Are Gymnastics !

Welcome to Stuttgart, Germany, for the 34th World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. 57 nations are represented here at the Porsche Arena, with both individuals and groups competing. So the stage is set here at the Porsche Arena. There's a lot at stake at these championships. Not only world titles, but this is also the competition that's the all-important qualifier for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. As you can see up there tonight, we have the apparatus finals for both the hoop and the ball. Coming up first, it's the hoop final. It's the usual suspects within the final there. And first up, we have from the Russian Federation, Alexandra Soldatova. Surprise entry for her after Yana Kudratseva withdrew from the hoop qualification competition. She's the third member of the Russian team. And this is a real chance for her to show what she's capable of. She's got that great traditional Russian style. Trains in Moscow alongside teammates Mamoun and Kudratseva. Beautiful little touches there. Strong and precise on the pirouettes. And beautifully held balance. She's got all the body difficulty and she packs in the technique as well. The jump over there. Good start for Russian Federation's Alexandra Soldatova. She looks pleased. As you can see there, she's so precise on all of those technical body elements. Judges will score the gymnasts on difficulty and execution. Very important in these finals for the gymnasts to perform clean routines. It's only the top eight qualifiers, so the competition is really tough. As you can see there, that risky catch there behind the back. And into that scale pirouette high on releve. And she's just waiting for her score to come in there. And it's a good score. It's a score of 18.650 for Alexandra Soldatova. So next up it was the turn of teammate Margarita Mamoun. Very experienced competitor. Very different style to the other Russians. And you can see the maturity in her work. She's 19 years old, this gymnast. All of the Russians are head coached by Irina Vina. But Margarita Mamoun's personal coach is a former world champion herself, Amina Zaripova. There she is. One of the fundamental elements there, passing through the hoop. Strong on the fluetto pirouettes there. Gymnasts must show rotations around different parts of the body with the hoop. And there's her signature element there, the rearward illusion. Oh, beautiful choreography there from Margarita Mamoun. She took the silver medal in last year's world championships in Izmir. So she's going to be looking to take a gold here today. Very capable gymnast. And as you can see, it's just all the little touches there. Rotations, all the connecting moves. She's so precise with them. Timing impeccable there on the catch. She places that hoop exactly where she knows it's going to come down in the right position for the catch. And there she is with her coach, Amina Zaripova. She looks pleased. Patiently waiting for her score to come in. She would love a gold medal at this competition. And she scored an 18.95. So she's gone into the lead. Look of relief on her face. But there's still some more gymnasts to come. And we have in the form of Belarus, Melitina Stanayuta. 21 years old, from Minsk. And coached by Irina Lopatskaya. Incredibly competent gymnast. Lots of experience. She was also two-time world all-around bronze medalist in 2010 and 2013. Nice little rebound there. One of the fundamental elements of the hoop exercise. And the turning split leaps there, passing over the hoop. And a risky little catch there. And again. Really great pirouettes. Good elevation on the leaps. And a dramatic finish there for Melitina Stanayuta of Belarus. She looks pleased with her performance tonight. Really stood out in the qualification rounds, this gymnast. You know, just owned the floor area. Came on very, very confident. There was no sign of any pre-competition nerves or anything. She's got a job to do. And she's come here to do it. She's got quite a traditional style about her. But with lots of interesting choreography. And great little original elements. She looks very happy with her performance. There she is, giving a little wink, waiting for her scores. And the score's in. It's a score of 18.350, which puts her currently into third place. I think she'd be very happy with a bronze medal. Let's see if she can sustain it. So next up from the Ukraine, it's Ganna Ritsadinova. Now, this girl has been so impressive in qualification. Such an expressive gymnast. Real maturity. Now that is something special there. The arabesque attitude pirouette into the passe. On releve the whole time. And there again. Risky catch there. See, she really feels every movement of this routine beautifully done. There's that rotation around the body. And again. So strong on those pirouettes. She really does seem to have come into her own at this competition. Stunning performance from Ganna Ritsadinova. I actually had the chance to speak with her yesterday. And she said how excited she was about this competition. And how she felt she'd had really good preparation beforehand. And you can really see the confidence in her. She took the bronze in last year's all-around world championships. She actually also took another two bronze medals in the clubs and ribbon finals. So she'd be looking to get a medal here in the hoop. And with that performance, I think it's entirely possible. Coached by Derugina. Very famous Ukrainian coach that has produced many amazing gymnasts over the years. And they have a real unique style to their choreography, the Ukrainians. Again, she looks pleased with her performance. Let's see if the score reflects. And it's a good score. It's a score of 18.583, which takes her into third place. Well, what a fantastic hoop final that was. First and second place going to the two Russian teammates. And in first, it's Margarita Mamun, who did an amazing hoop routine. And a score of 18.950. In second, Alexandra Soldatova. And third place going to Ukrainian Ganna Ritsodinova. Well deserved. So there was more finals to come. Next up is the turn of the individual ball final. Pretty similar lineup to the hoop final with a few little changes. We have Belarusian Katerina Halkina. Competing in this one as well. So first up, it's Belarus Melitina Stanauta. Must contain a minimum of six body difficulties in the routine. And these will be assessed by the difficulty panel of judges. And there's one of them. The gymnasts can increase their scores by the more rotations they do. Also with the ball, whether they can catch blindsided or with one hand, will increase the score too. Really enchanting routine, this. And a very risky catch at the end. And she slaps the floor with joy. And a little kiss for the ball. She is very happy with that performance. And she knows it. It was a good one. Showing no signs of nerves at all at this competition. She's come out in the qualifiers and both finals. Guns blazing. She's here and she's going to get some medals. Look at the grace and the elegance there in the attitude pirouette. It almost looks so easy, but it's so difficult. Beautiful elegance throughout. And as you can see there, she knows it's job done. Good evening's work so far for Melitina Stanayuta. Please, please, please, give me a good score. And it is. It's a score of 18.350. And that currently puts her into first place. Well, now it's the defending world champion, Russia's Yana Kudratseva. This routine in qualification was absolutely breathtaking. So let's see what she's got tonight in the finals. Look at that. Caught the back of the hand. So difficult. She really is at the top of her game. The routine just flows. The choreography and music perfectly suited to her style. Every single catch in the routine is unusual. It's different. It's original. Oh, and again there. Back of the hand. So hard. And straight into the roll and the walkover. And again to finish. Absolutely flawless. Is there no stopping this gymnast? She is an absolute unique find in rhythmic gymnastics. And still so young. She's going for her third world title here. And prospects looking very good, obviously, for Rio next year. Such an elegant gymnast. And the Russians know exactly how to produce and extract this talent from the girls. And give them the choreography that matches their individual personalities. You can tell from the Russians the difference in the style of their routines. All have that great basis of strong bodywork. Look at the ease of how she moves on that ball. It's almost like it's just a continuation of her body. She looks happy. She got a big score in qualification in this routine. And it's a big score again. It's 19.025, which takes her straight into the lead. Absolutely fantastic score. So next out we have from Korea Son Yeon Jae. Really quirky gymnast this one. An absolute pleasure to watch. She's 21 years old and trains in Moscow. Excellent. She finished fifth all around at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. So she's no stranger to the big world stage. There the turning split leaps. Into the walkover and the trap behind the shoulders. And she does those luete pirouettes with ease. A vision of pink on the floor. Son Yeon Jae of Korea. Bringing a different style here to the ball final. Well, the competition is tough amongst these finals. All of the eight gymnasts very capable of big scores and getting medals. Gymnasts need to keep full concentration throughout the whole exercise and perform clean routines. You can see in this routine here she's got confidence brimming. She knows exactly what she's got to do. The ball just flows there across the body in the rolls. And she's got the difficulty in there too. So there she is with her coach. Her coach is Veronika Barysovna of Russia. And she scores 18.216 which puts her into third place. She's very happy. Well deserved. So next up again it's Russia's Margarita Mamun. Had a little bit of a wobble with this in qualifications. Dropped the ball but managed to retrieve it before it went outside of the area. So she's going to want to do a clean performance here tonight. Good rebound there off. It was the catch that proved difficult in qualification. She's nailed it tonight. Dynamic stuff from the Russian here. Classic Bolero routine. As I said previously, very different style to Kudratseva. Fantastic combination there. Building to the crescendo. What a finish for Margarita Mamun. All nerves of the first day and the mistake in the ball. They disappeared. She went out tonight and she performed clean exercise. She will be pleased. Such an elegant gymnast. And there she is with her coach, Amina Zaripova. And it's a big score. It's another 19.00. So the two Russians both scoring in the 19s. That puts Margarita Mamun into second place. So as you can see there's the final results of the ball final. It's 1-2 for Russia again. This time Yana Kudratseva and Margarita Mamun. And a bronze medal and well deserved for Belarus' Melitina Stanayuta. Subs by www.zeoranger.co.uk