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FIG World Cup in trampoline gymnastics starts in Baku

Xinhua, March 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Azerbaijani female gymnast Sviatlana Makshtarova reached the finals of the two-day FIG World Cup with 99.255 points in trampoline gymnastics, which kicked off here on Saturday.

Belarusian Anna Gorchenok took the first place with 102.160 points. Katherine Driscoll and Pamela Clarke of Britain, Tatiana Petrenya of Belarus, Yana Pavlova and Susanna Kochesok representing Russia, as well as Marina Kiyko from Ukraine have also qualified for the finals.

Some 77 athletes from 17 countries including the United States, Russia, Japan, Australia and Belarus on Saturday started to compete at the first stop in a series of five FIG trampoline gymnastics World Cup events of the 2016 season in Baku.

The first day of the two-day Cup features men's and women's individual and synchronized trampoline competition. Finals will be held on the following day.

Baku hosts the trampoline World Cup for the first time. The competition is underway at the National Gymnastics Arena, which has turned into the constant training camp venue for all gymnastics competitions at the First European Games in 2015.

China, which continues to dominate the sport, is absent from the event. For European trampolinists, the event offers an excellent opportunity to compete on the international stage before the continental championships begin at the end of the month in Valladolid, Spain.

Prior to the competition, Nikolai Makarov, head of the Russian delegation at the event said: "The European Championship in Trampoline, Double Mini-Trampoline and Tumbling will start less than in a month. From this point of view, the FIG World Cup in Trampoline Gymnastics in Baku is a key tournament on the eve of the European Championships. This is also an important test of our strength. We will be able to evaluate our preparation."

"The level at this World Cup will be quite high," said Dmitri Poliaroush of Belarus, member of the FIG Trampoline Technical Committee. "Although it is the first competition of 2016, I think that athletes are ready to perform well, as the Olympic Test Event will be held in Rio de Janeiro in April."

Baku 2015 individual bronze medalist Ilya Grishunin leads the team of host Azerbaijan. Endit