2024-08-08 00:48:55
President of European Gymnastics (EG) Farid Gaibov shared his impressions of the Olympics.
As reported by İdman.biz, in the traditional column “Notes of the President” on the website of the organization he heads, he spoke about the Summer Games and other events.
“A month of real emotions is the best expression to describe this hot July. Paris, lit by the Olympic flame, finally raised the curtain to reveal exquisite performances by world sports stars…
… Yes, finally, because the wait for athletes and coaches to participate in the qualifying competitions and get into the heart of Paris was too long, even despite the shortest three-year Olympic cycle we have ever had,” Gaibov emphasized.
He noted that the first of the gymnastic disciplines to enter the competition were artistic gymnasts.
“The beauty of any sporting event is to see a crowded place, which means the sport is popular and people are coming together to support the stars of their favourite discipline. The rush to get tickets to watch 13 Olympic champions, including Simone Biles (USA), Nina Derwaele (BE), Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE) and Max Whitlock (GBR), when all the tickets were sold out, means a lot. You could see celebrities in the crowd. This is very good for our sport. I really hope that the participation of celebrities in our World and European Championships will continue, which will contribute to the further growth of the popularity of gymnastics.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the athletes for the magnificent gymnastics show they put on. The excitement from the qualification was the same as from the final. In women’s artistic gymnastics, the team competitions were extremely interesting. The Italian women’s team, chasing the USA, won the silver medal after 96 years. The men’s all-around competitions also stood out. Oka Shinosuke (Japan) became the Olympic champion, making his debut at the Games. History was written for Ireland when three-time European champion Reece McClenaghan performed a superb routine on the pommel horse to win the Olympic title. Alisa D’Amato continued Italy’s success by becoming her country’s first Olympic champion on the balance beam,” said the head of EG.
He also talked about trampoline jumping competitions:
“I was pleased to see a packed house. One of the favourites in the women’s event, Bryony Page (GBR), added to her previous Olympic medal haul by winning gold in Paris. Ivan Litvinovich (AIN) managed to retain his Olympic title. The competitions, both the qualification and the final, were a breeze.”
Gaibov emphasized that multi-sport competitions provide an excellent opportunity to see performances of other sports disciplines, meet with colleagues, communicate and exchange opinions, see what is new in other sports disciplines and discuss the impact of these innovations on gymnastics if they are applied.
“I was very happy to see all my colleagues, the presidents of the National Olympic Committees and National Gymnastics Federations. And the members of the Executive Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation discussed the issues reflected in the agenda of its regular meeting from July 30 to August 1. The World Cup and Challenge Cup series were distributed for the next cycle, changes were proposed to the special judging rules for rhythmic gymnastics and the Appendix to the Code of Rules was approved.
The Olympic excitement continues to this day. The rhythmic gymnastics community is looking forward to the opportunity to participate in the Paris Games. I wish everyone to fully enjoy the remaining days of the exciting Olympic Games,” concluded Gaibov.
İdman.biz