19-26 September 2010

For the first time, the world rhythmic gymnastics championship – the 30th in the series – has been held in Russia. And that’s great, because finally, after 30 years, the world championship is taking place in Russia, the country that gave the world this sport.

And although I had quite a busy schedule during that period I couldn’t resist going along to support our team, our little girls and our trainers.

Just before the competition began the Olympic training federation and centre put on a wonderful display featuring not only famous gymnasts who had won previous championships and Olympiads, but also winners of the junior competitions. The production, music, costumes and standards of performance were all wonderful (Irina Chaschina flying about beneath the dome was just amazing!).

After watching the first few performances I couldn’t help going “backstage” where the girls were training. And I have to say that the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation gave them some excellent conditions to train in: they had laid out as many as 12 carpets, with plenty of room for all 50 country teams. The participants said that they had never seen conditions like this at any other competition. I really enjoyed watching the training sessions and chatting to the gymnasts and trainers. I spoke to Zhenya Kanaeva – what a star she is! I think any type of sport could only dream of having performers like Zhenya. So yes, it’s really nice that our gymnasts are the best. And not only in the individual events, but also the girls in the team event who got a good result, even if they didn’t come first. They have a fascinating and spectacular programme. So in a word, the Russian team has a very long reserves bench, which makes me confident that we’ll do well at the London Olympics.

Overall, I would say that rhythmic gymnastics standards have improved noticeably in recent years in every country, not just Russia. This was vividly demonstrated by the championship. And I’m not just talking about the technical side, because rhythmic gymnastics is not only about technique: it’s also about grace, artistry, emotions… I always focus on these aspects of a gymnast’s performance. So that’s why I had the idea of establishing a special prize “For Artistry” at the championship. The first person to win this prize was Ulyana Trofimova, a gymnast from my own home town of Tashkent. No because we’re both from the same place, of course, but because she really deserved the prize! Ulyana is an amazing gymnast - very emotional and artistic. The images she created in her performance were enjoyed not only to me, but also by the spectators and even by her rivals from other countries.

The competition is now over and the best contestants won. But I have to say that all the gymnasts who took part in the world championship did a great job. After all, to get to a competition at that level you have to work really hard. Rhythmic gymnastics is developing well and I’m proud that our athletes are making such a strong contribution to its development.