By Richa Naidu
PARIS (Reuters) – Before striding on to the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics platform to perform her hoop routine, Germany’s Margarita Kolosov took a breath, squared her shoulders and flung a small towel to the floor.
Tossing a towel on the floor prior to a routine as if throwing down the gauntlet is a ritual made fashionable by Russian gymnasts and several other athletes performed it on Thursday at the individual all-around qualifiers.
It is just a small example of Russia’s cultural influence on the sport and its gymnasts, some of whom, including Kolosov, speak Russian or have roots in that country. Coaches from Russia dotted the Porte de La Chapelle arena on Thursday during qualifiers.
Russia are not in Paris this year, however, because of sanctions put in place after the invasion of Ukraine.
Still, there is no doubt that Russia’s imprint remains.
Russia and other former Soviet states have won 34 of the 48 medals up for grabs since the 1984 Los Angeles Games, which the Soviet Union boycotted.
Many of the most decorated rhythmic gymnasts are Russian, from two-time Olympic gold medallists Evgeniya Kanaeva to Alina Kabaeva, who has two Olympic medals, 14 World Championship medals and 21 European Championship medals.
Russia’s success owes much to Irina Viner, 76, the team’s head coach since 2001 and president of Russia’s rhythmic gymnastics federation.
“There is no particular secret to the question why Russia has been so dominant,” Rio gold medallist Margarita Mamun has previously said. “Irina Viner plays a big part in it. The bar is set so high now, and that is only growing every year.”
BIG INFLUENCES
Sofia Raffaeli of Italy topped the qualifiers in Paris on Thursday. If she wins on Friday, she will take home Italy’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport. Her hero? Russia’s Yana Kudryavtseva, the Rio Olympic all-around silver medallist and three-time world champion.
Of the 24 athletes vying on Thursday for a spot in the individual all-around final at least nine spoke Russian, including top seed Darja Varfolomeev of Germany, Australia’s Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva and Zohra Aghamirova of Azerbaijan.
Kiroi-Bogatyreva, whose hero is Russia’s Yevgeniya Kanayeva, declined to comment on how Russia had influenced the sport and what its absence had meant for the competition in Paris.
Russia’s Natalia Sokolova coaches 15-year-old Russian-born-and-trained Cypriot Vera Tugolukova, who began competing for Cyprus at the end of 2022.
Yevgeniya Vilyayeva of Russia trains Azerbaijan’s Aghamirova, while Russia’s Elena Drozhanova coaches Ekaterina Vedeneeva.
For world number one Varfolomeev, it is not important that Russia are absent from Paris.
“I concentrate on myself and I try to make my routines clean. It’s unimportant, to me,” she said.
Varfolomeev was about 12 years old when she moved to Germany alone from Russia to pursue her dreams of becoming a competitive rhythmic gymnast.
Now 17, she is a celebrated German athlete whose face was on a series of Paris 2024-themed postage stamps circulated in that country, and won all five individual gold medals at the world championships in Valencia, Spain, last year.
Nine other women have qualified for the Olympic final, and several are from countries that have never medalled in the sport, with Russia’s absence leaving room for their success.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu; editing by Clare Fallon)
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