Russia rallies for gold in rhythmic gymnastics group final

Spain, the highest scorers in qualifying, opened the first apparatus with a 17.800, and Russian Federation, performing third, could only manage a 17.600, despite opting for the exact same difficulty.

Spain walked away with the silver medal, and Bulgaria won bronze. Spain led the way in qualifying and after the first apparatus but had to settle for silver, while Bulgaria took bronze.

Team Russia wave from the podium before receiving their gold medals during the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016.

“We represented our country with honor, despite having to deal with very big difficulties”, said the team’s coach, Ira Vigdorchik.

They performed slightly better in the three clubs and two hoops, scoring 8.800 for difficulty and 8.833 for execution, giving them an overall total of 17.633 – and fifth best from all the teams.

Spain won gold in the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around in 1996, the year it was introduced as an Olympic event, but the Russians have taken top honors in each Olympics since, and Spain hadn’t been able to make it to the podium in that span.

A display full of grace and elegance allowed Margarita Mamun to capture the individual all-around gold on Saturday and stretch Russia’s dominance in rhythmic gymnastics into a fifth straight Olympics. “Yes, Russia is strong in rhythmic gymnastics but we’re getting there”.

On Friday, Israel’s Neta Rivkin failed to advance past the qualifying rounds in the individual rhythmic gymnastics, when her final total score of 69.223 was not enough to earn her a place in the top 10.

On Saturday, the team scored 17.633 in the second rotation of hoops and clubs, securing sixth place and therefore a spot in Sunday’s medal-chasing final eight.