MINSK, August 5, Andrei Simonenko. Five-time world champion in Rhythmic gymnastics Arina Averina said that participation in the Games of the CIS countries gives new emotions against the backdrop of the absence of many competitions.
II Games of the CIS countries are held in Belarus from 4 to 14 August. The competitions will be hosted by Minsk, Grodno, Vitebsk, Orsha, Mogilev, Gomel, Zhlobin, Soligorsk, Brest, Molodechno and Borisov. The games are played in an open format.
“There is competition, in gymnastics it is huge, girls in Belarus are strong, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and other countries have arrived. During performances, everyone is concentrated, and after we communicate, no one is in a quarrel with anyone. Everything is like one friendly family. We didn’t prepare specially, but we went through a full training course. It’s a very unusual tournament, it’s good that such Games were made, we don’t have enough starts, we were expelled, so this is a charge of new emotions. We must try to go to all competitions and show our high level, » Arina Averina told reporters.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions under its auspices in March 2022 due to the situation in Ukraine. In March 2023, the IOC executive committee recommended that international federations allow Russians who did not support the special operation to compete as neutral athletes. In July, FIG admitted Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions in a neutral status from January 1, 2024.