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Saturday, September 30
Russia delivers group rhythmic gold
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Ribbons were swirling, hoops were
spinning and clubs were flying. And no, we're not talking about
practice for the closing ceremony.
Russia won the gold medal in the rhythmic group competition
Saturday, edging Belarus in a tie-breaker. Both teams finished with
39.500 points, but Russia won when each team's highest and lowest
scores -- which had been tossed out -- were put back in.
Belarus took the silver, and Greece won the bronze.
"Russia was instrumental in initiating the group
performances," said Valentina Ivanizkaya, a Russian assistant
coach. "It was their dream to win."
The United States doesn't have a team in either group or
individual. The individual all-around final is Sunday, with world
champion Alina Kabaeva of Russia favored.
Rhythmic gymnastics blends the grace of dance with the skill and
strength of sport. But it still looks more like art than what's
going on across the road at Olympic Stadium.
The Russians came onto the floor for their first event, the
clubs, dressed as if they were performance artists. Either that or
a group on its way to a racy nightclub with their dominatrix-like
outfits: tight black leotards trimmed in silver to look like
bustiers and pants with oval cut-outs all the way up the leg.
Performing to music from "The Matrix," they tossed their clubs
high in the air while contorting their bodies in shapes not seen
since Gumby. They sauntered across the floor with sultry dance
steps, moving in perfect unison and harmony.
The Russians scored a 19.800 for the clubs, the same as Belarus.
In the second event, a combination of the hoops and ribbons, the
Belarussians looked like little girls on a playground. As four team
members pulled three ribbons taught in a crisscross, the fifth
threw a hoop high in the air, letting it drop gently down onto the
ribbons and bounce back up again.
They threw hoops to each other across the floor, deftly catching
the whirling orbs as they balanced on tiptoe. With ribbons swirling
above their heads, they twisted and turned with grace and ease.
The Belarussians were excited when they finished, grinning as
they waited for their marks in "Kiss and Cry," but they had to
wait almost an hour to see if their performance would be good
enough for gold.
It wasn't.
The Russians put on a spirited routine, and came off the floor
pumping their fists in triumph.
"The judging here is much more objective," said Titiana
Vassilieva, another Russian assistant coach. "The people who win
really deserve to win."
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