“This is our team medal, so the appreciation goes to the entire team!” Mariia Borisova summed up the results of the AEON Cup

Silver medalist in the AEON Cup all-around Mariia Borisova from St. Petersburg told us about her impressions of the world club championship and also shared reminiscences of performing at the tournament last year. 

"I am so happy! I am so happy that our team won. By the way, I’d like to note that our very first international tournament as the Russian team was right here in Japan, at the AEON Cup. And now, a year later, we came back, and we managed to win as a whole team. Back then, it was our first international competition, and I was incredibly nervous and worried. But now, I could say it’s the final international event of the season, so I didn't feel that level of intense anxiety."

She also talked about the new hopp routine.

"I really love the production itself; it was staged by Irina Borisovna Zenovka. I like the music, too. We are going to keep adding more difficulty of apparatus. I missed some things, there were some minor mistakes, but overall I’m happy with my performance, especially since it was a debut and turned out quite well. Alina Maratovna watched it; there is a video exactly from Novogorsk where she was reviewing the hoop routine and adding her own very interesting signature elements. And I hope I managed to showcase them to the fullest here. I feel that after working with Alina Maratovna, the routine became very... even more beautiful. The artistry is really something there. All those different transitions. In short, it definitely added to the artistry. And after that, Alina Maratovna paid extra attention to the hoop routine to make it absolutely perfect." 

Masha thanked everyone who helped her with the preparation.

"Alina Maratovna was in touch with us throughout the preparation. Thanks so much to her for being there, supporting, and helping us, because after my first performance, things weren't going so smoothly emotionally. She helped me get into the right mindset, pull myself together, and after that, my hoop routine went really well. I am incredibly grateful! I also want to thank Irina Nikolaevna; we are always together. Every tournament, every practice, through all the ups and downs, we go through them together, through all the difficult and happy times. I want to thank the entire Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy, all the staff, and the Russian Gymnastics Federation. This is our team medal, so I want to express my gratitude to the entire team, to the whole Russian team!"

Mariia Borisova from St. Petersburg is a partner of the Sky Grace International Association, as are Yana Zaikina from Volgograd and Sofia Ilteryakova from Moscow. All three gymnasts represented the Association as partners at the AEON Cup.