The group gymnasts from the Academy and the Russian National team speak about their preparations for the third stage of the Cup of the Strongest

The group gymnasts from the Academy and the Russian National team became champions of the third stage of the Cup of the Strongest among juniors. The team includes Alina Chistyakova, Vladislava Gaivoronskaya, Alisa Kirpicheva, Alexandra Ponomareva, Elvira Belyaeva, and Darya Khoroshilova.

The gymnast from the team, Alexandra Ponomareva, shared how they prepared for the competition:

"Three new girls joined us: Alina Chistyakova, Daria Khoroshilova, and Elvira Belyaeva. All of them were born in 2012. We gave them a very warm welcome. We are so happy that they are part of our lineup now. Veronika Borisovna is very demanding when it comes to our clean execution, beautiful lines, gorgeous leg and arm extensions, and above all — artistry, because under the new rules, this is incredibly important. Artistry, facial expression, she pushes us a lot on this, and we do our best to follow all her instructions. We have definitely grown; Veronika Borisovna has actually done an immense amount of work. We’ve become much more confident in executing our elements because we practice them with her over and over again."

The athlete shared important advice from Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva and thanked everyone who helped and supported them:

"Alina Maratovna told us that everyone must play her own part. You look at your partner, and she becomes your reference point. She supported us so much and helped us out. She was always by our side, and that was a huge help for us. Her energy and her presence mean the world to us. We want to say a huge thank you to Alina Maratovna for believing in us and supporting us. We value her so much and love her. We also want to express our deepest gratitude to our coaches and choreographers: Daria Olegovna, Veronika Borisovna, and Anna Pavlovna for contributing to us. We want to say a massive thank you to our fans for supporting and loving us. You help us so much; your energy is priceless. Thank you."

The team took top honors in the all-around competition, as well as in the five-ball and five-ribbon events. These Academy group gymnasts are the active Russian junior champions. They live and train at the Alina Kabaeva Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy. Their coach is Daria Pirogova, and their choreographer is Veronika Shatkova.