"We are shocked!" Group exercise gymnasts from the Republic of Karelia talk about the successful performance at the Young Sky Grace

Group exercise gymnasts from the Republic of Karelia became the discovery of the Sky Grace Cup Tournament for the Northwestern Federal District in St. Petersburg, and now won bronze medals. 

Varvara Koroleva, Anastasia Drobatyuk, Elina Klimova, Alina Maevskaya and Taisiya Romanenko performed in the team. The team coaches are Valentina Oinonen and Valentina Leshkovich.

The athletes shared their emotions after the successful performance at the All-Russian competition in the Academy:

"We are shocked. We hoped to at least make it into the top ten. We went out in a collected manner for the first appearance, but in the second we were more relaxed, and we had more fun."

The gymnasts also explained how they were preparing for the event:

"We worked on the height of the throws, the accuracy of the throws, the elements, the synchronicity, and the artistry. We made the program more difficult."

The girls also explained why it is easier to perform in the team that under the individual program:

"In a team, it's one for all and all for one. You have to not let anyone down, throw something to someone, but in a personal program, you have to pull yourself together, there's only you and the apparatus. In a group, the girls give you more positivity, there is support."