"It is very important that the tournament takes place in a positive, friendly atmosphere, and that every child leaves here happy!" Marina Lobach talks about the tournament in Minsk

Marina Lobach is the first-ever Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics in the history of Soviet sport. She provided more details about the format of the competitions for her prizes:

"The tournament had a very difficult beginning, as organizing such events used to be quite challenging; however, things have become more and more interesting over the years. I am truly delighted that it has now grown into such a large-scale event. At one point, we asked ourselves, why should the girls always compete solely for their own teams? They put in so much effort and feel things so deeply — we really wanted our gymnasts to form friendships with one another. So, we came up with a format where gymnasts of various ages and from different countries join the same team. They even draw their own team assignments, I saw them doing it this time; their little hands were shaking, and they were so anxious about the outcome! But for me, what matters most is that the tournament takes place in such a warm, positive spirit, and that every child leaves here happy."

Marina Vikentyevna also shared where she draws her inspiration from:

"I probably draw inspiration, first and foremost, from my gymnasts and from this sport, because it is music and grace, and there is much in the world that is similar to our compositions. That is likely what makes it possible to keep coming up with new ideas."

She noted that each gymnast requires an individual approach:

"Every coach has their own nuances: they work with a specific gymnast over a long period and know exactly how to communicate with her, after all, what works for one might not work for another. I might suggest doing something a certain way, but a particular child might need something entirely different.Sometimes a gymnast needs a bit of sympathy, sometimes a reprimand; sometimes you need to choose just the right words, and other times it’s better to say nothing at all, letting her handle it on her own."