"She gained confidence!" Coach Ekaterina Gvozdetskaya talks about Kristina Voitenko’s performance at the BRICS Games

During the BRICS Games, judge and coach Ekaterina Gvozdetskaya, who together with Irina Dzyuba takes part in the training of Academy student Kristina Voitenko from Novosibirsk, assessed the athlete’s progress.

"We were very responsible in preparing for this competition. Kristina was at the Academy, I know that they worked very hard, from morning to evening. We worked through all the mistakes, all the programs, and switched to FIG rules. I was on a video call with Irina. First of all, she gained confidence, that is, she became more emotional and gave out a good presentation, good artistry. She began to move wider on the floor, she picked up speed. The positions became more throughout. It is clear that a large, large team is working on her program, everything has been thought out to the smallest detail," Ekaterina said.

The coach also noted the advantages of the International Association rules.

"I think that for an experienced athlete, and for, let’s say, a skilled athlete, it is not worth any effort to switch from one rule to another. It definitely isn’t hard for Kristina. The coaches thought about this enough when they were making the program, they immediately thought that this could be done both according to FIG and Sky Grace rules. I think that now the more modern people, who follow both the rules, will find this middle ground, when they can very easily change lanes. This is a big bonus of the Sky Grace rules," she said.

In Kazan, Kristina Voitenko became the all-around champion among juniors. The athlete represented the International Sky Grace Rhythmic Gymnastics Clubs Association team.