"The gymnasts have all become so different and so interesting that competing against them is now for us twice as exciting". Tatiana Sergaeva talks about the results of the World Cup in Sofia

The head coach of the Russian national team, Tatiana Sergaeva, summed up the results of the World Cup stage in Sofia and named the points that our athletes need to work on:

"Expectations were to go out there, perform, and see how it turns out. The atmosphere is wonderful, and the public is fantastic. We enjoyed the tournament. First of all, based on the results, I liked it. I'm really pleased with how our team performed. They're really great. They withstood a heavy burden, including an emotional one. And they all performed very, very decently, from the little ones to the adults, everyone did a great job. This is just the beginning. That is why we must not stop under any circumstances. There are still plenty of mistakes. I already know what needs to be worked on. I know this because I spent almost the entire competition in the stands specifically to watch our girls in comparison with the world’s top gymnasts. So now we're heading home and getting back to active work. In person, everything feels completely different. That’s why I noticed so many subtle details that we’re missing. We'll start working on this as soon as we arrive."

The specialist noted the memorable gymnasts:

"I really liked the Bulgarians. That's exactly what I mean, the group exercise team. A very interesting team. China has a very interesting team. As for the gymnasts in the individual event, there are, of course, clear favorites. Sofia Raffaeli also gave a great performance today. I really liked it. Alina Harnasko is truly amazing; she definitely won us all over with her ribbon performance today. I think that we will compete with all of them."

Tatiana Vladislavovna told how the world gymnastics has changed:

"It changed; do you know in what way? The gymnasts have all become so different and so interesting that competing against them is now for us twice as exciting. They have made significant steps forward exactly in terms of artistry. Exactly. From the body technique standpoint, I could see today that we're at a very good level. We really need to work hard on artistry."

The group exercise gymnasts won gold medals in the all-around and in the exercise with three hoops and two pairs of clubs, and silver in the routing with five balls at the debut international tournament in Bulgaria. Sofia Ilteryakova came in second in the hoop.