Vasileva: Azerbaijani gymnastics team’s gold medal at Baku 2017 is historic

By Trend

The gold medal won by Azerbaijan’s gymnastics team today is historic and therefore it will be especially remembered, Mariana Vasileva, head coach of the Azerbaijani national gymnastics team, told Trend May 13.

Vasileva was sharing her feelings with Trend after the Azerbaijani national rhythmic gymnastics team won a gold medal at the Baku 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games on Saturday.

“For me, the main thing is that the girls performed adequately. Before the Games, the team was in a quite difficult situation because the team leader Marina Durunda suffered a serious injury,” said Vasileva. “She hasn’t even fully recovered from her injury.”

Vasileva added that Durunda was very worried before the Games as the athlete was to perform for the first time in the past seven months.

“Zohra Aghamirova, who has no experience, showed herself as a good athlete. I think the girls have made it,” she added.

Vasileva says the Azerbaijani team’s gold medal at the Baku 2017 is historic because these are the first Islamic Solidarity Games to include the rhythmic gymnastics.

“And it is wonderful that this medal was won in rhythmic gymnastics. This medal is first and, of course, everything first is especially remembered. I hope it won’t be our last medal and we will get to the podiums at the World championship as well. We want this very much,” added Vasileva.