Russian women grab gold at Artistic Gymnastics Worlds
History has been made in the Netherlands with Russia claiming their first-ever team gold at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
A couple of country's gymnasts did in fact tumble off the uneven bars in Rotterdam.
But luckily for Russia, their rivals were not flawless either, securing them their first gold in the team all-around event since the fall of the Soviet Union. The last World’s gold came in 1991, while they were second in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and third in 1994 and 2006.
The winners – Ekaterina Kurbatova, Aliya Mustafina, Tatiana Nabiyeva, Anna Dementyeva, Ksenia Afanasyeva and Ksenia Semyonova – dedicated their gold medal to the late Yuri Ryazanov, who died in a car accident one year ago, just days after winning the all-around bronze at the 2009 Worlds.
Russia’s six-strong team won by a slight margin over then holders the United States. Olympic champions China had to settle for bronze.
Russia scored highest in the vault and floor disciplines, with the Chinese best on uneven bars and the United States the beam.
