Russia was favored to win gold in the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around finals, and they did. Spain secured the silver medal and Bulgaria will take home the bronze.
Russia wins Olympic gold medal in group rhythmic gymnastics
Spain walked away with the silver medal and Bulgaria won bronze.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
The Russian team has dominated the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around for decades, having won gold in the event in five consecutive Olympic Games. Spain had the best shot at dethroning the Russian team this year, and the Spanish team led the field midway through the competition. At that point, Russia trailed both Spain and Bulgaria, but the Russian team rebounded with compelling performances in the hoops and clubs events. The Russian team’s performance propelled it past the Spanish and Bulgarian teams to take the gold with a score of 36.233.
Spain won gold in the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around in 1996, the year it was introduced as an Olympic event, but the Russians have taken top honors in each Olympics since, and Spain hadn’t been able to make it to the podium in that span. They returned to the podium Sunday with a score of 35.766, winning silver.
Bulgaria struggled in the qualifications for the group all-around, squeaking into the finals as the seventh of eight teams, finishing just ahead of Ukraine. In the final, they corrected mistakes in their routine that led to the qualifications score of 34.182. In the final, Bulgaria scored a 35.766, which secured the bronze medal.
Russia dominated the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around, also, with Margarita Mamun taking gold and Yana Kudryavtseva winning silver. Ganna Rizatdinova of Ukraine took the bronze medal.
The United States did have a team qualify for Rio for the first time since 1996, when Team USA was granted the opportunity to compete in the qualifications for rhythmic gymnastics by virtue of representing the host country for the Atlanta Games. The Americans finished last in the qualification round in Rio. Team USA’s Laura Zeng, who represented the United States in the individual all-around, just missed qualifying for the finals by hundredths of a point with a score of 69.841.
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