This prestigious international event in Kiev the weekend of March 13-15 marked the kick-off of this year's rhythmic Grand Prix circuit and drew 46 competitors from around the world. The majority of the former Soviet republics were represented and a host of gymnasts from the former Soviet Union now represented other countries like Germany's Edita Schaufler, originally from Frunze in Kyrgystan, and Israel's Svetlana Tokayev. Despite this mighty fine field, it was not the competition that made headlines, but rather the controversy. The competition was, in fact, two meets rolled into one. Starting with the actual Deryugina Cup (AA only) on Saturday and continuing with the Grand Prix (event finals only) on Sunday. The grand opening ceremony on Friday evening offered some mesmerizing displays from the Deryugina School gymnasts – both group and individual – mixed with popular Ukrainian pop stars, among them Irina Blokhina, teenage daughter of Irina Deryugina and her football-star-turned-politician husband Oleg Blokhin.
Considering the massive economic problems Ukraine is faced with, it was difficult to secure the actual competition, let alone the opening ceremony. In their quest to keep the meet going, Irina and Albina Deryugina turned to a rather unorthodox sponsor, "Hromada" (meaning "Together"), a union of political parties. The fact that one of the party's leaders is Oleg Blokhin and that Ukrainian general elections were just two weeks away caused more than just a few raised eyebrows across the arena and criticism was voiced more or less directly from various sides. Irina Deryugina herself did not consider "Hromada's" involvement in the meet anything exceptional. Speaking at a press conference before the all around competition, she stated that "this is a sporting event, not a political one. "Hromada" is not receiving anything for their support, we are simply grateful to them since our Sports Committee obviously doesn't see itself capable of supporting this prestigious international tournament." Asked about the possible impact on the upcoming elections, Deryugina denied the deal would in any way influence the outcome of the elections -an opinion few shared in the cold arena of the Sports Palace in Kiev.
The competition also marked the climax of the conflict between Yekaterina Serebrianskaya and the Deryugina School. In a much publicized move, Irina Deryugina invited the 1996 Olympic champion to compete in the Deryugina Cup, but wouldn't let her take part in the Grand Prix. Serebrianskaya's absence from the majority of international competitions last year has dropped her too low in the Grand Prix rankings for automatic qualification, but as national champion, she should have received a wild card according to the Grand Prix rules. (Participation is limited to two gymnasts per country per final, the top three per apparatus from the ranking list are pre-qualified as well as the respective national champions. The other four final contestants qualify via a preliminary competition.) Only after Bruno Grandi, president of the FIG, intervened did Serebrianskaya's name appear on the start list for the hoop final. Ultimately, the 20-year-old from Simferopol withdrew, citing physical and emotional exhaustion, but not without pointing out that the last word on the matter was yet to be spoken.
When the competition got underway, it was Yelena Vitrichenko who took center stage. Her performances from a ethnically inspired clubs routine to a magnificent display with ribbon which left the audience in raptures. Even a dropped club right at the end of her routine could not knock her from first place. The 21-year-old originally hails from Odessa on the Black Sea but has changed clubs to train at a facility set up by former wrestler Boris Savlokhov in Kiev.
"Since [moving to Kiev] we have been able to shrug off all the day-to-day problems we battled with in Odessa," Nina Vitrichenko, Yelena's mother and coach, told the Ukrainian newspaper "Nezavisimost" prior to the Deryugina Cup. No wonder considering the conditions the overall world and European champion was forced to train under in her hometown: "The gym suffered frequent power cuts, there was no hot water and in the winter the temperature dropped to 4 degrees below zero," Nina Vitrichenko recalled. There is another aspect of her life in Kiev that Yelena really enjoys: "In Odessa, nobody knew me, here I'm recognized in the street all the time. People stop me and ask for autographs, one man even wanted me to sign his passport!"
Even if she couldn't beat arch-rival, Russia's Yanina Batyrshina, in the Grand Prix finals (Batyrshina took three titles to Vitrichenko's two), the world champion has no doubts about her competitive future as she announced her intention to continue until the Olympic Games in Sydney.
Second AA, Yanina Batyrshina was as popular in Kiev as all over the world with a group of adoring fans chanting her name before each routine. She might have overtaken Vitrichenko but for a dropped ribbon that earned her a, by current rhythmic standards, measly 9.788 and left her trailing first place 39.658:39.563. Nonetheless, she logged the highest scores for with high energy style hoop (9.95) and more classical clubs (9.90). She would get her revenge in the Grand Prix finals, where she won rope, clubs and ribbon.
In third place was Belarussian Yevgeniya Pavlina who, despite clean and technically brilliant routines, couldn't gain any scoring momentum on the top two. Pavlina now spends some time in Schmiden, a small town near Stuttgart, Germany where legendary coach Galina Krylenko has accepted a coaching position at the TSV Schmiden club, home of 1996 Olympian Magdalena Brzeska.
If their sponsorship deal left room for criticism, the artistic and athletic ability of the Deryugina School's pupils was undisputed once more and spectators were treated to a fine display by veteran Tatiana Popova (4th) who was especially entertaining with her techno clubs as well as the innovative Tamara Yerofeyeva (7th) , known as "Toma" to her friends. Young Anna Bessonova (8th), whose mother Vera was world champion with the Soviet group, is another star in the making. Introduced by the speaker as the "2000 Olympic champion," the 14-year-old impressed the crowd with elegance, perfect lines and wonderful artistry. The Deryugina School quartet was rounded by with 12th placed Natalia Zhadanova. It is noteworthy, that Popova, Yerofeyeva and Zhadanova are all members off the Ukrainian group as well as competing individually.
Perky Yuliya Raskina (BLR) smiled her way to fifth place, but didn't take part in the Grand Prix. Following in sixth was veteran Amina Zaripova, shapelier than before, she has lost nothing of her amazing flexibility and displayed four great classical routines.
Loudly supported by the crowd, Yekaterina Serebrianskaya debuted four new routines. Dropped clubs and ribbon as well as quizzically low marks for execution with rope and hoop left the Olympic champion in 9th place but not completely shattered. "It was very difficult for me coming here and competing. Not only because of the situation in Ukrainian rhythmic gymnastics but also because I had put on weight and had to work hard to get back into shape. I presented four new routines her and I'm happy about that."
Germany's Edita Schaufler finished in 10th place after shaking off a bad bout of the flu just days before leaving for Kiev.
The Grand Prix circus' next stop will be Bratislava, Slovakia April 4-5, followed by the DTB Cup in Bochum April 17-19. Both promise to be entertaining competitions and who knows- maybe even Yekaterina Serebrianskaya will show up!