The Bulgarian ensemble won the title in the all-around, and the home gymnasts also became team champions at the third World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships for Girls in Sofia, BTA reported.
Raja Bozhilova, Yoana Moteva, Anania Dimitrova, Gabriela Traykova, Ivayla Velkovska and Elena Hristova collected a total of 49.900 points, after having 24.500 on five hoops and 25.400 on five pairs of clubs.
In their first performance with five hoops, the students of Kristina Ilieva and Zhanina Ivanova had one mistake and received 24.500 points (9.500 difficulty, 8.100 artistry, 6.900 execution). The Bulgarian headquarters filed a contestation for difficulty with the body, which was respected, but curiously enough the team's score was reduced from 24.900 to 24.500.
On five pairs of clubs, the Bulgarians performed their combination perfectly and received 25.400 points (10.000 difficulty, 8.000 artistry, 7.400 execution).
The team qualified for the finals of both apparatus in the ensembles tomorrow with the first best result in clubs and third in five hoops.
In the all-around, Brazil came in second with 48.900 (23.800 and 25.100), and Ukraine came in third with 48.400 (24.000 and 24.400).
In the team standings, Bulgaria, consisting of Magdalena Valkova, Alexa Rasheva and Anastasia Kaleva, and the girls' ensemble, took first place with 147.350 points, ahead of the USA with 143.200 and Uzbekistan with 141.850.
This is how Bulgaria defended its title in the all-around in the ensembles and in the team standings from the championship in Cluj-Napoca 2023.
A record 35 teams participated in the ensembles in Sofia.
Tomorrow the World Championships continue with the six finals of the individual apparatuses in girls' individual and ensembles, where Bulgaria will not have a representative only in ball. Magdalena Valkova will compete for medals in hoop and ribbon, Anastasia Kaleva in clubs and the ensemble girls in 5 hoops and 5 pairs of clubs. The competition starts at 13:00 and will end around 18:30. The championship will end with a benefit performance by Paris 2024 Olympic vice-champion Boryana Kalein.