Gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

() is a popular sport in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

History

Gymnastics was introduced to

in the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period when Azerbaijani gymnast Lina Vinnikova participated in the 1961 world tournament in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Aside from

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...

started to develop in

after the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. Rhythmic gymnastics was particularly boosted after

Mehriban Aliyeva Mehriban Arif gizi Aliyeva (; born 26 August 1964) is an Azerbaijani politician and physician who is the Vice President of Azerbaijan, vice president and First Lady of Azerbaijan, First Lady of Azerbaijan. She is married to Ilham Aliyev, the pre ...

become President of the

Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation Public Association () is the overall governing body of the sports of gymnastics in Azerbaijan. The disciplines covered by its activities include artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sp ...

in 2002. Azerbaijan has produced many notable and talented gymnasts including

Valery Belenky Valeri Vladimirovich Belenki (, ; born 5 September 1969) is a retired Azerbaijani artistic gymnast who competed in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. Career Belenki was born and raised in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union (present day Azerbaija ...

Aliya Garayeva Aliya Nurgayanovna (Nikolayevna) Garaeva (Garayeva) (; ), born 1 January 1988 in Yekaterinburg, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a retired Azerbaijani individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented Russia (until 2005), and Azerbaijan (2006-2012). S ...

, Anna Gurbanova,

Dinara Gimatova Dinara Nailevna Gimatova (, ; born 18 November 1986 in Astrakhan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is an Azerbaijani gymnast of Volga Tatar ethnicity. Career Dinara entered to the Olympic Reserve School led by Ludmila Tikhmirova, merited coach of US ...

and hosted big competitions like the

2005 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships XXVII World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Baku the capital of Azerbaijan, 3–10 October 2005 at the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex The Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex is the main exhibition space of ...

, 2007 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships,

2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships The 25th Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships was opened on May 15, 2009, in Baku, Azerbaijan in the Heydar Aliyev Sports-Concert Complex and ended on May 17. 186 gymnasts from 32 countries were scheduled to participate. Gazelle has chosen ...

and

2014 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships The 30th Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships took place from June 10 to June 15, 2014 at the then newly opened National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. 33 participating federations with their juniors and seniors gymnasts participate ...

. As of November 2013, Yulia Inshina and Anna Pavlova will be representing

. In 2015, the

National Gymnastics Arena The National Gymnastics Arena is an indoor arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. The venue is mainly used for gymnastics. Overview National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan was designed by Broadway Malyan and sport specialisBDP Pattern PASHA Constructi ...

was built in

Events

The first sporting championship in 5 disciplines of gymnastics (Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline Gymnastics, Acrobatic Gymnastics and Aerobic Gymnastics) – the Joint Gymnastics Championships in Azerbaijan – was organized in August 2014. In December 2014, an Inter-regional Cup was conducted in the framework of Azerbaijan and Baku Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship. In March 2015, the Open Joint Azerbaijan Championship in Gymnastics was organized as a test event before

Baku 2015 The 1st European Games (), also known as the 2015 European Games or Baku 2015 (), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the Europe ...

. Azerbaijan hosted several international championships in gymnastics:

Medal winners

References

External links

Official website of Azerbaijani Gymnastics Federation
{{Gymnastics by country Sport in Azerbaijan

History

Events

Medal winners

See also

References

External links