Tokyo (AFP)

Who - Dina Averina or her twin sister Arina - will allow Russia to perpetuate its supremacy over rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics?

This may be the only unanswered question before the start of the events on Friday, as Russia is unrivaled in the discipline.

Since rhythmic gymnastics joined the Olympic program in 1984, its history has been written almost exclusively in Cyrillic.

Even stronger, since 2000, Russian gymnasts have achieved an impressive clear round with ten titles won out of ten possible.

It is therefore quite natural that the two Russian representatives in the individual event, scheduled from Friday, and the Russian ensemble in the team event, are big favorites.

Russian Dina Averina performs her hoop program at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Games on June 23, 2019 in Minsk Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV AFP / Archives

And the name of the future Olympic champion is hardly in doubt: Averina.

It remains to determine her first name: Dina or Arina.

The first won the last three world titles (2017, 2018, 2019), the second was a silver medalist in 2017 and 2019.

"A silver medal would be a good thing for me and it would not be a failure in my eyes. Any medal is a nice reward for the work done, what hurts is to finish 4th", explained Arina in an interview with the Olympic channel.

Russia's Arina Averina, gold medalist in clubs, at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, on May 21, 2017 in Budapest ATTILA KISBENEDEK AFP / Archives

Long-awaited, her sister wants to approach her first Olympics like a World Championship: "When you feel well prepared, you have no reason to be afraid, you just have to prepare as if it were a normal competition, except that the emotions at the end of a competition like the Olympics will be different, ”she explained.

Russian Dina Averina performs her program with a ball during the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Games on June 22, 2019 in Minsk Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV AFP / Archives

In addition to the 22-year-old Everina sisters, the Russian ensemble can also rely on Anastasia Bliznyuk who was part of the team crowned Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016 and who is aiming for a third Olympic title.

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