The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships held in Bulgaria were held in group all-around, and Japan finished in 8th place, failing to qualify for the Paris Olympics at this tournament.

At the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, on the 16th, a group overall competition will be held to compete for the total points of two events, and if you finish in the top three, you can get a quota for the Paris Games the year after next.



Japan, who finished 4th last year, has


captain Ayuka Suzuki,


Nanami Takenaka, two of the members of the Tokyo Olympics team ,

▽Mirika Hayashi


, ▽


Fuka Ikuno, ▽Rinako Inaki, and

▽Chika Nakamura .

I came with 6 players.

In the first event, "Ribbon Ball," Japan made a move to exchange the ball with the ribbon thrown high, but made a mistake in the middle stage and could not increase the score to 26.050.

In the second event, "Hoops," the story is expressed to the tune of "The Phantom of the Opera." Everyone throws their respective hoops in unison from harmonious movements, and catches them in difficult postures one after another. He scored a high score of 33.750 with dynamic performance such as deciding.

Japan finished 8th with a total score of 59.800 for the two events.

The winner was hometown Bulgaria with a total score of 66.600.

Japan would have been the first Japanese team to qualify for the Olympics at this tournament, but they were unable to do so at this tournament.

Due to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, players from powerhouses Russia and Belarus did not participate in this tournament.

Japan placed 4th in the "Hoop" and advanced to the finals of the group events on the 18th, but did not advance to the finals, finishing 13th in the "Ribbon Ball".

















Ayuka Suzuki "I got my revenge on the hoop"

Ayuka Suzuki, captain of the rhythmic gymnastics group Fairy Japan, said, "I think I could have done more with 'Ribbon Ball.' I started acting after telling him to do it with all his heart.

New Fairy Japan

With the addition of new members, the fresh Japanese national team, which started in earnest from this year, took to the big stage.



At the 2019 World Championships, Japan won the silver medal for the first time in 44 years in the team all-around, but at the Tokyo Olympics, although they finished in 8th place, they did not win their first medal.



After the Tokyo Games, the main players who have led the national team for a long time, such as Sayuri Sugimoto, who has been the captain of the Japan national team since 2014, and Rie Matsubara, who has participated in three consecutive Olympics, will retire.



Of the six members this time, only two, captain Ayaka Suzuki (22) and Nanami Takenaka (23), have experienced the Olympics.



With the addition of young members who have never played in the Olympics, Ms. Rika Hayashi (20), Ms. Rinako Inaki (19), Ms. Fuka Ikuno (17), and Ms. Chika Nakamura (17), we have participated in this tournament.

Renewal of strengthening system for the Paris Olympics

In preparation for the Paris Olympics, Japan has renewed its strengthening system and is working to further improve its level.



After the Tokyo Olympics, Hiroko Yamazaki, who had served as head of the strengthening division since 2004, retired, and Yukari Murata, who has participated in two consecutive Olympics, was appointed as head of the strengthening division.



Head of the Strengthening Headquarters Murata reviewed the long-term training camp in Russia, a strong country in rhythmic gymnastics. became.



Additionally, she has honed her ability to express her dynamics as the rules have changed from this season.



Conventionally, points were

contested based on the sum of the


D score, which indicates the difficulty of the


technique, and the E score, which indicates the quality and beauty of

the

technique. This is because not only precision but also expressiveness has come to be emphasized.

Before the tournament, captain Ayuka Suzuki said, "I think she can express her youth and freshness through her dance."