The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation announced that Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast Taisia Onofriechuk won the gold medal at the World Challenge Cup in Romania on July 14.
“Our Ukrainian gymnast won the gold medal in the ribbon final with 32.900 points,” the federation said in a Facebook post.
The World Challenge Cup, held in Cluj-Napoca from July 12-14, was the gymnasts’ last chance “to test their routines in front of the judges,” according to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).
Onofriechuk, 16, is the 2024 European Championship bronze medalist in hoops. She will be one of the athletes representing Ukraine at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Just 140 Ukrainian athletes will compete in this year’s Paris Olympics, the country’s smallest ever Olympic participation, due to sports facilities damaged or destroyed during the Russian war and frequent air raid sirens that disrupted training.
In a separate post, the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation said that in addition to Onovriechuk, Ukrainian gymnasts Maria Vysochanska, Diana Baeva, Alina Melnyk, Kira Shylykina and Valeria Peremeta won the bronze medal in the team event and took third place in the final, earning 33.850 points.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Makhchikh set a new world record in the women’s high jump at the Diamond League in Paris on July 7, becoming the first woman to break the 2.10-meter mark.
Ukraine demands Olympic ban for Russian athletes, citing evidence of non-neutrality
Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) and Ministry of Sports on July 5 called for Russian athletes to be banned from taking part in the Olympic Games in Paris, citing evidence that they were supporting the Russian military and violating neutrality rules.
