Israeli Gymnasts Win Gold in Baku Just Before Olympic Games in Rio
The Israeli team brought home several medals from the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) World Cup Final in Rhythmic Gymnastics in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday just two weeks before flying to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The competition ended today with an impressive gold medal for the Israeli team at the ribbons event. The judges awarded the girls 18.500 points, putting them ahead of the Russian team by just 0.15 points.
Israel also took the gold for this event at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships earlier this month.
In addition, the team won a silver medal on July 17 in the group all-around category, which is one of the important categories in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio.
Veteran gymnast Neta Rivkin won the bronze medal during the individual ball event earlier on Sunday.
Rivkin was selected to hold the Israeli flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The 2016 games will be her third as she competed at both the London and Beijing Olympic Games.
“My ambition is to win an Olympic medal. All my efforts are currently focused on the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; I am putting in doing my absolute utmost to do the very best at the Olympics,” said Rivkin.