Salome in Full Attack Position for an Olympic Medal

Does Salome Pazhava have a chance to win a medal in Rio? I wish she did!

Her ball routine is one of the most innovative this season, but she has performed all four routines cleanly in most, if not all, recents competition. She has already shown off her style with hoop and clubs as well. If she has a "weak spot," I would say it is ribbon technique, but Salome has definitely earned her spot among the best gymnasts in the world. 

Currently, all of her routines have enough difficulty and expression for her to reach high and try to measure up to Son from Korea, Staniouta from Belarus and Rizatdinova from the Ukraine. I would say she looks much stronger and definitely more exciting to watch than Moustafaeva from France and Rivkin from Israel. She is also in far better shape than the second representative of Belarus, Halkina.

I love her focus, her stamina, her intensity, her unapologetically athletic and powerful style.  Her leotards and music were very well chosen to tell no ordinary fairy tale of a graceful princess, but a story of warrior and dragons. That,  a plot of flying mythical creatures and valiant heroes, is just what I picture when I watch her perform.

Salome Trains in the Cold

I "stole" this picture from one of the Facebook fan pages devoted to gymnastics. It shows the Georgian star Salome Pazhava wearing layers of clothes because the gym where she prepares to dazzle us all doesn't have heat. It pains me to watch how, in the 21st century, an athlete of true world class and grace has to endure this kind of obstacle.

Meanwhile, we have compensated judges, international federation leaders, local federations, former stars. Isn't there someone who could lend a hand to help resolve this shameful situation?

Over the last couple of years Salome has brought a lot of excitement and a truly unique style to rhythmic gymnastics.. She is also the first Georgian to enter, with full force, a fight for the top 6 in Europe and in the World. I am certain that both other gymnasts and fans from around the world deeply value her contribution as an athlete and also as a performer. And as a dreamer. She and her coach have started from zero and have climbed very, very far.

Sometimes dreams may be enough to keep us warm. They are certainly enough to keep us going in times of adversity. But, at this stage of her career, this gymnast deserves a lot more than the fuel of her own dreams. So I still hope that whoever is responsible for heating this facility will do his or her job. Or that another gymnast will perhaps invite Salome to practice in a gym with normal temperature so that she can focus on finding new ways to surprise and inspire us.

European Championship: Who Will Make the Top 8?

The 2015 European Championship for individual seniors and junior groups is less than two weeks away. This year, Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, will host this exciting event.  I hope this means the girls from Belarus will win medals!

As far as the top 8 for this event, I expect that the first 4 will contain two Russians, Rizatdinova from the Ukraine and Staniouta from Belarus. The big question for me is whether Mamun from Russia will perform and whether she will finally show her routines in their shining, flawless quality, especially the clubs. I think Rita has better routines than the other 2 Russians and she deserves to get rewarded for them. Will Rita perform confidently? Nobody can question she has shown masterful execution with hoop and ribbon. But she needs to take the ball routine, and especially the clubs, to the same level.

For spots 4-7, I see the following gymnasts fighting quite an exciting battle: the experienced Neta Rivkin from Israel, the young, but wonderful Katsyarina Halkina from Belarus, and Marina Durunda from Azerbaijan who absolutely  dazzled at the last couple of big tournaments. My preference is for Durunda and Halkina and I hope they motivate more seasoned gymnasts to show new, more interesting routines.Although I love Durunda, I think the home advantage will really boost Halkina in Minsk.  Halkina' s hoop is her strongest exercise, but I also see a lot of promise for her ball routine, which she performs with this elegant blue leotard.

But I would like to hope that Marina Durunda will step up to the challenge to show that she is a better and more interesting gymnast than many in the elite, with very intense routines, and exceptionally clean lines. Marina got a lot of praise for her exciting ribbon routine. I also love her hoop exercise very much and would love to see her receive higher scores for all of her hard work, and all the control and elegance she shows.

Who will take the 8th spot? This is perhaps the most interesting question. While several gymnasts have a chance including Moustafaeva from France, Filanovsky from Israel, and Shafizada from Azerbaijan, my favorites for entering the elite this year are the Greek Varvara Filiou who has added  a lot of difficulty and even more expression to her routines, and, most importantly, the Georgian star Salome Pazhava.  Salome has already shown quite a strong presence, especially with clubs and hoop. Here is Salome preparing for her exceptional dance with knives to traditional Georgian music. Blue does seem to be this season's color!

I would still like to hope that this championship will be a big break for Varvara, who totally deserves a spot among the world's best athletes.

Georgian Salome Pazhava Brings a Powerful Dance Heritage into Gymnastics

This year, 16-year old Salome Pazhava from Georgia, who was a bronze medalist at the junior European Championships in 2012, has showcased an absolutely unique choreography with clubs, which stands out with speed, rhythm and originality. I think this is one of the few routines with clubs  not set to Latin dance music. It looks decisively, unforgivingly better than the other choreographies, because it comes alive with the music's tremendous energy and it takes gymnastics into a different territory.

 Salome represents the inspiring tradition of Georgian folk dances, which have astonished audiences all over the world.  She spins, she jumps, she adds fast step sequences, and she doesn't take a breath:




This routine is from an earlier competition where she received a bit under 17 points for it, but at this year's European Championships in Baku, Salome deservingly got a 17.400 mark, which was the 6th highest score with clubs. Congratulations to Salome's family and friends, and to her coaches and choreographers!

Here is Salome dazzling everyone at Georgia's got talent:




And, finally, if you have not experienced the world treasure that is Georgian folk dance, here is a treat you should not have missed. It will elevate your spirit and speed up the beat of your heart:




One of the most unforgettable experiences in life is to observe a young person reaching the depth of her peoples' roots and growing from them. Salome represents her ancestry with mastery and absolutely contagious emotion. She shows everything a gymnast needs to be: an athlete and an actress at the same time, but also someone who is able to both appreciate and enrich the world's culture.

Here is a photo collage in honor of Salome prepared by my friend Lidia Rozdilsky. With ribbon, Salome performs another very exciting routine, this time to music by Michael Jackson, which I hope to discuss in another blog post.