Salome Pazhava takes home Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix gold

Georgia’s Olympic athlete Salome Pazhava was crowned a winner at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix in Kiev as the prestigious competition was rounded off in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday.

The 21-year-old was first in the clubs section of the event called “one of the highest level competitions” by the United Georgian Gymnastics Federation.

With a combined 19.700 points, the Georgian gymnast finished ahead of Ukraine’s Khrystyna Pohranychna (19.650) and Russia’s Daria Trubnikova (19.600) in the discipline.

Pazhava also competed in the International Tournament “Deriugina Cup”, a competition running in parallel with the Grand Prix in Kiev.

The Georgian gymnast is an Olympic athlete and a medal-winner of international competitions. Photo: United Georgian Gymnastics Federation.

The 24th edition of the cup saw her end up fourth with ribbons, behind Bulgaria’s Katrin Taseva and the Ukrainian duo of Yeva Meleshchuk and Vlada Nikolchenko.

The Georgian gymnast’s results are a continuation of her successes at international contests over the recent years.

She won three medals including a gold at the 2016 Bucharest Grand Prix, at the age of 18, and a bronze medal at the 2015 European Games in Baku.

Salome Pazhava in competition in Kiev. Photo: United Georgian Gymnastics Federation.

Pazhava also appeared for Georgia at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, competing in all four rhythmic gymnastics disciplines.

Two more athletes of the Georgian team were in competition at the Deriugina Cup, with Natela Bolataeva appearing among seniors and Nutsa Janashvili entering the juniors’ section.

The Grand Prix was held between March 14-17, while the Deriugina Cup ran in the Ukrainian capital between March 16-17.

Both competitions were hosted at the city’s Palace of Sports.