Gymnast Salome Pazhava launches competitive season with Moscow Grand Prix bronze

Georgia's medal-winning athlete Salome Pazhava has kicked off her competitive year with a bronze medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix in Moscow on the weekend.

The 22 year-old was third in the final section for Clubs, finishing with 21,000 points. The result saw her end up behind Russian counterparts Dria Trubnikova, first with 32,100 points, and and Dina Averina, who earned silver with 22,500.

The Georgian also competed in hoop and ribbon categories, finishing outside the top five in both. The all-round final saw her end up in seventh.

The medal is the fifth Grand Prix silverware earned with clubs by Pazhava, who is regarded as the top gymnast of the Georgian national team.

Previous medals at GP competitions were earned by the competitor in Brno in 2016, Holon in 2018 and Moscow and Kiyv last year.

With the podium-finishing performance in the Russian capital, the gymnast has boosted her bid for a license to compete at this year's Olympic Games in Tokyo. She will continue the quest at the European Championship and World Cup contests in the run-up to the Olympics.

Beside the five GP medals Pazhava earned the bronze medal at the 2015 European Games in Baku and represented Georgia at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.