Three San Diego Rhythms teams won first place in their respective levels at the Group 1 Qualifying Tournament Dec. 9-10. Rhythm groups took gold medals at Level 4, Level 5 and Level 6 in the country’s largest rhythmic gymnastics region – where a total of 133 teams competed. The same girls won the national championship this year and are training with the 2024 Olympics in their sights.
“The kids have really big dreams for our club,” said the group’s coach Marina Kozlova, who was a professional athlete for 16 years in Russia before coming to the United States.
Sofia Minevich, a rhythmic and artistic gymnast and former figure skater from Russia, founded the Rhythms program in Carmel Valley in 2001. The program has since grown into one of the most popular in the country. Athletes now train at the San Dieguito Boys & Girls Club Polster Branch and Pacific Highlands Ranch Recreation Center.
Tier 4 Regional Group Champions Emma Noh, Jenny Kim and Liesel Southwick.
(SD Rhythms)
The groups became an intense focus of beats. Although the United States did not qualify as a team for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be on home soil, and Kozlova believes there will be places for them to compete.
She said: “At the present time, our students are young… and we have four years to grow and prepare.” “We imagine a long way forward and we are looking forward and trying to achieve our goal.”
Dedicated gymnasts train six days a week for three to four hours. In addition to being physically prepared, working together as a group has big benefits for their social development as well, Kozlova said.
Since the children are still young, in the group they only perform floor routines, and no devices such as straps or balls have been incorporated yet. The girls perform coordinated body formations as well as synchronized dancing and jumping over each other, moving with grace, flexibility and strength. As Kozlova said, their performance is dynamic and very interesting for the audience to watch.
The regional competition marked the biggest event of the season so far. In addition to training for groups, the girls will also perform as individual athletes this season, as San Diego Rhythms gymnasts have won regional and national championships in individual events and, since 2021, have won every team competition at USA. The 2023 National Champions are looking forward, preparing and anticipating success.
“We hope our example and experience will help the entire province succeed. The United States has never won a medal in group routine at the Olympics… I hope we change the game and I hope we fight for a medal for the first time in history,” Kozlova said. “Our club and our students have a chance Powerful to achieve history. There are no guarantees but we work hard to achieve this goal.