{"id":316229,"date":"2021-08-06T00:12:33","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T21:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/long-dominated-by-russia-rhythmic-gymnastics-rising-in-us\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T00:12:33","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T21:12:33","slug":"long-dominated-by-russia-rhythmic-gymnastics-rising-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/long-dominated-by-russia-rhythmic-gymnastics-rising-in-us\/","title":{"rendered":"#Long dominated by Russia, rhythmic gymnastics rising in US"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf2c53affe\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bf2c53affe\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/long-dominated-by-russia-rhythmic-gymnastics-rising-in-us\/#Follow_all_the_2020_Olympics_action\" >Follow all the 2020 Olympics action<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Long dominated by Russia, rhythmic gymnastics rising in US<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>TOKYO \u2014 In the darkest days of the pandemic, Evita Griskenas was stuck practicing in her parents\u2019 Illinois basement, occasionally breaking lightbulbs as she tossed clubs and hoops through the air and cartwheeled to catch them.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MBNtgb5jz8Q\" class=\"\">song\u00a0<\/a>she had never heard started playing. Griskenas, a rhythmic gymnast, doesn\u2019t so much hear music as she sees it: melodies become hoops spinning across the floor; drumbeats bounce like balls. This song felt wild, like ribbons whipping in wind.<\/p>\n<p>Often the forgotten genre of Olympic gymnastics, her sport is like combining its more famous cousin, the artistic gymnastics practiced by superstars like Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, with ballet and a circus. Gymnasts dance as they throw and catch items \u2014 hoops, balls, ribbons, a pair of clubs \u2014 bending and twisting across a carpet so quickly it\u2019s often impossible for the untrained eye to understand its intricacy.<\/p>\n<p>In her parents\u2019 basement, Griskenas danced to this strange song and as it ended with a thunderous saw of a violin, she struck a pose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an Olympic quality song,\u201d she remembers thinking: \u201cI can imagine myself in Tokyo, hearing this as the final du-dun!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now when she thinks of that moment, she gets emotional because it will soon come true: Griskenas is part of the first full rhythmic gymnastics team the United States has ever sent to an Olympics. She is one of two individual performers to qualify to compete this weekend, along with a five-woman team that performs perfectly in synch. In this sport dominated since its inception by Russia, America\u2019s rhythmic gymnasts say they hope their increased presence in Tokyo could mark a turning point for the sport back home, where they are often dismissed as ribbon twirlers and hula hoopers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Laura Zeng, second from left, and Evita Griskenas, second from right, from the United States pose with their coaches after an individual rhythmic gymnastics training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics\" class=\"wp-image-19038386 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197915241.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197915241.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197915241.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197915241.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197915241.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Laura Zeng, second from left, and Evita Griskenas, second from right, from the United States pose with their coaches after an individual rhythmic gymnastics training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re out here making history,\u201d said Lili Mizuno, a member of the five-women team, who says there\u2019s so much packed into their performances, she believes if people see it they will fall in love. \u201cThere\u2019s so much going on every single second. You could put the video in slow motion and still have so much to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twirling the satin ribbon \u2014 nearly 20 feet long \u2014 requires keeping their wrists in constant motion, for instance. They roll the balls and hoops around their bodies. They launch the clubs into the air then acrobat to the opposite side of the 40-foot competition floor to catch them the precise moment they fall. Point deductions are taken for a stray throw, a wayward ribbon, a missed catch.<\/p>\n<p>It is intended to look effortless, but to make it so, they trained all day every day for months.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Evita Griskenas from the United States\" class=\"wp-image-19038389 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197432688.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197432688.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197432688.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197432688.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197432688.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Evita Griskenas from the United States practiced in her parents\u2019 Illinois basement during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe feel like we deserve more spotlight than we get,\u201d said Camilla Feeley, a member of the team. \u201cPeople in the U.S. just don\u2019t understand what this sport is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Feeley calls herself the hoop-bearer because she likes to carry all six hoops when they <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>. As they took off for Tokyo, she said, a flight attendant tried to stop her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re heading to the Olympics, I need this by my side the whole time,\u201d Feeley told the attendant. She thinks of the hoops as like her children and feels incomplete without the weight of them in her hand, so she bargains to get them on board: \u201cThey\u2019re just confused. I\u2019m sure it\u2019s not every day that they have rhythmic gymnasts board their plane.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Evita Griskenas front in red, of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session\" class=\"wp-image-19038425 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197411641.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197411641.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197411641.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197411641.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197411641.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Evita Griskenas performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Most of their equipment must be ordered from overseas. Their toe shoes \u2014 specific to rhythmic gymnastics because the toes are covered but heel left bare \u2014 cost about $30 a pair, and they can go through them in a week or two, depending on the roughness of the competition carpet. Sometimes to avoid buying new ones, they patch them up with medical tape.<\/p>\n<p>Their counterparts in other countries are often shocked to learn they don\u2019t get paid. They receive some support, but nowhere close to covering the cost of training, travel and equipment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t even get me started about the leotards,\u201d said Mizuno. They are mostly made by seamstresses in Russia, where rhythmic gymnastics is a wildly popular sport. They are so covered in crystals they can weigh as much as 10 pounds and cost thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Evita Griskenas of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session\" class=\"wp-image-19038433 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197231628.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197231628.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197231628.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197231628.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197231628.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Evita Griskenas doesn\u2019t so much hear music as she sees it.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Their families have made extraordinary sacrifices for them to pursue this sport.<\/p>\n<p>Mizuno\u2019s parents and two brothers moved with her from California to Illinois so she could train at the best gym in the country. Sometimes they couldn\u2019t afford the cost and her mother would spend months sewing toe shoes and leotards so they wouldn\u2019t have to buy them from Russia. Sometimes Mizuno wore her teammate\u2019s hand-me-downs.<\/p>\n<p>Feeley\u2019s mother also moved with her to Illinois from Maryland, so she could train at the same gym.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Evita Griskenas of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021\" class=\"wp-image-19038456 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197219252.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197219252.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197219252.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197219252.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197219252.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Evita Griskenas is part of the first full rhythmic gymnastics team the United States has ever sent to an Olympics.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>American rhythmic gymnasts often go to learn in Russia, where the sport has a robust infrastructure absent in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the U.S., we\u2019re slowly, gradually building that,\u201d said veteran Laura Zeng, who competed in the 2016 <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a>s and is returning for Tokyo. \u201cBut it takes time and money, so we go to Russia to train, to learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She was there last spring, about to head into the gym when they announced the U.S. was closing its border because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she had to find a flight and head home right away.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Evita Griskenas of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan\" class=\"wp-image-19038464 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196722977.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196722977.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196722977.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196722977.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196722977.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Evita Griskenas is one of two individual performers to qualify to compete.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cEveryone was on their tippy toes, not knowing what was going to h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en next,\u201d she said. For three months, they couldn\u2019t go to the gym. They tried to train on Zoom in their basements and living rooms. It\u2019s hard to hurl clubs in basements and bedrooms; lightbulbs were broken, months of training lost.<\/p>\n<p>But rhythmic gymnasts are used to being adaptable, Zeng said: for example they have to factor the strength of arena\u2019s air conditioners into their routines, because a hard-blowing system can derail the flutter of their ribbons.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a good metaphor for the pandemic: everything was just kind of flopping around and we had to go with the flow,\u201d Zeng said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Laura Zeng of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021\" class=\"wp-image-19038498 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196681753.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196681753.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196681753.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196681753.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196681753.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Laura Zeng of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Their sport is emotional, many describe it as telling a story to the audience and they feed off how the crowd absorbs it. But there won\u2019t be one in Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone will have any trouble getting that adrenaline up because of what it means to be an Olympian,\u201d Zeng said. \u201cEveryone knows what that honor is, so we\u2019re all carrying that beautiful knowledge on our shoulders. So when we go out there will have that power with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of the American rhythmic gymnasts don\u2019t sugarcoat their chance at winning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefinitely probably not,\u201d laughed Mizuno. The team barely qualified for the Olympics, squeaking into the lineup by a tiny margin. \u201cIt\u2019s almost a miracle that we are able to be here at this moment right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Follow_all_the_2020_Olympics_action\"><\/span>Follow all the 2020 Olympics action<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Both the individual and group performers will compete at qualification Friday and Saturday morning, followed by the individual final Saturday evening and the group final Sunday. The Russians remain seemingly unbeatable, and until the United States invests more in their sport, they\u2019re unlikely to reach a podium, many of America\u2019s athletes acknowledged.<\/p>\n<p>But they\u2019re determined to make the most of it to gin up interest in rhythmic gymnastics, which is changing in ways they think could appeal to an American audience.<\/p>\n<p>It has historically been performed to classical music; its origin involved a live pianist accompanying the gymnast from the sidelines. But the rules have loosened to allow songs with words, and some gymnasts are incorporating genres like hip hop, techno and mainstream pop songs.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" alt=\"Laura Zeng of the United States performs during a rhythmic gymnastics individual training session at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021\" class=\"wp-image-19038629 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196638149.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196638149.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196638149.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196638149.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217196638149.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2000 2000w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Laura Zeng of the United States performs at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Markus Schreiber<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of the group\u2019s performances this year will be to a techno remix of Bon Jovi\u2019s \u201cIt\u2019s my Life\u201d \u2014 an unapologetically American song, Mizuno said.<\/p>\n<p>They dream of a day when rhythmic gymnastics is well-known enough in the United States, people on planes stop mistaking their rubber-tipped clubs for bowling pins.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe U.S. has finally started shouldering our way in,\u201d Griskenas said, and laughed. \u201cOr maybe I should use a rhythmic gymnastics pun: we\u2019re clubbing our way in. Here we come.\u201d\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/08\/05\/long-dominated-by-russia-rhythmic-gymnastics-rising-in-us-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Long dominated by Russia, rhythmic gymnastics rising in US&#8221; TOKYO \u2014 In the darkest days of the pandemic, Evita Griskenas was stuck practicing in her parents\u2019 Illinois basement, occasionally breaking lightbulbs as she tossed clubs and hoops through the air and cartwheeled to catch them. A\u00a0song\u00a0she had never heard started playing. Griskenas, a rhythmic gymnast,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":316230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/AP21217197448230.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[70888,113442,16339,4975,103317],"class_list":["post-316229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-2020-olympics","tag-8-5-21","tag-gymnastics","tag-russia","tag-us-womens-gymnastics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}