Fanni Pigniczki wrote sports history for Hungary on the last day of the 40th Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championship. The gymnast of MTK Budapest won Hungary’s  first ever individual EC medal in Rhythmic Gymnastics after becoming second with the ball.

Pigniczki scored 34.850 which made her jump to second place. Sofia Raffaeli from Italy won gold while Daniela Muntis from Israel finished third.

Fanni Pigniczki: “I was kind of easy going before the finals while at the same time I felt confident. The fans helped a lot and I could deliver a clean routine. It was great to experience every moment of this EC, to receive my medal was something really unforgettable. We put so much work into this success which gives a good base for Olympic preparation.”

Fanni Pigniczki also had to participate in the ribbon final where she finished with 33.150 points. Darja Varfolomeev from Germany won the ribbon’s gold while Sofia Raffaeli from Germany finished second and Elvira Krasnobaeva became third.

With hoops Boryana Kaleyn showed exquisite pivots and energetic dance movements as she held off her compatriot Stiliana Nikolova for the title. On her sixteenth birthday, Ukraine’s rising star Taisiia Onofriichuk surpassed Spain’s Alba Bautista for the bronze medal.

Daniela Munits handled the clubs effortlessly and secured her first major senior victory. Liliana Lewinska from Poland came in second edging Boryana Kaleyn by just 0.050. who finished third.

The last two programmes of the day were the 5 hoops and 3 ribbons &2 balls. Spain proved to be the most successful group today. Their 5 hoops routine earned 38.750. Enough for the silver medal behind Italy. Then Spain did one better, grabbing the last gold medal of these Championships, after a simply stunning 3 Ribbons & 2 Balls performance. The group from Israel also won two medals: bronze with 5 hoops and silver in mixed apparatus. Ukraine returns home with the bronze for their ribbon / balls combination.

At the conclusion of the 40th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics in Budapest Kamran Ramazanov, CEO of SmartScoring presented the SmartScoring Shooting star award to the Republic of Moldova’s Emily Beznos.  This award aims to put a gymnast with an exceptional story in the spotlight, someone who is an inspiration for the future generation of gymnasts and the general public alike.