Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram wins four medals at World Cup in Minsk
The athlete came out on top with the hoops, second with the clubs and took the bronze in the balls discipline and the individual all-around.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINIsraeli Linoy Ashram notched a silver medal in the individual Hoops competition at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships this week as she continued to twirl her way toward the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.(photo credit: OCI/COURTESY)
Rishon Lezion-born rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram was awarded one gold medal, one silver and two bronze at the World Challenge Cup, which took place on August 16-18 in Minsk, Belarus.Ashram, 20, came out on top with the hoops, second with the clubs and took the bronze in the balls discipline and in the individual all-around. She began training as a rhythmic gymnast when she was seven, and took part in her first international event as a 12-year-old. In 2017, she was the first-ever Israeli gymnast to win a medal in the all-around competition at the World Championships.The 2019 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan on September 16-22.For Ashram, the competition will mark a new opportunity to improve her already impressive record, ahead of the moment that everyone is waiting for, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel has won nine Olympic medals – and just one gold, in 2004.Ashram seems an excellent candidate to increase the country’s medal count.“Linoy moves the heart of the whole nation,” the Israel Olympic Committee noted in a June Facebook post, celebrating her four medals at the latest European Games.
