About once a year, this site, 99.8 percent dedicated to men's and women's artistic gymnastics, posts a photo gallery or two of rhythmic gymnastics, artistic's glittery, hyperflexible cousin.
This gallery, from photographer Joël Olivier, comes from the 25th Thiais Grand Prix, which took place last month. Though the competition was located in France, only a single French gymnast -- Delphine Ledoux -- participated, underscoring the depth of the international field.
The Russians, even more dominant in rhtythmic than in women's artistic at the moment, swept things so thoroughly that one press release from the meet is simply headlined "The Russian supremacy". Their team, led by World and Olympic champion Evgenia Kaneva, nabbed seven golds, four silvers and a bronze.
France is gearing up to host the 2011 World Rhythmic Championships in Montpellier in September.
The purpose of this gallery, which can be entered by clicking the image of Austria's Carolina Weber (to the left, with hoop) or here, is a celebration of the sport and how photogenic it is. Enjoy!
Want more rhythmic? Here's last year's rhythmic photo gallery, with stunning shots of the 2010 Garantiqa World Cup.
Related: Official website of the 25th Grand Prix de Thiais.
Also related: A lovely trailer for the 2011 World Rhythmic Championships in Montpellier, featuring 2008-2010 French rhythmic champion Alice Dufour can be seen here.
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