Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram wins gold at European Championships

Israeli rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram won a gold medal at the European Championships in Kyiv on Sunday.

Ashram narrowly defeated her Belarussian competitor Alina Harnasko to take home the all-around title, with a total score of 100.9.

Her victory came two days after Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team took the gold in the group all-around category. The category included performances using hoops, clubs and balls.

Rhythmic gymnastics is one of Israel’s stronger sports. Ashram has won numerous medals in recent years and is seen as one of the country’s leading hopes in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, delayed from 2020 to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The members of the Israeli team are Yuliana Telegin, Yana Kramarenko, Ofir Dayan, Shai Ben Ruby, Bar Shapochnikov and Karin Vexman. The coach is Ira Vigdorchik.

Linoy Ashram does it … European Champion!!!! pic.twitter.com/LSXAnS8kEj

— European Gymnastics (@UEGymnastics) November 29, 2020

Ashram, 21, has won over a dozen medals in world championships over the past few years. All other Israeli rhythmic gymnasts in history, combined, have won three.

In August 2018, Ashram won two golds and a bronze medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup, setting a world record in the clubs event. A month later, she finished second in the world championships, the best ever performance by an Israeli gymnast.

Saturday saw Israel’s Peter Paltchik win the gold medal at the 2020 European Judo Championships. Paltchik defeated Russia’s Arman Adamian to finish first in the under-100 kilogram weight class at this year’s tournament in Prague.

Also Saturday, three of Israel’s windsurfers won medals in the European Championships — including the top two spots in the men’s race.