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Marfa Ekimova

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Marfa Ekimova
Ekimova in 2024
Born (2005-01-17) 17 January 2005 (age 19)
Saint Petersburg, Russia
ResidenceLondon, England
Height157 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Weight40 kg (88 lb)
Gymnastics career
DisciplineRhythmic Gymnastics
Country represented Great Britain
 England
Years on national team2021-
LevelInternational Elite
ClubWest London Gymnastics
Head coach(es)Rachel Ennis, Villy Antonova
Medal record
Rhythmic gymnastics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Team

Marfa Ekimova (born 17 January 2005) is a Russian-born British rhythmic gymnast.[1] She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games all-around champion and the two-time (2022, 2023) British national champion.

Personal life

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Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at age two she moved to London, England.[2] She took up gymnastics at age six after having tried different sports, dance and theatre, although she disliked it when she first tried it.[2][3] She now trains up to eight hours a day.[2]

In her spare time, Ekimova enjoys music, especially playing the bassoon and piano. She studied A Level music at Trinity Laban Conservatory. She also studied for her NCFE Level 3 Diploma/Extended Diploma in Sport and Physical Activity at the City of Westminster College and now studies sports management at the University of Westminster.[4][5] Ekimova speaks English and Russian.[1] Her dream is to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.[3]

Career

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Junior career

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In 2019, Ekimova was the English junior national champion and the bronze medalist at the British junior national championships. She was initially meant to compete at the junior 2020 European Championships, but she withdrew due to the COVID pandemic.[6]

2021: Senior debut

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Ekimova debuted as a senior internationally at 2021 European Championships in Varna, representing Great Britain along with her teammates Alice Leaper and Gemma Frizelle. She was 17th in the team competition, 33rd with hoop, 51st with ball and 37th with clubs.[7] In October she was selected for the World Championship in Kitakyushu, where she was 44th in the all-around, 39th with hoop, 53rd with ball, 38th with clubs and 59th with ribbon.[8]

2022: Commonwealth Games Gold

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In 2022, she became the English senior national champion. Later that month, she also became the British all-around champion and won three of the four apparatus finals.[6]

At the end of May, she competed at the World Cup in Portimão, finishing 30th in the all-around, 21st with hoop, 43rd with ball, 19th with clubs, and 34th with ribbon.[9] In June she took part in the European Championships in Tel Aviv with teammates Louise Christie and Alice Leaper, the senior national groupm and juniors Melissa Toma, Elizaveta Andreeva and Nicole Kalnina.[10] Ekimova was 16th in the team competition with her teammates. Individually, she was 23rd with hoop, 30th with ball, 28th with clubs and 31st in the all-around.[11]

In early August she competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She won bronze in the team competition with Alice Leaper and Saffron Severn. In the all-around final, she won a historic gold, becoming the first English gymnast to do so.[12] In the apparatus finals, she was 4th with hoop and ball and 6th with ribbon.[13]

In September she was chosen as to compete at the World Championships in Sofia. She was 38th with hoop and 35th with ball after day one of qualification, but she had to withdraw due to a knee injury that prevented her from walking on the second day of the competition.[6][14]

Ekimova's ending pose with clubs at the 2024 Sofia World Cup

2023

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In May, Ekimova competed at the 2023 European Championships. She came in 29th place in the all-around.[15] In June, she repeated her English national title, and in July, she defended her British title as well.[16][17] At the 2023 World Championships in Valencia, she came in 45th place in the all-around qualifications.[18]

2024

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Ekimova competed at the 2024 World Cup in Sofia, and she ended 27th in the all-around.[19] She earned a personal best score with each apparatus.[20] At the 2024 European Championships held in Budapest, she came in 28th in the all-around.[21]

Achievements

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Routine music information

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Year Apparatus Music Title
2023 Hoop
Ball Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps by The Pussycat Dolls
Clubs
Ribbon Not A Fairytale by A. R. Rahman
2022 Hoop Guerrileros by Maxime Rodriguez
Ball Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps by The Pussycat Dolls
Clubs El Conquistador by Maxime Rodriguez
Ribbon Alma de Guitarra by Banderas
2021 Hoop Devil and Angel by Maxime Rodriguez
Ball To Patoma by Alkistis Protopsalti
Clubs El Conquistador by Maxime Rodriguez
Ribbon Alma de Guitarra by Banderas

References

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  1. ^ a b "EKIMOVA Marfa - FIG Athlete Profile". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  2. ^ a b c Urwin, Rosamund. "The Russian-born gymnast who jumped through hoops to win gold for England". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  3. ^ a b "Marfa Ekimova wins individual all-around gold for England". Commonwealth Games - Birmingham 2022. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  4. ^ "CWC Student Wins British Gymnastics Championship". cwc.ac.uk. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  5. ^ "Sports star Marfa inspires students with visit to CWC". www.cwc.ac.uk. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  6. ^ a b c "Marfa Ekimova". TresA. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  7. ^ "Senior Individual + Senior Group Team Results" (PDF). europeangymnastics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-06-13.
  8. ^ "2021 World Championships All-Around Qualification" (PDF). usagym.
  9. ^ "2022 Portimão World Cup Results" (PDF). ginastica.org.
  10. ^ "2022 European Championships Nominatives Registration" (PDF). europeangymnastics.
  11. ^ "2022 European Championships Result Book" (PDF). europeangymnastics.
  12. ^ "Marfa Ekimova makes history to win Commonwealth gold for England". www.british-gymnastics.org. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  13. ^ "2022 Commonwealth Games Rhythmic Gymnastics Result Book" (PDF). microplustimingservices.
  14. ^ "2022 World Championships Result Book" (PDF). longinestiming.
  15. ^ "2023 European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics". European Gymnastics. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  16. ^ "English Rhythmic Championships 2023 - Individuals". www.british-gymnastics.org. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  17. ^ "Rhythmic British Championships 2023". www.british-gymnastics.org. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  18. ^ "Results for 40th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Valencia". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  19. ^ "Results for FIG World Cup 2024 Sofia". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  20. ^ "Meet the gymnasts selected for the 2024 Rhythmic European Championships". www.british-gymnastics.org. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  21. ^ "Results for 40th Senior European Championships Budapest". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
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