Tara Dragas shines in rhythmic gymnastics: bronze medal at World Cup

After the controversies, the medals. And the new names on which Italian rhythmic gymnastics is banking for the future, after having turned the page not without slag. The Butterflies are starting their journey after the separation from the technical director Emanuela Maccagnani, but in the individual, in addition to the 'usual' Sofia Raffaeli, the second appointment with the World Cup has given us a beautiful family story, with the bronze medal obtained by Tara Dragas, from Martignacco in Friuli, daughter of art (mother Spela, who also trains her in the ASU of Udine, was a Slovenian national and also trains Agiurgiuculese), in the ribbon with the same score as Nikolova (28.150) but a higher execution (7.850 against 7.800 of the Bulgarian). At 18, Dragas was expected to make the leap in quality, the moment may have arrived. Dragas is the fourth Italian, after Agiurgiuculese, Baldassarri and Raffaeli, to win a medal in the World Cup. "After so many missed opportunities, even in Serie A - Tara said after the medal - I was starting to think I wasn't up to it. Here too I started badly, in qualifying I felt insecure, and it showed with the ball. With the hoop I improved a bit, but at the end of the first day I was very down. So I said to myself, if I have to stay afloat at 24 points without losses, I might as well go for broke, risking a mistake. So with clubs and ribbon I threw myself in and everything changed. I didn't expect the medal, to be honest, for me it was already an honor to get on the platform with world-class champions. I just wanted not to make a bad impression and to show everyone, even myself, that I deserved to be there among them. It's the first time I've stepped on such an important podium, let's hope it's not the last. Also to repay the trust of the Fiamme Oro".

Raffaeli, who won gold in the all-around on Saturday, came close to the podium in the individual events in Baku: sixth in the ball, fifth in the hoop and ribbon, fourth in the clubs, one tenth away from the bronze. However, Sofia was the only one, with Onofriichuk and Nikolova, to compete on the four events.

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