Gymnastics FIG World Cup 2017 AGF Trophy Coming to Baku

Gymnastics lovers are flowing to Baku for the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) World Cup 2017 AGF Trophy in men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics. The four-day sporting event will be held at the National Gymnastics Arena, built in 2014 and Azerbaijan’s largest gymnastics venue.

The event, which runs from March 16-19, brings together 85 male and 35 female athletes, representing 21 countries. The first two days feature qualification events, with final competitions scheduled for the third and fourth days.

This year’s stars include Olympic Champions Eleftherios Petrounias (Greece), Krisztian Berki (Hungary), Catalina Ponor (Romania), and Oksana Chusovitina (Uzbekistan), as well as European Champion Alexander Shatilov (Israel). Azerbaijan will be represented by athletes Murad Agharzayev, Bence Talas, Yuliya Inshina, Marina Nekrasova, Mariia Smirnova and Ekaterina Tishkova.

Men’s artistic gymnastics includes performances on six gymnastics apparatus:  the floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Women's artistic gymnastics features four apparatus: the floor, vault, balance beam and uneven bars.

Azerbaijan has played host to a series of international gymnastics competitions, including World Cups and European Championships.