Averina Dina and Arina: biography, parents, sporting achievements. Averina sisters-gymnasts
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
"SE" tells the story of twin sisters - the new leaders of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team
VOLGA REGION - THE PLACE WHERE TALENTS ARE BORN
Dina and Arina were born in 1998 in Zavolzhye, a small town in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Of their 19 years, 15 of them have been doing gymnastics. Due to serious preparation, the sisters switched to individual training, and then graduated from school as an external student. Now they are studying at Lesgaft University in St. Petersburg.
THREE SISTERS
The twins have an older sister, Polina. It was she and her mother who brought the girls to the gym. Polina herself did not become a gymnast, concentrating on her studies. The sisters are friendly with each other, and the eldest supports the younger ones and is proud of their successes.
FAMOUS NOVOGORSK
Every gymnast dreams of one day getting to the main base of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team and working under the supervision of the great coach Irina Viner-Usmanova. The sisters ended up at a base near Moscow in 2011, where they live and train together.
SHATALINA'S WARDS
The Averins train with Vera Shatalina. Six years ago, the acquaintance with the future mentor happened almost by accident - Shatalina arrived in Novogorsk, where at that moment the gymnastic mats were being re-rolled, and saw two athletes who had arrived for a tryout. Parents said that if the girls are not accepted, they are thinking about the possibility of ending their careers and focusing on their studies. After the first training session, Shatalina admitted that she asked herself the question: can she now work without Dina and Arina? Vera Nikolaevna treats the Averins like daughters; this atmosphere developed in their small team as soon as the young gymnasts began training with a specialist.
Posted by ArishaDina✔️ (@arishadina1998) Feb 21, 2017 at 2:50 PST
MUTUAL SUPPORT
Athletes always sincerely support each other, experience failures and happy moments together. According to the sisters, they have no envy or jealousy; each knows how to find the right words to cheer up her sister at a difficult moment. Both consider this the key to success.
ONE INSTAGRAM FOR TWO
Girls actively use social networks. They maintain one Instagram page for two. The sisters have no secrets from each other, and since they are always together - both in life and in photos, everything looks quite logical. And the fans, as a rule, support both Dina and Arina.
HELP FROM KANAYAVA
Two-time Olympic champion Evgenia Kanaeva, after finishing her sports career, became a coach, works in Novogorsk and often gives Averin valuable advice. The gymnasts admitted that these tips were very helpful more than once.
SIMILAR, BUT STILL DIFFERENT
The girls admit that they are often confused - but only by new acquaintances. The longer people know athletes personally, the fewer awkward situations that arise. In fact, if you look closely, there are slight differences in the twins' facial features. Arina's are smoother and more subtle, Dina's are more strong-willed.
Previously, the sisters preferred to dress the same, but now they are increasingly choosing different outfits. So the best advice for those who cannot distinguish Dina from Arina at competitions is to look first at the swimsuits. And then to the faces - soon you will understand who is who.
CRITICISM AS A STIMULUS
Different people look for different motivations to move forward; for the Averins, the main motivator is constructive criticism. Understanding mistakes, correcting them and becoming better - this is the path you need to move towards victories.
SWEET INDULGENCE
Desserts have always been considered taboo for fragile gymnasts, but the Averins say that for them there is no such prohibition. It’s just that girls are quite indifferent to sweets. Apparently, the whole point is that the sisters don’t have any special problems with extra grams, they naturally have slender figures, and constant training helps them keep themselves in good shape.
07.06.2017At the May European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Budapest, twins from the city of Zavolzhye, Nizhny Novgorod region, Arina and Dina Averina won six gold medals. Arina became the best in exercises with a ball and clubs, Dina was the first with a hoop and ribbon. And besides, the sisters brought success to the Russian national team in the all-around. After that resounding success, fans are waiting for Dina and Arina at the World Championships in Italy, which will be held in Pesaro at the end of August this year. The sisters themselves also dream of being together at the world championship and again rising to the first step of the podium together.
And during a short pause between training and competitions, Arina and Dina found time to talk with Open Nizhny and told who was an example for them in childhood, whether there is rivalry between the twins and how the judges confuse them and Irina Viner-Usmanova distinguishes them.
- Even the strict head coach of the Russian national team, Irina Viner-Usmanova, called your performance at the European Championship a benefit performance. Are the Averina sisters themselves happy with everything?
Dina Averina: On the first day of the competition, I made a mistake in the hoop exercises, however, I later corrected myself in the finals. And on the second day, she didn’t perform the exercises with the ribbon very cleanly (in both disciplines, Dina eventually became the winner - author’s note). But in the exercises with clubs, I liked everything, but I only came second, losing to my sister (laughs). This is female logic: where I won, I am dissatisfied with myself, and where I lost, it’s the other way around.
Arina Averina: But I’m more pleased with my performance than my sister (smiles). There were, of course, moments that needed to be worked on in training, but overall everything worked out.
- By the way, how did you divide the items you performed with each other?
D.A: Irina Aleksandrovna (Viner-Usmanova - author's note) gave us the right to determine for ourselves who will perform in which exercises. Arisha chose a ball and clubs, and I chose clubs and a hoop. And it was decided to entrust the ribbon to me, because Arisha had a slight injury, and she said that it would be difficult for her to complete this exercise.
- In a head-to-head debate on exercises with clubs, Arina Averina beat her sister, taking gold. But Dina later said in an interview that she was even more happy about her sister’s victory. Is there no competition between you?
A.A.: Dina and I are not competitors. The main thing for us is that the first place on the podium should be occupied by an athlete competing under the Russian flag and with the surname Averina.
D.A.: In fact, now we have stopped competing, but when we were children, this was the only way we competed with each other! And I was always offended by my sister if she did something better (smiles). But this helped - we constantly reached out to each other. But now there really is no rivalry between us, and I am more happy for Arisha than for myself, just as she is for me.
- Personally, it’s very difficult for me to distinguish you. I am sure that both the fans and, probably, the judges at competitions perceive you as a single whole. Many twins find this attitude annoying. How do you feel about this?
A.A.: And we ourselves always liked that we were perceived as one whole. And in childhood, when we were especially similar to each other, everyone except those closest to us confused us, but we were never offended. Now my sister and I have become different, and we are distinguished by many things. Everyone in the Russian national team knows for sure who is Dina and who is Arina.
D.A.: Our style of performance is very different, so if, for example, Irina Aleksandrovna suddenly does not distinguish us by sight, she will immediately understand who is who by our movements on the carpet. But the judges still confuse us, but we don’t take advantage of this and don’t advocate for each other. Otherwise, you can get a two-year disqualification (smiles).
- Your characters seem to be different too. Dina smiles and laughs, but her sister is always serious. Or do you, Arina, just react that way to unfamiliar guys?
A.A.: You know, my sister and I are not good at communicating with guys (smiles). And it’s not that we like the same people and Dina and I don’t want to get into an awkward situation. We simply don't have enough time for anything other than training and competitions.
- I was always amazed at the endurance of gymnasts. Very young girls who don’t think about anything but business. As a child, did you understand what sacrifices you were making when choosing professional sports?
A.A.: Of course, they understood, because before us was the example of Polina’s older sister. She also did rhythmic gymnastics, but then chose to study. Polina is a very smart girl, she graduated from school with a gold medal. But Dina and I didn’t study well enough to give up sports (laughs).
D.A.: And you know, we liked training since childhood! We fell asleep and woke up thinking about how we would go to do gymnastics. Arisha and I dreamed of European and World Championships, the Olympic Games, and all the time we prepared ourselves for hard work.
A.A.: We were also very lucky with the coaches. In the Volga region we trained with Larisa Viktorovna Belova (mother and first coach of the 2000 Olympic champion Irina Belova - author's note). She taught us a lot. And when we moved to Novogorsk and began training with the Russian national team, we very quickly found a common language with Vera Nikolaevna Shatalina, under whose leadership we still train.
D.A: And, of course, working with Irina Aleksandrovna Viner-Usmanova gave us a lot. On TV she seems serious and strict, but when communicating with athletes she is ready to explain and show everything a thousand times. She is very wise. But it’s better not to argue with her (laughs).
- Now your childhood dreams are starting to come true. The European Championship was a triumph, and next is the World Championship in Italy, where fans are waiting for the Averin sisters to perform. But Irina Viner-Usmanova said immediately after the continental championship that you have not yet guaranteed your performance at the world forum, which will be held in August. Is she too strict?
A.A.: There is still a lot of time before the World Championships, and most importantly, there are many starts. Grand Prix in Israel, World Cup stages in Berlin and Kazan. My sister and I will have to prove that we are the best. And we have a serious competitor in the person of Sasha Soldatova (two-time world champion - author's note). Three athletes will compete from Russia at the Grand Prix and World Cups, but only two will go to the World Championships. And Dina and I really want to be in Italy together at the end of August.
D.A.: My sister and I really don’t like being separated. When we are not together, we are bored and very unusual. Even if we bore each other, we should still be close!
World rhythmic gymnastics has changed dramatically since the Olympic Games in Rio. The five best individual all-around athletes no longer appear on the platform and delight the fans with their art. The performances were completed by Russian Yana Kudryavtseva, Ukrainian Anna Rizatdinova, Korean Song Young-jae, Belarusian Melitina Stanyuta. Olympic champion Margarita Mamun has not officially announced her retirement, but her immediate plans so far include only a quiet family life with swimmer Alexander Sukhorukov.
Gymnastics also took on a completely different face due to changes in the rules. If earlier athletes described their performance in advance and had to perform the designated elements in order to receive points for them, now there are no such restrictions. Girls are free to do whatever they want during performances, and any emergency situation will not lead to disaster if the athlete knows how to improvise.
Only the balance of power has not changed - Russian gymnasts are still ahead of the rest, and the rest of the girls can only dream of their success. Three girls are now fighting for the vacated places in the all-around championship, which were left by Mamun and Kudryavtseva. These are twin sisters Arina and Dina Averina, as well as the experienced Alexandra Soldatova, who became the world champion among teams three years ago.
All season they lost gold to each other at the World Cup and European Championships, and the fans could not form a consensus on which of the girls would make it to the final of the World Championship in the all-around and compete for the two main awards of the season (the regulations do not allow taking the entire podium ). But the intrigue was resolved in a very unpleasant way. Soldatova was injured and did not have time to recover in time for the trip to Pesaro, Italy. The 19-year-old Averina sisters went to make their debut at the World Championships without an experienced friend.
Before determining the absolute world champion, gymnasts first compete for medals in individual exercises. And then the Russians showed that they are in brilliant shape, and the new rules only benefit them. All the gold and silver of the first day went only to them.
First, Dina, who is 20 minutes younger than her sister, won the hoop exercise, showing absolutely perfect difficulty - for it the athlete received exactly 10 points. Arina lost one tenth in this component. Both girls received the highest score for their performance - 9.1 points. Bronze went to Japanese Kaho Minagawa, who brought her country its first World Championship medal in 42 years - training in Russia helped her in this.
The family rematch took place within a few minutes. Averina Sr. showed her ability to handle the ball. The judges gave the sisters the same difficulty, but Arina received a more generous assessment for her performance - as a result, the two rivals were separated by 0.25 points. Third place was taken by Bulgarian Nevyana Vladinova, who threatens to become the main competitor of the Russians in the all-around.
“I think we did everything we could today. We are lucky that we support each other so much and always insure each other,” Dina Averina told Sport Express following the results of the first day of competition. — I really liked how our fans and the Italian public treated us, it was so easy to work with, with pleasure, joyfully. Many thanks to them! We must always maintain the bar, and Russia must always remain first. And you need to work even harder for everything to work out. When I won the hoop, I was happy, but when I took second place with the ball, I was even happier, because I understood: my sister has a gold medal, and so do I.”
“I knew that Dina performed cleanly and well with the hoop, so I calmly went out and did my program. During the second exercise with the ball I already went out to perform for the spectators, for the coaches and for myself - it was purely a thrill. Italian compositions are received very well by the public here. There weren’t any particular difficulties, we didn’t set ourselves up like this, this is the World Championship. Yes, we understand the responsibility, but we try to prepare ourselves as for ordinary competitions. Now, as Irina Viner (head coach of the Russian national team) says. —RT): “You’ve come off the pedestal and start all over again, you’re no one anymore and you need to keep working.” Tomorrow everything starts anew,” noted Arina Averina.
By the way, for those who have not yet learned to distinguish between the two sisters, there is a hint. Arina, as she herself says, was “kissed” by a mace as a child, and since then she has had a small scar near her eye. Ironically, clubs are Dina’s favorite type of program. On August 31, the sisters will compete for medals in this exercise, as well as in individual ribbon performances. And on the first day of autumn, World Championship Ambassador Alina Kabaeva will award the new all-around winner.
At the Russian Championship, June 29, 2019
At the World Championships in Baku September 17, 2019
September 19, 2019
Arina Averina September 20, 2019
Silver (2014 - clubs; 2015 - all-around, ribbon; 2015, 2016 - ball; 2017 - hoop) and bronze (2014, 2016 - hoop; 2016 - clubs; 2017 - all-around) medalist of the Russian championships.
Athlete's height: 158 cm; weight: 40 kg.
Arina Averina's family
Father - Alexey Averin, football player.
Mother - Oksana Averina, did gymnastics.
Twin sister - Dina Averina, also a famous rhythmic gymnast.
The older sister, Polina Averina, was a member of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team.
20.09.2019
Averina Arina Alekseevna
Russian Gymnast
Honored Master of Sports
Arina Averina was born on August 13, 1998 in the city of Zavolzhye, Nizhny Novgorod region. The girl has two sisters: twin sister Dina and older sister Polina. My mother brought the twin sisters to gymnastics, to the first coach Marina Viktorovna Belova, when the girls were 4 years old. Until the age of 13, young athletes studied at school, but not with the whole class, individually in all subjects except music, drawing, physical education, labor and life safety.
At the age of 13, the professional sports career of future champions began. Since September 2011, girls have been training at the Novogorsk Training Center. Arina and her sister were noticed at the “Young Gymnast” competition, and after the training camp in Croatia they were invited to the training center with Vera Nikolaevna Shatalina. Since 2014, the sisters began going to more serious competitions. They took part in the Moscow Championship, where Dina became the champion of Moscow in 2014, Arina became second in these competitions.
In the same year, the girls performed for the first time at the Russian Championships in the adult program. In the all-around, Arina became sixth, and thus entered the main roster of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. In the finals, Arina took silver in clubs, bronze in hoop, and won a gold medal in the ball exercise, thereby becoming the champion of Russia.
In the same season, Arina took part in a number of major all-Russian tournaments, and also took silver in the all-around tournament at the Luxembourg Trophy 201. The last competition of this season was the World Cup in Kazan, where the sisters represented the Russian national team, but performed outside the competition.
The 2015 season began with the Chelyabinsk Region Cup, where the sisters took first and second place. For the first time in 2015, Arina and Dina performed at the Grand Prix in Moscow, where Arina took 13th place, having made a mistake in the exercise with the ribbon. At the 2015 Russian Championships, Arina performed well in the all-around and took second place, losing only to Yana Kudryavtseva. In the finals with ball and ribbon, Arina took silver, and in the exercise with hoop and clubs she became the champion of Russia. At the Russian Championship, Arina and her sister were awarded the title of international masters of sports.
At the international tournament in Pesaro, Arina, together with Dina, won the team competition, and also won the final with ball and ribbon. At the Corbeil-Essonnes 2015 tournament in France, Arina collected 5 gold medals out of 5 possible, surpassing her sister in the all-around and in four finals. At the international tournament in Hungary, Arina became third in the all-around, took silver in the hoop exercise and bronze in the ball exercise, and in Sofia she took second place in the all-around. The season ended with the sisters performing at the World Cup in Kazan, where they again performed outside the competition. Arina also took part in the Italian Club Championship.
In 2016, Arina and Dina Averin began to be called “the secret weapon of the Russian national team,” who replaced the leaders of Russian rhythmic gymnastics. Dina and Arina have been given additional responsibility, and throughout the season they have been proving their right to compete in tournaments together with the first numbers of the national team.
In the all-around at the Grand Prix stage in Moscow, Arina took third place in the all-around, became second in clubs and first in ribbon. She is sent to the World Cup in Lisbon, where she places fifth in the all-around and second in the ribbon final.
2017 was a triumphant year for the Averin sisters. At the World Games in Wroclaw, she took four medals, of which three were gold - she won in the exercises with hoop, ribbon and ball, and was also third in the exercises with clubs. At the European Championships in Budapest, she took three golds - in the team, as well as in exercises with the ball and clubs.
At the World Championships in Pesaro, Arina won five medals, two of which were of the highest standard, with ball and ribbon. She was also second in all-around and hoop exercises, third in clubs. In the all-around, in the overall championship, she lost only to her sister Dina, who won with a total of 74.700 points, Arina - 73.450.
At the beginning of the 2018 season, the Averina sisters again prove their leadership of the team. At the Grand Prix in Moscow, Arina becomes second, losing to her sister Dina. At the Grand Prix in Thiais he takes fifth place in the all-around, becomes second in the final with hoop, and also wins with clubs. At the Russian Championships in Sochi, due to an injury, the athlete withdrew from the competition, performing only with a hoop with a score of 19.600. But together with the team he takes first, second and third place at the same time.
Further, in the World Challenge Cup of Guadalajara, where Averina became third in the all-around, in the final with hoop and clubs she was ahead of everyone, and with the ribbon she again became a bronze medalist. And at the Grand Prix in Holon, she was able to win the all-around with the highest scores of 21.150 for hoop and 20.550 for clubs. In the hoop final, she again became first, with the ball, Arina took second place, and in clubs and ribbon, seventh and fifth, respectively. Then the Averinas go to the European Championships in Guadalajara, where Arina becomes the absolute European champion with a margin of two points, Dina Averina takes second position.
The World Championships in Sofia in 2018 did not end in the best way for the athlete. Arina was able to receive a gold medal only in the team competition as part of the Russian national team, becoming a three-time world champion. In the hoop and clubs finals, she made minor mistakes and won two bronze medals.
Further, the athlete participated in the show “Alexey Nemov and the Legends of Sports” with her hoop program, as well as with her sister in “Alina 2018” with an exhibition number. In the show “Without Insurance”, together with my sister, they performed the number “Twins”.
In 2019, Arina became the silver medalist in the all-around at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix stage, which took place in Moscow. In the same year, at the European Championships in Baku, she competed in the hoop, ball and clubs qualifications and won gold medals in the finals with the ball and clubs, as well as gold in the team competition. Having made a loss and taking a spare apparatus in the hoop qualification, I was unable to qualify for the finals of this type of exercise.
At the Russian Championship, June 29, 2019 Arina Averina, for the first time in her sports career, became the absolute champion of the country in the all-around final, showing all exercises at the highest level and receiving record scores in exercises with the ball 24.000 and clubs 24.200, as well as 23.300 for the hoop and 22.300 for the ribbon. Based on the sum of the four exercises, her score was 93.800. Her sister Dina took second place with a total of 89.400.
At the World Championships in Baku September 17, 2019 Arina Averina won the silver medal in the ball exercise, losing gold to her sister Dina.
Russian Arina Averina became the winner of the team tournament as part of the Russian Federation Team at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku September 19, 2019. Arina shared the gold medal with her sister Dina and Katya Selezneva. Based on the results of qualifications in four separate all-around events, Russian gymnasts scored 186.500 points, leaving no chance for their competitors.
Arina Averina September 20, 2019 won a second silver medal in the individual all-around at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, which takes place in Baku. The athlete scored 91,100 points. Her sister Dina received gold, and the representative of Israel, Lina Ashram, completed the top three with 89,700 points.
Sports Achievements of Arina Averina
World champion (2017 - ball, ribbon, 2018 - team, 2019 - team).
Silver (2017 - all-around, hoop, 2019 - ball, all-around) and bronze (2017 - clubs, 2018 - hoop, clubs) medalist of the World Championship.
European champion (2017 - ball, clubs, team; 2018 - all-around; 2019 - team, ball, clubs).
Champion of Russia (2014, 2017 - ball; 2015, 2017 - clubs; 2015 - hoop; 2017 - ribbon; 2019 - absolute champion).
For many years now it has been the standard of incredible plasticity, grace and precision of movements. Today this tradition is confirmed and successfully continued by sisters Dina and Arina Averina. The biography of these young athletes is already full of outstanding performances and stunning victories. What are their sporting achievements? And what are these girl stars like in everyday life?
Childhood
The biography of Dina and Arina Averin, like many famous people, began in an ordinary family in the small town of Novogorsk, Nizhny Novgorod region. The twin sisters were born on August 13, 1998. Already at an early age they showed their artistic talent and assertive character. Therefore, at the age of 4, the parents of Dina and Arina Averin sent their daughters to rhythmic gymnastics. Their coach in their native Novogorsk was Larisa Viktorovna Belova. The girls fell in love with gymnastics from their first lessons, and this feeling grew in their hearts every year.
Until the age of 12, the twin sisters studied in a regular school. However, it was difficult for them to combine study and training. Therefore, he faced his first serious choice. The girls took a decisive step towards sports. And we switched to individual training (externship). Dina and Arina attended only music, drawing, labor, life safety and physical education classes together with their classmates.
Carier start
The parents of Dina and Arina Averin always believed in their daughters’ talent. Therefore, together with their coach, they did not miss the opportunity to send young gymnasts to competitions at various levels. So the beginning of their sports career is considered to be 2011. The girls' performances were highly appreciated at the "Young Gymnast" competition. The athletes were noticed and invited to watch Shatalina.
A new stage in the sporting life of the Averin sisters has begun. They began to prepare for more serious competitions: the Moscow Championship, the Russian Championship, the World Cup Grand Prix, etc. Also, the athletes and their families moved to the Olympic village - Novogorsk, where they began to live and train.
Adult period
Since 2015, Dina and Arina Averina have already been performing at a different, more serious and responsible level. This season of competition began their adult career. The girls are slowly but surely moving from the Moscow and Russian championships to the World and European Cups. Their head coach is Irina Viner.
Gymnasts treat their sports teachers very warmly, calling them second parents. They willingly listen to their advice, as well as tips from experienced gymnasts (for example, Evgenia Kanaeva).
Secret of success
Since 2016, the Averin sisters have been openly called the “secret weapon” of the Russian national team and a worthy successor to the leaders of the sport. According to relatives and coaches, the secret to the success of young athletes is their diligence and responsibility. Sometimes the focus on performing gymnastic elements detracts from the girls’ artistry. Therefore, they often practice in their dressing rooms just before going out to “shoot with their eyes” and smile. Judging by the photos of the Averin sisters and their performances, we can confidently say that such “training in front of the mirror” gives good results.
Today, the biography of Dina and Arina Averin is a kaleidoscope of amazing programs, the love and pride of fans, the support and faith of relatives and coaches. The sisters are aware of all this, feel it and are not going to stop there. But for them, the most important motivation is not compliments and admiration from others, but constructive criticism. They are only 19 years old, 15 of them they devoted to sports. And still mistakes and failures happen. High-quality and attentive work on mistakes is what helps sister gymnasts win.
Sports achivments
Dina and Arina replace each other in their sporting achievements on award podiums.
In 2014, Dina Averina became the champion of Moscow, although she competed with a fever. And her twin sister took second place. At the Holon Grand Prix competition that same year, the girls swapped places. Today she is an international class master, three-time world champion (2017), absolute world champion (2017), three-time European champion (2017) and absolute champion of Russia (2017). In 2017, she won seven gold and six silver medals.
Arina Averina does not lag behind her sister in the list of achievements and successfully performs in various competitions, demonstrating refined technique, plasticity and mastery of gymnastics props. During the 2017 season, she received eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Arina is also recognized as an international master, two-time world champion (2017) and three-time European champion (2017).
Among the special awards for both sisters is the prize for artistry from Alina Kabaeva at the Grand Prix in Moscow (2016).
In addition, today the sister gymnasts have been accepted as members of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team. They play for two teams: Moscow and the Volga region.
But not everything was so rosy in the sports biography of Dina and Arina Averin. There were both dizzying ups and unfortunate falls. So in 2015, due to an unfortunate mistake in performing with the ribbon, Arina became only 13th in the all-around at the Grand Prix in Moscow. Dina took 5th place. But it seems that no obstacles can break the girls. They only “stir up” interest, provoke and increase the zeal for victory.
