Brighton student in GB world championship rhythmic gymnastics team

Now in the second year of the Nutrition with Sport and Exercise BSc(Hons) degree, Alida will be heading out to Japan on 24 October to take part in the 38th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, which are being hosted in the city of Kitakyushu between 27-31 October.

Alida was born in Latvia, but came to UK when she was six. She began gymnastics training a year later, and trained in London for the next ten years before moving to Shoreham to begin working with a new coach there. She was then awarded a sport scholarships to come to study at Brighton.

Speaking about the incredible demands of her sport, Alida said: “Rhythmic Gymnastics is a very complex sport as it involves many physical and technical skills. We have to be physically fit with strength and flexibility in our muscles, as well as having high muscular and cardiovascular endurance. We have to have very good co-ordination and apparatus handling, and technical skills with the body which comes from practising ballet.

Alida Bogdanova

“Each apparatus has its challenges. For example, the ball can be slippery and fall out the hand or roll away, the ribbon gets tangled so easily if you stop moving it for one second, and the clubs require extra co-ordination as there is two of them. The hoop can also roll away if dropped. I don’t have a favourite apparatus, but I enjoy doing hoop the most.”

Alida's degree course leader Harvey Ells said: “Alida has been training incredibly hard for this event and I have no doubt that studying the Nutrition with Sport and Exercise BSc(Hons) has helped her to refine aspects of her daily routines and nutritional intake in this respect. All of the course tutors and her fellow students wish her every success in Japan.”

You can see Alida performing with different apparatus at the 2019 British championships on YouTube: Alida performing with the ball; performing with the ribbon; and performing with the clubs.