体坛英语新闻：European Gymnastics Championships opens in Moscow

MOSCOW, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The 5th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastic individual Championships kicked off Wednesday in Moscow, a metropolis seemingly has bypassed the spring with temperature approaching 20 Celsius degrees.

The list of medal competitors features representatives of almost all European artistic gymnastics federations, which is 49 at the moment.

After a brief presentation of each delegation and speeches delivered by heads of organizing bodies in Moscow's Olympic sports center, a solo modern dance on a particular medal ball by a female performer was warmly recognized by audience scattering around the arena.

It was the second time in 15 years that Russia held the European Championships.

Andrei Rodionenko, head coach of the Russian team, told reporters the tournament was very important as it "opens new Olympic cycle with ever increasing difficulty, purity of execution and class of competitors."

The Russian team is captained by Aliya Mustafina, the 2010 World individual all-around champion and the 2012 Olympic uneven bars champion.

Victoria Komova, winner of the Youth Olympic Games and silver medallist of London 2012 Summer Olympics, is absent from the team due to back injury and age problems.

Also, the Russian team does not include Nikolai Kuksenkov, a talented gymnast who has won full set of medal on Horizontal Bar at the Russian National Championships in March, because he does not have a Russian passport and competed for Ukraine at London Olympics. He can compete for Russia in Rio De Janeiro 2016 Olympics only if he serves the Russian team for at least two years.

A rising star at homeland-held Olympics, the 20-year-old Max Whitlock, a member of the first British gymnastics team to win an Olympic medal in a century, finished with relatively good results at Wednesday's primary tests.

The British team also includes the 15-year-old Gabby Jupp, known as the best all-around female junior Britain has ever produced.

The European Championships run through this Sunday.