Vera Valeryevna Sessina (russian: Вера Валерьевна Сесина, born 23 February 1986) is a Russian individual
rhythmic gymnast
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and co ...
. She is the
2007 World All-around silver medalist, the
2006 European All-around Champion, two time (2006, 2005) Grand Prix Final All-around champion and three time (2008, 2007, 2003) Grand Prix Final All-around silver medalist. She was known for her high releve during her pivot.
Career
Sessina began training in rhythmic gymnastics in 1993 and eventually moved to the Russian training center in Novogorsk. At the 2002
European Championships in Granada, she performed only one routine, but was noticed because of her flexibility, stability and clean performance. The same year, she took part in an international event in Thiais (France) and won some medals on various apparatus. In 2003, she performed well on the Grand Prix circuit.
In 2005, Sessina competed at the
2005 World Championships. She placed fifth in all-around qualifications but did not advance into the finals because teammates
Olga Kapranova and
Irina Tchachina
Irina Viktorovna Tchachina (also Chashchina or Tchashchina, russian: Ирина Викторовна Чащина; born 24 April 1982) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in all-around, a ...
placed ahead of her. She was also sent to the
2005 European Championships.
In 2006, Sessina won the all-around competition at the
2006 European Championships in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, beating teammate and Olympic champion
Alina Kabaeva
Alina Maratovna Kabaeva or Kabayeva (russian: Алина Маратовна Кабаева, ; tt-Cyrl, Әлинә Марат кызы Кабаева; born 12 May 1983) is a Russian politician, media manager and retired individual rhythmic gym ...
. She won the
2006 Grand Prix Final all-around in
Innsbruck and won three events of the
FIG
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
World Cup Final in
Mie, Japan.
![Bedii Gimnastika 171](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Bedii_Gimnastika_171.jpg)
Sessina continued to do well in 2007, winning the all-around silver medal at the World Cup series in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
as well as silver in all-around at the
2007 Grand Prix Final. At the
2007 European Championships in
Baku, she won the gold medal in clubs, a silver for rope, a pair of bronze medals for ribbon and hoop for the individual event finals. At the
2007 World Championships, Sessina won the all-around silver medal behind Ukrainian
Anna Bessonova
Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova ( uk, Ганна Володимирівна Безсонова/Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova; born 29 July 1984) is a Ukrainian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the most decorated rhythmic gymnast of ...
and then took the all-around bronze medal at the
2007 Summer Universiade behind Bessonova and
Kapranova.
Sessina competed for a spot at the
2008 Olympics but struggled due to injury and was beaten by compatriots
Evgenia Kanaeva
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva OMF (russian: Евгения Олеговна Канаева; born 2 April 1990) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold meda ...
and
Olga Kapranova. She won a gold medal in rope and bronze in hoop at the 2008 World Cup Final in
Benidorm and ended her season with silver in the all-around at the
2008 Grand Prix Final.
Sessina won silver medals in All-around, rope, hoop and ribbon at the
2009 European Championships held in
Baku, Azerbaijan. She retired from competition following the event.
After her retirement, Sessina was elected to the
FIG Athletes Commission as a rhythmic gymnastics representative.
Routine music information
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sessina, Vera
Russian rhythmic gymnasts
1986 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Yekaterinburg
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
World Games gold medalists
World Games silver medalists
World Games bronze medalists
Competitors at the 2005 World Games
Universiade medalists in gymnastics
Universiade silver medalists for Russia
Universiade bronze medalists for Russia