Linoy Ashram is a rising star of Israel's
rhythmic gymnastic team.
Everything about me is fast.
So some people like it more, they like it when it's faster,
it looks prettier, more fun.
It's Linoy's dream that her unique style will propel her
towards a medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
In the Middle East and North Africa
the next generation of athletes rise.
An elite force, exceeding expectation...
..to reach gold.
These are their stories...
..through their eyes.
When I was little
I was a very hyperactive child.
I couldn't sit on the sideline, I couldn't sit still.
I had to move and do sports, and my mum saw that
and they decided to send me to an after school sports club,
a little class that taught rhythmic gymnastics
and I really loved that type of sport, and competing,
and wearing the outfits.
To hone her competitive skills,
Linoy is leading her club's rhythmic gymnastics team
into Israel's national junior competition in two days' time.
Linoy, by far the most experienced member of the team,
is using the event to showcase some of her high-risk moves.
"Risk" is a risky movement
where the more moves you do underneath
the higher the risk is.
You must throw the apparatus perfectly
and catch it as high and as well as possible.
It's not perfect but well done for catching.
I am essentially a singles gymnast, not a group one
and most of the time I do singles work
but I also have the federation behind me
and whenever I can I help and support them.
Linoy's determination to succeed led her to the
Youth Olympic Games Nanjing 2014
where she competed against 42 of the best young rhythmic
gymnasts in the world.
The sport began in the 1940s in the
Soviet Union, when expressive dance
merged with competitive gymnastics.
This graceful women-only discipline made its Olympic
debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles in 1984
where years of training are poured into an intense
few minutes of competition,
where a single mistake can cost a medal.
My relationships with my trainers are very good.
Each one is just like a second mother to me.
Sometimes we have fights and it's difficult to be with them.
When training is so hard you feel like you can't go on.
It's physically hard and emotionally hard
but I won't let it break me.
Stand up... Great, well done.
Well done, very beautiful.
Hold the legs more and well done.
It's the morning of Israel's national rhythmic gymnastic
group final and Linoy has been awake since 5am.
A seasoned competitor, Linoy makes sure that whatever the
case, her team's having fun.
Today's event,
held inside Israel's National Olympic Sports Centre,
has attracted the nation's most accomplished junior rhythmic
gymnasts and a huge number of spectators.
After months of perfecting the same choreographed routine,
Linoy's team cannot afford to make a single mistake in their
in their 150 second performance.
Judges submit two sets of scores, one for mistakes,
the other for the degree of difficulty.
Linoy knows that the most number of points
are lost when a performer drops an apparatus
but still she plans to execute her final move.
I am very pleased with the team.
Come over here...
I am very happy with the team, I really think they gave their
all and as far as I'm concerned, they are champions.
And out of more than 20 competing teams,
they take first place.
I enjoyed it very much, being with my favourite girls,
my best friends.
Standing on the podium in first place with them was the best
thing ever.
My long term goal for now, is to get to the Tokyo Olympics
in four years' time.
(LINOY IS DEVOTED TO REPRESENTING ISRAEL AT
(THE OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020)
(IT'S HER DREAM TO BECOME ISRAEL'S FIRST RHYTHMIC GYMNAST
(TO WIN HER COUNTRY AN OLYMPIC MEDAL)