"For the first time this year, I felt so ready for victory," said Azerbaijan's trampoline gymnast Tofig Aliyev, reflecting on his win at the FACEOFF international competition in Herning, Denmark.
Idman.biz reports that in an interview with Report, the gymnast expressed gratitude to everyone who supported him before and after the competition: "10,000 spectators in the Boxen Arena were watching us live. I earned my spot in the final at the qualification round in Norway. There were athletes who qualified for the final with 2 and 5 gold medals from the qualification round. This was my third year participating in 'FACEOFF' in front of such a large audience. This year, for the first time, I felt fully prepared for victory. As the number one participant, I was the first to start. In my first jump, I performed a move that had never been done before in any competition and scored a perfect 10 from the judges. This not only put psychological pressure on the other participants but also motivated me. I capitalized on the moment and achieved my best performance on the gymnastics mat, scoring 19.4 out of 20, which put me in first place."
He also spoke about taking risks during his second performance: "Before the second jump, my lead over the closest competitor was 4 points. The mini tramp (trampoline) in the second jump wasn't my best, and I tried to maintain balance as much as possible. As you know, after 3 moves, the highest 2 scores are counted. I took some risks and ended up in second place for that performance. But I was still in first place overall. My third jump didn't go as planned, but I remained in the middle of the rankings and stayed in first place overall."
Before the final, Aliyev noted that the competitors had narrowed the point gap: "Despite this, I only needed 16 points out of 20. We had 10 minutes for the final, and that was equivalent to 4 jumps. To win, just two solid elements were enough. The first two jumps didn't go well, but in the third attempt, I managed to increase my score (7.6 points). The final element, a triple salto and triple pirouette, was something I had never performed before. I saw that an English athlete scored 10 points for this element, so I decided to try it. I succeeded, and I became the champion. Winning feels amazing, especially when it's earned in such a way."
The gymnast expressed his gratitude to those who supported him: "I thank everyone who believed in me, especially the Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation. We have the World Championship at the end of 2025 ahead of us. We will do our best to defend our title. In addition, we aim to stand out in individual events. We hope that two members of the team will be on the podium."
Idman.biz
