Ekaterina Olegovna Vedeneeva (Russian: Екатерина Олеговна Веденеева; Slovene: Jekaterina Olegovna Vedenejeva; born 23 June 1994)[1] is a Russian-born Slovenian individual rhythmic gymnast (competing for Slovenia since 2018, having previously competed for Russia).[2]

Ekaterina Vedeneeva
Vedeneeva in 2022
Personal information
Full nameEkaterina Olegovna Vedeneeva
Alternative name(s)Jekaterina Vedenejeva
Nickname(s)Katja, Katya
Born (1994-06-23) 23 June 1994 (age 30)
Irkutsk, Russia
ResidenceLjubljana, Slovenia
Gymnastics career
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
Country represented Slovenia
Years on national team2018–present
Former countries represented Russia
LevelSenior International Elite
ClubTiM
GymGimnastični center Ljubljana
Head coach(es)Elena Drozhanova
Former coach(es)Irina Viner
Medal record
Representing  Slovenia
Rhythmic gymnastics
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 0 0 2
European Championships 0 0 1
FIG World Cup series 2 4 5
FIG World Challenge Cup series 0 3 8
Grand Prix 7 3 6
World Games 0 0 1
Total 9 10 23
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Sofia Ribbon
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Valencia Ribbon
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Baku Clubs
World Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Clubs

She made her debut for Slovenia in August 2018 at the World Cup event in Kazan, Russian Federation.[2] On the national level, she is a four-time (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024) Slovenian National all-around champion. In 2021, she became the first Slovenian rhythmic gymnast to compete at the Olympics when she competed at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and she competed again at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she qualified for the final. She is the first Slovenian rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the European and World Championships, and the first Slovenian gymnast of any discipline to win a medal in the history of The World Games.

Career

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Her mother, Julia Vedeneeva, has coached rhythmic gymnastics and encouraged her to take up the sport.[3] She started training rhythmic gymnastics in her hometown of Irkutsk in Russia and later moved to Novogorsk, where the main training center for rhythmic gymnastics in Russia is located.[4]

In 2015, Vedeneeva was selected to represent Russia, together with Maria Titova, at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea. She finished in 5th place in the all-around competition, tied with Elizaveta Nazarenkova.[5] She qualified to finals with two apparatuses, placing 5th in the ball final with a score of 17.550 and 7th in the clubs final with a score of 17.250.[6]

2017-2021 Olympic cycle

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2018

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In 2018, she chose to represent Slovenia.[7] She moved to Ljubljana with her coach.[4] On July 31,[8] she officially received her Slovenian citizenship. This gave her the opportunity to start competing at international competitions. In August, she competed at World Cup Kazan in Russia. Vedeneeva placed 8th in the all-around and qualified to two apparatus finals, where she placed 5th with hoop (18.950) and 7th with ball (17.800). In September 2018, she competed at her first World Championships. She helped Slovenia to achieve their best result ever in the team competition, placing 11th together with teammates Aleksandra Podgoršek and Anja Tomazin. She also placed 17th in the all-around qualifications and qualified to the final. She placed 13th, which was also the best result at that time for Slovenia.[4]

2019

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In April 2019 she became the first Slovenian to earn a medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup, achieving a bronze in the ribbon final at the Tashkent World Cup.[9] At the 2019 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, in Baku, Azerbaijan, she qualified for the club final, where she finished in 7th place. That same year, she became the first Slovenian to win a medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix after winning a silver medal in the ball final at the Holon Grand Prix in Israel.[10] At the 2019 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, she qualified to the individual all-around final, where she placed 17th with total score of 78.650, just missing out on an Olympic berth by one place.[11]

2020

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In 2020, she started the season at Grand Prix in Moscow, where she placed 6th in the all-around competition. The next day, she competed in all of the apparatus finals and won a bronze medal in the ribbon final with a score of 19.900. She represented Slovenia at the 2020 European Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine and finished on 13th place in the all-around competition.

2021

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In 2021, she started the season at the Grand Prix stage in Moscow, where she placed 8th in the all-around competition and qualified to all the apparatus finals. She won a bronze medal in the ribbon final with a score of 22.050. During the 2021 World Cup series, Vedeneeva qualified for an Olympic berth as the highest ranked eligible gymnast who had not already qualified for the Olympics, in front of Uzbekistan's Sabina Tashkenbaeva and Japan's Chisaki Oiwa.[12] At the Moscow World Challenge Cup, she won a bronze medal in the all-around competition - the first World Cup all-around medal for Slovenia. The following day, she also won three more bronze medals in ball, clubs and ribbon in the apparatus finals.

At the 2020 Olympic Games (delayed and held in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic), Vedeneeva finished sixteenth in the qualification round for the individual all-around final.[13] She was the first rhythmic gymnast to represent Slovenia at the Olympics.[14]

In October 2021, she competed at the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, qualifying to the all-around final and finishing in 12th place. She also qualified for the ribbon final, achieving 7th place. It was the first time that a Slovenian gymnast had managed to advance to a world championship apparatus final.[15]

2022-2024 Olympic cycle

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2022

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In June 2022, she won her third Slovenian National all-around title, almost 22 points ahead of silver medalist Brigita Krašovec.

Vedeneeva was the first Slovenian rhythmic gymnast to compete at a World Games at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, USA. She placed 4th in the hoop and ribbon finals and took a historic bronze medal in the clubs final.

On 14–18 September 2022, Vedeneeva competed at her fourth World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She qualified to the ball, clubs and ribbon finals and placed 6th, 8th and 3rd in them respectively. Her bronze medal with the ribbon was her first World Championships medal and also the first medal for Slovenia at an Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships.[16][17] In the individual all-around qualifications, she took 6th place and advanced to the final, where she finished in 7th place, her best result to that date.

2023

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Vedeneeva began her 2023 season on 17 March by appearing at the World Cup in Athens. She finished 7th in the all-around final, won a gold medal in the ribbon final, and was 6th in clubs and 4th in ball. She also competed at the World Cups in Sofia (31 March - 2 April, 9th in the all around and 6th in ball); Tashkent (14-16 April, 3rd in ball, and 4th in the all-around, clubs, ribbon and hoop); Baku (21-23 April, 12th in the all-around, 8th in clubs and 4th in ribbon); and Milan (21-23 July, 9th in the all-around competition, 4th in ribbon and 7th in clubs).[18]

At the 2023 European Championships in May, Vedeeneva finished 6th in the all-around final, 4th with the ribbon, and 3rd with clubs. The bronze medal was her first European Championships medal and also the first won by a gymnast representing Slovenia.[19] In addition, she appeared at the World Challenge Cup in Cluj Napoca (14-16 July, finishing 9th in the all-around and 5th in clubs).[18]

At the 2023 World Championships in August, Vedeeneva she scored 97.550 in qualification, earning herself an Olympic spot and all-around final place and also qualifying for the ball and hoop apparatus finals (where she finished 8th and 6th respectively). At the competition, she changed her ball routine from music performed by Russian and Putin-ally Philipp Kirkorov to a song by the Ukrainian Mariya Chaykowskaya.[20] Vedeeneva also qualified to the ribbon final, where she beat the score of Italy's Sofia Raffaeli by 0.05 to end in third place. She thus defended her 2022 World Championship bronze medal. She finished 9th in the all-around final.[21]

2024

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Vedeneeva began her 2024 season at the Grand Prix in Marbella, Spain. She was sixth in the all-around and won silver in the ribbon final behind Stiliana Nikolova. She also won bronze medals in the ball and hoop finals.[22][23] At the Athens World Cup in Palaio Faliro, Greece, she placed 4th in the all-around and qualified to the clubs final, where she again placed 4th. She competed at Grand Prix Thiais at the end of March and won the bronze medal in the all-around behind Takhmina Ikromova and Hélène Karbanov. In April, she finished 4th in the all-around at Tashkent World Cup and qualified to all four finals.

On 3–5 May, Vedeneeva competed at the inaugural 2024 European Cup Baku, where she took 6th place in the all-around qualifications and qualified to all apparatus finals. Two weeks later on May 18, she won her fourth national title. She said that she was very happy with her performance and that she had wanted to show she was well-prepared for the 2024 European Championships being held the week after.[24]

At the European Championships, Vedeneeva finished in 11th place in the all-around final after a drop at the end of her clubs routine and having a knot in her ribbon routine. Vedeneeva expressed satisfaction with her stronger performances with the ball and hoop but dissatisfaction with her score for the hoop, accusing the judges of bias. She said, "There were six European championships in my career, and they were all very biased, and not just to me. The scandal that took place yesterday with the license for the Olympic Games reaffirms the full subjectivity of our sport", referencing the Polish Gymnastics Federation's accusation that one of their gymnast's scores were unfairly lowered to prevent her from winning the Olympic quota available at the Championships.[25] Vedeneeva qualified for one apparatus final, hoop, and came in 5th place.[26]

Vedeneeva competed at the Milan World Cup in late June. She came in sixth in the all-around and qualified for three of the four apparatus finals. The last day of the competition, June 23, fell on her 30th birthday, for which she was presented flowers.[27]

On August 8–9, she represented Slovenia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, where she was the first Slovenian gymnast to qualify to the individual all-around final. In the finals, she placed 6th. Afterward, she said that it was the best performance she could give and that she was not immediately planning on retiring, although she was unsure of whether she would continue for another four years.[28]

Gymnastics technique

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Vedeneeva is known for the strength of her classical ballet technique and her pivot turns in various positions. She has also discussed the challenges of both incorporating enough apparatus difficulty elements in a routine to gain a high enough difficulty score to be competitive and preserving the artistry of rhythmic gymnastics in the newly open-ended marking system of the 2016-2021 quad which, she believes, prefers the former.[29]

Detailed Olympic results

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Year Competition Description Location Music Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying
2020 Olympics Tokyo All-around 16th 89.700
"Libertango" by The Swingle Singers Hoop 17th 22.800
"Boléro: Tempo di Bolero" by London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado Ball 15th 23.550
"Белый лебедь" by Tamara Gverdtsiteli Clubs 18th 22.550
"Nocturne" by Tamara Gverdtsiteli, Dmitry Duzhev Ribbon 11th 20.800
2024 Olympics Paris All-around 6th 131.900 6th 130.800
"Mind Heist: Evolution" by Zack Hemsey Hoop 7th 34.100 7th 34.150
"Demain n'existe pas" by Lara Fabian Ball 8th 31.950 11th 32.600
"Swan Lake (Act IV Allegro)" by Smolensk Symphonic Orchestra Clubs 8th 33.150 8th 32.300
"Do not Deny, if Loving" by Vlad Nezhniy Ribbon 5th 32.700 8th 31.750

Achievements

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Routine music information

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Year Apparatus Music title
2024 Hoop Mind Heist: Evolution by Zack Hemsey
Ball Demain n'existe pas by Lara Fabian
Clubs "Swan Lake (Act IV Allegro)", by Smolensk Symphonic Orchestra
Ribbon Do not Deny, if Loving by Vlad Nezhniy
2023 Hoop (first) Je n'attendais que vous by Garou
Hoop (second) Мама by Anzhelika Varum
Ball (first) Dulcea Si Tandra Mea Fiara by Catalina Caraus and Eugen Doga
Ball (second) Diva by Filipp Kirkorov
Ball (third) Поговори со мной by Марія Чайковська
Clubs Trije ljubčki by Helena Blagne
Ribbon Я тебя никогда не забудуn by Тамара Гвердцители and Д. Дюжев (Tamara Gverdtsiteli and Dmitry Duzhev)
2022 Hoop (first) Et Su Tu N'existais Pas by Toto Cutugno, Veronika Agapova
Hoop (second) Nocturne No. 20 in C Sharp Minor, Op. Posth by Frederique Chopin
Ball (first) Libertango by Lise de la Salle
Ball (second) The Winner Takes It All by Carla Bruni
Clubs (first) Malagueña by Connie Francis
Clubs (second) Катя-Катерина by Андрей Державин
Ribbon (first) Поговори со мной by Мария Чайковская
Ribbon (second) Эхо любви by Анна Герман
2021 Hoop Libertango by The Swingle Singers
Ball Boléro: Tempo di Bolero by London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Clubs Белый лебедь by Tamara Gverdtsiteli
Ribbon Nocturne by Tamara Gverdtsiteli, Dmitry Duzhev
2020 Hoop Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor, Op.18: I. Moderato by Sviatoslav Richter
Ball Boléro by London Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Clubs Bahama Mama by Boney M.
Ribbon unknown
2019 Hoop (first) Ka-Ching! by Shania Twain
Hoop (second) Malagueña by Connie Francis
Ball Lyra by Maksim Mrvica
Clubs Harika by Ozan Doğulu
Ribbon Hoşgeldin by Nida Öz
2018 Hoop Madrid by Sayed Balaha
Ball Sunrise, Sunset by Fiddler on the Roof
Clubs Requiem by Alma
Ribbon The Color Of The Night by Lauren Christy
2017 Hoop Is It Right by Elaiza
Ball Baby I Don't Know (I Love You Remix) by DJ Jessie Cole
Clubs Ravel's Bolero by Ray Conniff
Ribbon "Caruso" by Lara Fabian
2016 Hoop Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Emily Browning
Ball Les Demoiselles by Rochefort Theme
Clubs Asturias (feat. Jesse Cook) by William Joseph
Ribbon L'eté indien by Piano Bar Band
2015 Hoop Le Bien Qui Fait Mal by Mozart L'Opéra Rock
Ball Fantasy No 1 by Tetyana Hoch & Lazy Pixel
Clubs Asturias (feat. Jesse Cook) by William Joseph
Ribbon L'eté indien by Piano Bar Band

Competitive highlights

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(Team competitions in seniors are held only at the World Championships, Europeans and other Continental Games.)

International: Senior
Year Event AA Team Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2024 Olympic Games 6th
World Cup Milan 6th 13th (Q) 6th 5th 7th
European Championships 11th 5th 11th (Q) 9th (Q) 15th (Q)
World Challenge Cup Portimao 4th 9th (Q) 3rd 3rd 2nd
European Cup Baku 6th (Q) 6th 5th 4th 5th
World Cup Tashkent 4th 7th 4th 6th 4th
Grand Prix Thiais 3rd 5th 2nd 1st 1st
World Cup Athens 4th 10th (Q) 14th (Q) 4th 9th (Q)
Grand Prix Marbella 6th 3rd 3rd 9th 2nd
2023 World Championships 9th 6th 6th 9th (Q) 3rd
World Cup Milan 9th 21st (Q) 10th (Q) 7th 4th
European Championships 6th 9th (Q) 16th (Q) 3rd 4th
World Cup Baku 12th 30th (Q) 12th (Q) 8th 4th
World Cup Tashkent 4th 4th 3rd 4th 4th
World Cup Sofia 9th 6th 14th (Q) 12th˙
World Cup Athens 7th 14th (Q) 4th 6th 1st
Grand Prix Marbella 6th 9th (Q) 5th 8th 4th
2022 Grand Prix Brno 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
World Championships 7th 9th (Q) 6th 8th 3rd
World Games 4th 11th (Q) 3rd 4th
World Cup Pesaro 6th 15th (Q) 2nd 4th 3rd
World Challenge Cup Pamplona 3rd 2nd 4th 3rd 2nd
European Championship 6th 6th 6th 4th 5th
World Cup Baku 5th 11th (Q) 9th (Q) 7th 3rd
World Cup Tashkent 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st
Grand Prix Moscow 6th 5th 4th 8th 3rd
2021 World Championships 12th 16th (Q) 17th (Q) 14th (Q) 7th
Olympic Games 16th (Q)
World Cup Moscow 3rd 5th 3rd 3rd 3rd
European Championships 12th 9th (Q) 17th (Q) 14th (Q) 22nd (Q)
World Cup Pesaro 11th 15th (Q) 10th (Q) 19th (Q) 4th
World Cup Baku 11th 19th (Q) 18th (Q) 9th (Q) 7th
World Cup Tashkent 6th 10th (Q) 7th 6th 9th (Q)
World Cup Sofia 12th 5th 11th (Q) 24th (Q) 6th
Grand Prix Moscow 8th 4th 4th 5th 3rd
2020 European Championships 13th
Grand Prix Moscow 6th 8th 8th 5th 3rd
2019 World Championships 17th 22nd 17th (Q) 11th (Q) 17th (Q) 21st (Q)
World Cup Kazan 9th 18th (Q) 19th (Q) 9th (Q) 6th
World Cup Cluj-Napoca 14th 11th (Q) 10th (Q) 9th (Q) 24th (Q)
Grand Prix Holon 4th 2nd 6th 5th
European Championships 10th (Q) 10th (Q) 7th 10th (Q)
World Cup Baku 21st 35th (Q) 17th (Q) 20th (Q) 23rd (Q)
World Cup Tashkent 7th 13th (Q) 7th 4th 3rd
World Cup Pesaro 15th 36th (Q) 10th (Q) 11th (Q) 18th (Q)
Grand Prix Thiais 18th 20th (Q) 16th (Q) 9th 24th (Q)
Grand Prix Moscow 15th 16th (Q) 15th (Q) 12th (Q) 18th (Q)
2018 World Championships 13th 11th 10th (Q) 27th (Q) 24th (Q) 14th (Q)
World Cup Kazan 8th 5th 7th 12th (Q) 12th (Q)
Luxembourg Trophy 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Aura Cup 1st 1st 4th 1st 1st
2017 International Tournament of Holon 2nd 3rd 6th 4th 1st
Luxembourg Trophy 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
2015 Summer Universiade 5th 9th (Q) 5th 7th 10th (Q)
National
Year Event AA Team Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2024 Slovenian Championships 1st
2022 Slovenian Championships 1st DNS DNS DNS DNS
2021 Slovenian Championships 1st DNS DNS DNS DNS
2019 Slovenian Championships 1st 2nd DNS DNS DNS DNS
2017 Russian Championships 5th 5th 3rd 5th
2015 Russian Championships 7th 5th 5th 3rd 4th
Q = Qualifications (Did not advance to Event Final due to the 2 gymnast per country rule, only Top 8 highest score);
WR = World Record; WD = Withdrew; NT = No Team Competition; DNS = Did Not Start

References

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  1. ^ "About". Facebook.
  2. ^ a b "FIG profile". International Gymnastics Federation.
  3. ^ "Reason for taking up the sport". FIG.
  4. ^ a b c Košir, Alenka (13 August 2017). "Rusinja v Sloveniji: Moj oče zelo rad spremlja nogomet, zato v naši družini vsi poznamo Handanovića" ["Katya" from Siberia, who pursues her Olympic dream with the Slovenian coat of arms on her jersey]. siol.net (in Slovenian). Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  5. ^ 大石貴夫 (13 July 2015). "Individual All-Around Final".
  6. ^ "28th Summer Universiade Gwangju 2015". 13 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Additional information" (in Slovenian). FIG.
  8. ^ "S ponosom sporočamo, da je Ekaterina Vedeneeva, odlična tekmovalka, ki je prišla živeti v Slovenijo, tudi uradno postala okrepitev slovenske ritmične gimnastike in našega kluba". Facebook (in Slovenian). 31 July 2018.
  9. ^ UEG
  10. ^ Twitter - Gimnasia Mundial
  11. ^ "Zgodovinski uspeh za Slovenijo" [Hostproc achievement for Slovenia] (in Slovenian). 19 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Averina sisters dominate as World Cup Series concludes in Pesaro". Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics — Individual All-Around — Qualification — Results" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  14. ^ Brennan, Eliott (19 May 2022). "Olympians to star at FIG World Challenge Cup in Pamplona". Inside the Games. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Vedeneeva v Kitakyushiju piše slovensko ritmično zgodovino" [Vedeneeva writes Slovenian rhythmic history in Kitakyushi] (in Slovenian). 29 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Svetovno prvenstvo bronastega leska" [Bronze luster World Championship] (in Slovenian). 19 September 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Katja piše zgodovino slovenske ritmične gimnastike" [Katja writes the history of Slovenian rhythmic gymnastics] (in Slovenian). 15 September 2022.
  18. ^ a b "FIG - Results". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ^ Matic, Prevc (21 May 2023). "Vedenejeva bronasta s kiji, s trakovi na nehvaležnem četrtem mestu" [Vedeneeva bronze with clubs, in a thankless fourth place with ribbon]. siol.net (in Slovenian). Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  20. ^ "40th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships". gym.longinestiming.com. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  21. ^ STA (24 August 2023). "Slovenska reprezentantka na SP v Valencii do kolajne s trakom" [The Slovenian representative at the WC in Valencia to the medal with a ribbon] (in Slovenian).
  22. ^ "Resultados". infogim.andaluciagymonline.com. 10 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Vedenejevi na VN Marbelle tri kolajne" (in Slovenian). 11 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Jekaterina Vedenejeva do zanesljive zmage v mnogoboju" [Ekaterina Vedeneeva to a reliable victory in the all-around]. Siol (in Slovenian). 18 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Vedenejeva 11. v Evropi, Nikolova osvojila zlato" [Vedeneeva 11th in Europe, Nikolova won the gold]. rtvslo.si (in Slovenian). 25 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Vedenejeva peta z obročem" [Vedeneeva fifth with hoop]. siol.net (in Slovenian). 26 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Three nations sweep all the gold medals at the Milan Rhythmic World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Jekaterina Vedenejeva v Parizu do šestega mesta" [Ekaterina Vedeneeva in Paris to sixth place]. siol.net (in Slovenian). 9 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  29. ^ Nayyar, Namita (17 August 2022). "Ekaterina Vedeneeva: Slovenian rhythmic gymnast, World Games Bronze Medalist mantra of success "Look in one direction, have one goal" - Page 4 of 4". Women Fitness. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Katja piše zgodovino slovenske ritmične gimnastike" (in Slovenian). 15 September 2022.
  31. ^ "Novi slovenski mejnik Rusinje" [A new Slovenian milestone for Russian gymnast] (in Slovenian). 21 May 2023.
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