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Friday, September 29
Kabaeva excels in rhythmic qualifying
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Russian world champion Alina Kabaeva
twirled her way to the top Friday in qualifying for the Olympic
rhythmic gymnastics finals. |  | | Russia's Alina Kabaeva performs with ball in the rhythmic gymnastics women's individual all-around qualification at the Olympic Games in Sydney. |
The defending European and world titlist scored 9.925 in both
the ball and ribbon routines to make the 10-woman finals, scheduled
for Sunday.
The United States does not have anyone in the rhythmic
competition.
Qualifying scores are wiped out for the finals, although that
isn't expected to hinder Kabaeva. She is considered a big favorite
in a sport that has produced few major upsets through the years.
Finishing second after qualifying was Yulia Raskina of Belarus,
followed by Yulia Barsukova of Russia and Eva Serrano of France.
Evmorfia Ntona of Greece earned the 10th and last spot in
finals, edging Spain's Esther Dominguez by 0.101 points.
Team finals will be determined Saturday, with Greece, Russia and
Belarus the favorites. Spain, the gold medalist in Atlanta, failed
to make the eight-team field.
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