This competition was held in Malaga, (Spain) on August 5th. It was a little pre-olympic competition. All groups save Belarus and Greece that were qualify to the Sydney Olympic Games were there.
We could see the great Russian group, who did, as always, very good and got the gold medal. The surprise was Bulgaria, who did not so good last year at the worlds in Osaka, but they had improved a lot. They presented maybe the most risky routines. Spain was not lucky and they did their ribbons and hoops routine with a knot in one ribbon.
1st.- Russia
2nd.- France
3rd.- Spain

Between each rotation, we could see and exhibition by some young gymnast from Malaga, and also by some of the Spanish National Individual Team, as Almudena Cid, Esther Dominguez and Tania Campoo. Almudena presented for the first time her new ribbon routine for the Olympics. She decided to changed her old one only about 2 months before the Olympics as she felt she could do it and she likes this music more. She also did her fantastics ball and rope routines and changed the rope final that it is even better and more original than the old one.  We could hear russian and bulgarian gymnasts supporting Almu, they like her! Esher Dominguez did her wonderful ball, but has a littel mistake in her first catch,... nothing serious. And she did her ribbon and hoop as ood as always. The little Tania Campoo did a very correctly hoop. she is a good gymnast but still young. She has to improve a bit ;-)

After the competition, there was the main surprise! The wonderful Olympic Champions in Atlanta did a choreography as a tribute to the Spanish National former coach, the bulgarian Emilia Boneva. They began with a corporal expressive choreography, very nice and then, they did their 5 hoops Olympic routine. The whole pabilion start crying,... audience, coaches, gymnasts,.. everybody. Finally, ALmudena worte a poem to Emilia. She couldn't end the poem without tears.
Between the invites, there were great former Spanish gymnasts such as Carolina Pascual, Rosabel Espinosa, the World Champion Group, and past gymnasts of the 80s.
It was a very nice experience.