From Late Start to Success: Belarusian Rhythmic Gymnast Daria Verenich’s Journey into Professional Sports

Member of the Belarusian rhythmic gymnastics team and international competition medalist, **Darya Verenich**, shared her journey into professional sports.

— Originally, my older sister was supposed to take up rhythmic gymnastics. She was brought to the club at the age of four, but the coaches deemed it too early. I started gymnastics at eight. Initially, I was also turned away and was advised to try acrobatics or trampoline, but my mother insisted, and a talented coach, Victoria Viktorovna Vnuchkina, took me under her wing. During my first year, I participated in training but didn’t actually handle the equipment (like the rope, ball, hoop, ribbon, and clubs — Ed. note). Then I had to catch up quickly since the other girls had joined the club much earlier than I did.

— To improve flexibility, girls typically go through stretching and learn to do splits. Many describe this process as quite painful. Did you experience the same?
— Absolutely. Because I joined later, I had to stretch longer than the others. How did that look? I would place my legs on two chairs while the coach would put another chair under them to push my flexibility. It was uncomfortable, and at times it brought me to tears, but it was bearable. Starting to work with the equipment was much more challenging for me. I was late in picking them up, and could only perform basic skills with the hoop when I needed to master the advanced ones. A week later, I was already competing. Those competitions were unforgettable, to say the least: I kept losing the hoop. However, I gradually got used to it and began to enjoy it.

By the age of 14, I was taken to Minsk. They could have brought me in earlier, but my parents decided otherwise. In August 2020, I finally made the move. I was accommodated in a dormitory at the Palace of Rhythmic Gymnastics and enrolled at the Belarusian State University of Physical Culture. You know, if I were a coach, I wouldn’t have taken myself. Why? The difference between my skills five years ago and what I can do now is astronomical. I was afraid to perform and struggled with the equipment. But everything has changed now. I am very grateful to my coaches, Yulia Olegovna Bichun-Komarova and Irina Yuryevna Leparskaya, for the significant progress I’ve made, — quotes Verenich from Onliner.

The 19-year-old Darya Verenich is a bronze medalist of the BRICS Games in rhythmic gymnastics (2024), a silver medalist of the Belarus Cup, and the national champion among juniors (2021).