BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Terhi Toivanen, a sports event manager with the International Gymnastics Federation, said on Wednesday that the gymnastics competition format at the Youth Olympic Games is a superb and innovative success.
"We didn't choose to just repeat the regular Olympic concept, but we chose to be different," Toivanen said. "That's only possible at the Youth Olympic Games. Therefore, we introduced the multi-discipline team competition, but also a different competition schedule."
"I think it was all worth it. Of course it was a bit exciting before we started, but it all worked out pretty well."
At Buenos Aires 2018, gymnasts from different disciplines and nations/regions were drawn into 12 teams, each with 13 gymnasts, for the new multi-discipline mixed team event. The teams were named after legendary gymnasts, such as Nadia Comaneci of Romania or Yang Wei from China.
"The kids all seemed to enjoy it and made friends with other gymnasts that they never worked with before. They still walk around the city with their team T-shirts, which is pretty cool," Toivanen said.
"I think this format is the future for the Youth Games," Toivanen added.
