Group all-around: Russia (gold), Italy (silver), China (bronze)

Beijing, December 7 - Comments from the medalists after the Group All-Around Final.

Russia: (Elena Posevina) - gold medalists

Opening words:
"I like China and I like the competition.  I think Chinese people are very friendly and the audience was very passionate."

On the Chinese team:
"The starting order meant that we could not see the Chinese performance, but during the second rotation the judges gave them higher marks."

On the Russian team competing at next year's Olympic games:
"This team will compete at the Olympic Games next year."

Italy: (Fabrizia D'Ottavio) - silver medalists

Opening words:
"This is a very good experience for me.  I think the organization not only in the venue but also the volunteers and service staff was very good.  I got a good impression.  All the gymnasts performed quite well and I expect that to be the same at the Olympic Games."

On the Chinese team:
"It was a pity because of the order we didn't see the Chinese performance during the first rotation but in the second we saw them.  They did quite well and they were very precise with a good routine.  They must be very happy to win in front of their home crowd."

On always finishing second and how they can improve:
"Our competition was not perfect but it is only the preparation for the Olympic Games.  We all have many changes to make.  We did not perform very well in qualifying yesterday but we hope to improve in the future."

China: (Zhang Shuo) – bronze medalist

Opening words:
"This is my first time competing in China.  The Olympics are not only a dream of China's but also ours.  All the gymnasts did well.  We are really excited about the Olympic Games."

On their World Championship performance:
"After the World Championships we improved our compositions and made the most of our experience there. 

On the future:
"We really achieved very good results this time so in the future we will improve on our difficulty and execution. We think we will make some improvements."

ONS za /zj