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Longines, official timekeeper and data handler at the 29th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships 2009, is pleased to announce that the Longines Prize for Elegance has been given to Anna Bessonova from the Ukraine. This award decorates the athlete having demonstrated the most remarkable elegance in the course of an international competition at world level. Prize winner Anna Bessonova was honoured with a trophy created by the Swiss artist Jean-Pierre Gerber, a Conquest watch from the Longines Sport Collection and a cheque for US$ 5,000. Furthermore, Longines was proud to present its new Ambassador of Elegance, Evgeniya Kanaeva, the Olympic all-around gold medalist. She impressed the judges with her outstanding performance and won the 2009 World Champion title in individual all-around today.

In gymnastics, the challenge of movement not only demands flawless execution, but also intangible grace, beauty and harmony known as "elegance". At the 29th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, all participants in the individual all-around finals held on Friday September 11, 2009 were nominated for the Longines Prize for Elegance.
The athletes under consideration for the prize are evaluated according to a number of complementary criteria. In addition to technical considerations, each athlete's performance is judged with respect to emotional appeal, beauty, charm, charisma as well as grace and harmony of movement. Clearly, each juror interprets these criteria individually, yet the result is often unanimous, as it was again on this occasion.

The jury of the Longines Prize for Elegance brought together Dr. Bruno Grandi, President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), Mrs. Eriko Hayashi (Hayashi Tokeiho), Minoru Amano, Brand Manager for Longines Japan and Juan-Carlos Capelli, Head of International Marketing, Longines. The jury's individual assessments were combined to form a collective judgment reflecting a perceptive and balanced evaluation of the athletes' performances.
Anna Bessonova
Anna Bessonova's elegance is bewitching. Her grace wins the favour of any public. Her technique speaks for itself. At the 2005 world championships in Baku, Anna lined her nest with a world title, for the first time in her prestigious career. In 2007, at the World Championships in Patras, Anna already won the Longines Prize for Elegance. In 2008, at the Beijing Olympic Games she won the Bronze medal. Anna Bessonova is definitely one of the brightest stars of Rhythmic Gymnastics today.
Anna Bessonova has a reputation for elegant and graceful performance, which led Longines' Head of International Marketing, Juan-Carlos Capelli to comment: "With her fluidity and harmony, Anna is simply the definition of elegance."

The Longines Prize for Elegance is presented in the form of a trophy created especially for Longines by the Swiss artist Jean-Pierre Gerber. In addition, Anna Bessonova received a cheque for US$ 5,000 and the official watch of the 29th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, a Conquest model of the Longines Sport Collection, representing the elegance that is Longines' guiding principle.
Longines also took the opportunity to give a Conquest watch to its new Ambassador of Elegance, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist, Russian rhythmic gymnast, Evgeniya Kanaeva, who won the 2009 World Champion title in individual all-around today in Mie.