Vera Tugolukova

2023

Tugolukova joined the Cypriot national team as a junior in 2023 and her first international competition representing Cyprus was in March at the Aphrodite Cup in Athens, Greece, finishing fifth in the all-around in her age category and winning silver in the hoop final.^[7] Then at the Sofia Cup, she won two golds in the ball and club finals and silver in the ribbon final, while in hoop she was fifth.^[8][9] In the AGF Trophy in Baku, Azerbaijan, she won gold medals in the all-around and with the hoop and silver medals in the ball and clubs finals.^[10]

Tugolukova was selected to compete at the 2023 Junior World Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She competed with hoop, ball, and clubs, while her teammate, Nika Khodareva, did so with the ribbon.^[11] Tugolukova qualified for three apparatus finals and finished seventh in hoop, fifth in ball, and sixth in clubs.^[12]

2024

Tugolukova became age-eligible for senior competitions in 2024. She made her senior debut at the Palaio Faliro World Cup and finished sixth in the all-around.^[13] In the apparatus finals, she won a bronze medal in the ribbon final, which was the first-ever medal for Cyprus on the FIG World Cup series.^[14] At her next event, the Sofia World Cup, she finished 14th in the all-around.^[15] She then won three medals at the first edition of the European Cup in Baku: silver with the ribbon and bronze with the hoop and clubs.^[16]

At the 2024 European Championships in Budapest, she finished 11th in the all-around during the qualification round. As the highest-ranked gymnast from a country that had not already qualified, Tugolukova earned the continental berth for the 2024 Summer Olympics ahead of Poland's Liliana Lewińska.^[17][18] The Polish Gymnastics Federation protested the results and filed appeals to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the Gymnastics Ethics Foundation.^[19][20] Tugolukova's Olympic qualification was confirmed by the FIG on 4 June.^[21] She finished 16th in the all-around final,^[22] fourth in the clubs final,^[23] and seventh in the ball final.^[24]

In August, Vera competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She was the youngest gymnast in the entire rhythmic gymnastics competition. She ended the qualification round in 16th place and did not advance to the final.^[25]

2025

In February 2025, Evangelia Trikomiti, who was president of the superior jury at the 2024 European Championships, was banned from the sport for four years after the FIG ruled she had altered the scores at the competition to ensure Tugolukova finished in the Olympic qualification place.^[26][27]

On 4-6 April, she competed at Sofia World Cup, where she took 13th place in all-around and placed 6th in ribbon final. On April 18-20, she competed at the Baku World Cup and finished 7th in all-around. She qualified to three apparatus finals and won silver in hoop, gold in ball and took 5th place in clubs. She competed in the Pharaoh's Cup in Cairo, Egypt, winning four gold medals. She competed in the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Cup in Burgas, where she won a silver medal in ball and a bronze medal in ribbon. She qualified for the cross-battle in third place, reaching the quarterfinals, but was defeated by Dara Stoyanova in hoop. From June 5-8, she competed in the 2025 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. She qualified for all four apparatus finals. She finished seventh in the all-around final. She returned to international competition at the World Cup in Milan on July 18, where she finished sixth in the all-around. She won a bronze medal in the ribbon final and finished eighth in the hoop final.

In August, Tugolukova competed in the World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, placing 26th in the All-Around after making mistakes in all four routines.^[28]

2026

On 28-30 March, she competed at Sofia World Cup, where she took 10th place in all-around. She qualified to ball final, finishing 5th.^[29] On April 10-12, she achieved 5th place in all-around at Tashkent World Cup. She was 8th in hoop, 6th in ball and 4th in ribbon final.^[30]