Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

Israeli gymnast Linoy Ashram won a gold medal in the individual rhythmic category at the European Championships on Sunday, becoming the first athlete to win the prize in decades who was not from a former member of the Soviet bloc.

Ashram edged out Alina Harnasko of Belarus in a nearly unprecedentedly close tiebreaker.

Israel also won the group rhythmic gymnastics gold at the competition in Kyiv, Ukraine. Several highly rated teams, including Russia, Bulgaria and Italy, did not participate this year due to the logistical complications of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ashram, a 21-year-old Israeli Defense Forces veteran born to Mizrahi and Sephardic parents, will represent Israel at the Tokyo Olympics, which has been rescheduled to summer 2021.