Yes, Those Are Drones Flying in to Give Gymnasts Their Winning World Cup Medals

At the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, that wrapped up on May 9, gymnasts received their medals via drone as part of COVID-19 health safety protocols — and we’re actually digging it! Watch in the video above as well-deserved hardware was flown to athletes in the 5 Balls group competition. Bulgaria won gold, Italy’s team came out with silver, and the Azerbaijan women were awarded bronze.

GymCastic, a popular gymnastics podcast, made a passing comment on Twitter about, perhaps, using this setup at the Tokyo Olympics this summer. While the newly updated Games Playbooks backed by the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees say that “Victory Ceremonies with presentation of the medals will take place at the competition venues,” the only safety guidelines indicated are that both athletes and presenters will be required to wear masks. Nevertheless, it sure does seem appropriate to air-deliver medals to gymnasts who know themselves what it means to fly!