1988 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships

1988 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
Location	Helsinki, Finland
Start date	19 May 1988
End date	22 May 1988
←  Athens 1987 Tenerife 1989  →

The 1988 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships is the 6th edition of the  Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, which took place from 19 May 1988 to 22 May 1988 in Helsinki, Finland. ^[1]

There was a three-way tie for gold in the all-around, with all three gymnasts being given perfect 10.0 scores. ^[2] Across all the individual events, no silver medals were awarded, and only two bronzes (a tie for clubs) were given. Commentators in the Helsingin Sanomat criticized the number of perfect 10 scores and in particular, two of the scores for Bulgarian gymnast Adriana Dunavska as being too high, noting that the head judge of the competition was also Bulgarian. ^{[3] [4]}

This was criticized as an example of scoring inflation, and it was one impetus for changing the next code of points to attempt to better differentiate between gymnasts and reduce the number of 10.0 scores. ^[2]

Medal winners

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Individual
All-Around	Adriana Dunavska   Bulgaria Elizabeth Koleva   Bulgaria Alexandra Timochenko   Soviet Union	none awarded	none awarded
Rope	Marina Lobatch   Soviet Union Alexandra Timochenko   Soviet Union Elizabeth Koleva   Bulgaria	none awarded	none awarded
Hoop	Bianka Panova   Bulgaria Alexandra Timochenko   Soviet Union Adriana Dunavska   Bulgaria	none awarded	none awarded
Clubs	Adriana Dunavska   Bulgaria Alexandra Timochenko   Soviet Union	none awarded	Elizabeth Koleva   Bulgaria Marina Lobatch   Soviet Union
Ribbon	Adriana Dunavska   Bulgaria Bianka Panova   Bulgaria Marina Lobatch   Soviet Union	none awarded	none awarded
Groups
All-Around	Bulgaria	Soviet Union Elina Khozlu Janika Mölder	Hungary
6 Balls	Bulgaria	Soviet Union Elina Khozlu Janika Mölder	Spain Beatriz Barral Vanesa Buitrago Ana Carlota de la Fuente Natalia Marín Eva Martín Arancha Marty Mari Carmen Moreno Raquel Prat Astrid Sánchez Carmen Sánchez
3 Hoops & 3 Ribbons	Bulgaria   Soviet Union Elina Khozlu Janika Mölder	none awarded	Italy

^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Bulgaria  (BUL)	11	0	1	12
2	Soviet Union  (URS)	7	2	1	10
3	Hungary  (HUN)	0	0	1	1
	Italy  (ITA)	0	0	1	1
	Spain  (ESP)	0	0	1	1
Totals (5 entries)		18	2	5	25

References

1. "European Gymnastics". European Gymnastics. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
2. Schmid, Andrea (March 1989). "Rhythmic Gymnastics: The New Code of Points For Individual Exercises". Technique Magazine. Vol. 9, no. 1. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
3. "Kymppien ja kullan inflaatio" [Inflation of tens and gold]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 23 May 1988. p. 35. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
4. Nukarinen, Arja (23 May 1988). "Kohtalokas nauhan pudotus romutti haaveet" [A fateful ribbon drop shattered dreams]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). p. 35. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
5. "6. European Championships in Helsinki, Finland (18.-22. May 1988)". rsg.net. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
6. "6. European Championships in Helsinki, Finland (18.-22. May 1988)". r-gymnast.bplaced.net. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
7. "European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships 1988 - Results Women". www.the-sports.org. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
8. "1988 European Championships Results Book" (PDF). backend.europeangymnastics.com.