The Four Continents Gymnastics Championships refers to two distinct competitions, organized by different federations in different disciplines. In rhythmic gymnastics the tournaments were organized from 1978 to 2001 by the International Gymnastics Federation. [1] In aesthetic group gymnastics the tournaments have been organized by the International Federation of Aesthetic Group Gymnastics since 2014. [2] The events gather competitors from four continents: Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.
The Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships was a biennial rhythmic gymnastics tournament proposed to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) by members of the gymnastics federations of New Zealand and Canada. The purpose was to provide a corresponding event to the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships as a chance for rhythmic gymnasts from non-European nations to compete internationally. [3] The first edition of the Four Continent Championships was organized in 1978 in Toronto, Canada. The last edition of the tournament was held in Curitiba, Brazil, in 2001. [4] All of the editions of the championships were officially organized by FIG. [1]
Year | Edition | Event | Location |
---|---|---|---|
1978 | I | 1978 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Toronto |
1980 | II | 1980 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Rio de Janeiro |
1982 | III | 1982 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Auckland |
1984 | IV | 1984 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Indianapolis |
1986 | V | 1986 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Melbourne |
1988 | VI | 1988 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Toronto |
1990 | VII | 1990 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Tokyo |
1992 | VIII | 1992 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Beijing |
1994 | IX | 1994 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Seoul |
1995 | X | 1995 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Cairo |
1997 | XI | 1997 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Sydney |
1999 | XII | 1999 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Jacksonville |
2001 | XIII | 2001 Four Continents Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships | Curitiba |
Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Toronto | Debbie Bryant | Jana Lazor | Sue Soffe | [5] |
1980 | Rio de Janeiro | Michio Ota | Sue Soffe Kimie Kimura | — | [6] |
1982 | Auckland | Hiroko Yamazaki | Lori Fung | Tomoko Tomita | [7] |
1984 | Indianapolis | Lori Fung | Chieko Hirose | Xia Yanfei | [8] |
1986 | Melbourne | Lori Fung | Xia Yanfei | He Xiaomin | [9] |
1988 | Toronto | Lori Fung | Michelle Berube | Erika Akiyama | [10] |
1990 | Tokyo | Erika Akiyama | Mary Fuzesi | Li Gyong-hui | [11] |
1992 | Beijing | Guo Sasha | Bai Mei | Han Yang-ok | [12] |
1994 | Seoul | Miho Yamada | Zhou Xiaojing | Camille Martens | [13] |
1995 | Cairo | Kasumi Takahashi | Zhou Xiaojing | Akane Yamao | [14] |
1997 | Sydney | Yukari Murata | Rieko Matsunaga | Zhou Xiaojing | [15] |
1999 | Jacksonville | Yukari Murata | Rieko Matsunaga | Erika Stirton | [16] |
2001 | Curitiba | Mary Sanders | Sun Dan | Anahí Sosa | [17] |
The Four Continents Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships are organized and sanctioned by the International Federation of Aesthetic Group Gymnastics (IFAAG). [18]
Year | Event | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | 1st Four Continents Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships | Toronto | Canada Rhythmic Expressions | Japan Team Shoin | Canada Jusco | [19] |
2015 | 2nd Four Continents Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships | Nagano | Japan Team Japan | Japan Team Shoin | Canada Rhythmic Expressions | [20] [21] [22] |
2017 | 3rd Four Continents Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships | Chicago | Japan JWCPE AGG Team | Canada Rhythmic Expressions | Brazil Marrie Cotia | [23] |
2019 | 4th Four Continents Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships | Singapore | Japan Team Japan | Japan JWCPE AGG Team | Canada Rhythmic Expressions | [24] |
2023 | 5th Four Continents Aesthetic Group Gymnastics Championships | Almaty | Japan Team Shoin | Kazakhstan Freedom | Kazakhstan Sunrise | [25] [26] |
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordinated. Rhythmic gymnastics is governed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FiG), which first recognized it as a sport in 1963. It became an Olympic sport in 1984, with an individual all-around event. The group all-around competition was added to the Olympics in 1996. At the international level, rhythmic gymnastics is a women-only sport. The most prestigious competitions, besides the Olympic Games, are the World Championships, World Games, European Championships, European Games, the World Cup Series and the Grand Prix Series. Gymnasts are judged on their artistry, execution of skills, and difficulty of skills, for which they gain points. They perform leaps, balances, and rotations along with handling the apparatus.
The International Gymnastics Federation is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 July 1881 in Liège, Belgium, making it the world's oldest existing international sports organisation. Originally called the European Federation of Gymnastics, it had three member countries—Belgium, France and the Netherlands—until 1921, when non-European countries were admitted and it received its current name.
Gymnastics World Championships refers to a number of different world championships for each of the disciplines in competitive gymnastics. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) organizes World Championships for six disciplines: acrobatic gymnastics, aerobic gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, parkour, rhythmic gymnastics, as well as trampoline and tumbling. The International Federation of Aesthetic Group Gymnastics (IFAGG) organizes World Championships for the sport of aesthetic group gymnastics.
The Artistic Gymnastics World Cup is a competition series for artistic gymnastics sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the few tournaments in artistic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as the World Championships and the gymnastics competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympics. Beginning in the 2017-2020 quadrennium, the All-Around and Individual Apparatus World Cup series are used to qualify a maximum of seven spots to the Olympic Games.
The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup is a competition for rhythmic gymnastics sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the few tournaments in rhythmic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as the World Championships, the gymnastics competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympics, and the rhythmic gymnastics events at the World Games. The World Cup series should not be confused with the Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix series, which is neither officially organized nor promoted by FIG.
Aesthetic group gymnastics (AGG) is a discipline of gymnastics developed from Finnish "Women's Gymnastics" (naisvoimistelu). The discipline is reminiscent of rhythmic gymnastics, with some significant differences: in AGG, the emphasis is on big and continuous body movement, and the teams are larger. AGG teams often consist of 6–10 gymnasts, and some children’s teams are bigger. Furthermore, apparatus is not used in international AGG competitions as it is in rhythmic gymnastics where balls, ribbons, hoops and clubs are used on the floor area. The sport requires physical qualities such as flexibility, balance, speed, strength, coordination and sense of rhythm where movements of the body are emphasized in the flow and, expressive and aesthetic appeal. A good performance is characterized by uniformity and simultaneity. The competition program consists of versatile and varied body movements, such as body waves and swings, balances and pivots, jumps and leaps, dance steps, and lifts.
These are four lists of achievements in major international gymnastics events according to first-place, second-place and third-place results obtained by gymnasts representing different nations. The objective is not to create combined medal tables; the focus is on listing the best positions achieved by gymnasts in major international competitions, ranking the nations according to the most number of podiums accomplished by gymnasts of these nations. All seven competitive disciplines currently recognized by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) are covered: 1) acrobatic gymnastics, 2) aerobic gymnastics, 3) men's artistic gymnastics, 4) women's artistic gymnastics, 5) women's rhythmic gymnastics, 6) trampoline and tumbling, and 7) parkour.
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The 2006 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Final was the seventh edition of the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Final, held from November 17 to November 18, 2006 in Mie, Japan. The competition was officially organized by the International Gymnastics Federation as the last stage of a series of competitions through the 2005–2006 season.
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The Aesthetic Group Gymnastics World Cup is a competition for aesthetic group gymnastics sanctioned by the International Federation of Aesthetic Group Gymnastics (IFAGG). It is one of the few tournaments in aesthetic group gymnastics officially organized by IFAGG, as well as the World Championships and the European Championships. There are two types, which are organised at the same time – World Cup is for senior teams and Challenge Cup is for junior teams.
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