Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups 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. At the international level, rhythmic gymnastics is a women-only sport.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, three different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline. The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events were held at the Sydney SuperDome on 16–25 September and 22–23 September, respectively. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Pavilion 3 of the Sydney Olympic Park on 28 September – 1 October.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, three disciplines of gymnastics were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events were held at the Olympic Indoor Hall and the rhythmic gymnastics events were held at the Galatsi Olympic Hall.
At the 1988 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall in Seoul from September 18 through 25th. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at the same venue from September 28 through 30th.
Laura Yihan Zeng is an American former individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. She swept all of the events at the 2015 Pan American Games and at the 2018 Pan American Championships. She is the 2014 Youth Olympic and 2019 Summer Universiade all-around bronze medalist and the 2019 Grand Prix Final hoop bronze medalist. She is an eight-time national all-around champion, six times at the senior level and twice at the junior level (2013–14).
Linoy Ashram is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around Champion, the 2018 World All-around silver medalist, two-time World All-around bronze medalist, the 2020 European All-around champion, and the 2019 European Games All-around silver medalist. She is the third Israeli athlete and first Israeli woman to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport, and the first Israeli rhythmic gymnast to win an Olympic medal. She became the first rhythmic gymnast from outside a post-Soviet republic to win a gold medal at an Olympics where former Soviet states participated.
Rut Castillo Galindo is a Mexican individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented Mexico at the 2020 Summer Olympics and became the first Mexican rhythmic gymnast to compete at an Olympic Games. She is the 2021 Pan American all-around champion. At the 2007 Pan American Games, she won the silver medal in hoop and the bronze medals in the all-around and clubs. She is an eight-time Central American and Caribbean Games champion. She has also competed at nine World Championships.
Khrystyna Oleksandrivna Pohranychna is a Ukrainian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 Youth Olympic Games all-around silver medalist, a 2020 Olympic Games all-around finalist, and a four-time medalist at the 2018 European Junior Championships.
The 2019 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 16 to 22 September 2019. The competition took place at the National Gymnastics Arena and served as a qualifier for the 2020 Olympic Games. There were Olympic berths awarded to 16 individuals and 5 groups. There were 301 participating athletes from 61 countries.
Ekaterina Olegovna Vedeneeva is a Russian-born Slovenian individual rhythmic gymnast.
Viktoriia Maksimivna Onopriienko is a Ukrainian individual rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing tenth in the all-around final. She is the 2020 Grand Prix Final all-around champion and the 2022 World Games ribbon bronze medalist. At the junior level, she is the 2018 European team silver medalist.
Darya Sorokina is an Azerbaijani individual and group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 World 3 Ribbons + 2 Balls bronze medalist. She is the 2020 European group all-around silver medalist and the 2022 European group all-around bronze medalist. She represented Azerbaijan at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Yelyzaveta Luzan is a Ukrainian-born Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast. As a member of the Azerbaijan group, she is the 2022 World 3 Ribbons + 2 Balls bronze medalist. She is the 2020 European group all-around silver medalist and 2022 European group all-around bronze medalist. She represented Azerbaijan at the 2020 Summer Olympics. As an individual, she represented Azerbaijan at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and won a gold medal in the mixed team event.
Zohra Aghamirova is an Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast who competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships were held from 27 to 31 October 2021 in Kitakyushu, Japan.
Fanni Pigniczki is a Hungarian rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Narmina Samadova is an Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast. She represented Azerbaijan at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the group all-around. As an individual, she competed at the 2019 Junior World Championships and the 2018 Junior European Championships.
Ekaterina Andreevna Fetisova is an Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2021 Asian Championships ball champion and all-around bronze medalist. She also won team gold and hoop bronze at the 2019 Asian Championships. She represented Uzbekistan at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is the 2018 Asian junior all-around champion.
Takhmina Ikromova is an Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast. She is an Asian Games champion individually and in the team event, and she is also a two-time all-around champion at the Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, in 2022 and 2023. She competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the rhythmic individual all-around.
Gymnastics competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were contested in three categories: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampolining. The artistic and trampoline events occurred at the Accor Arena, with the rhythmic events staged at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from 8 to 10 August.
