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.
Angélica Cristine Kvieczynski, better known as Angélica Kvieczynski, is an individual Brazilian rhythmic gymnast. She competed in the 2007 Pan American Games, won a silver medal and three bronze medals in the 2011 Pan American Games, won six gold medals in the 2010 South American Games and won the Prêmio Brasil Olímpico once. Now she is a coach for junior gymnasts.
The individual All-Around competition of the rhythmic gymnastics events at the 2011 Pan American Games was held on October 15 at the Nissan Gymnastics Stadium. The draw for the competition took place on August 1, 2011 in Guadalajara. The defending Pan American Games champion was Lisa Wang of the United States, while the defending Pan American Championship, champion was Julie Zetlin also of the United States.
Julie Ashley Zetlin is a retired elite rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2010 U.S. Senior National Champion in Rhythmic Gymnastics, and represented the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games.
The rhythmic individual ball competition of the rhythmic gymnastics events at the 2011 Pan American Games was held on October 17 at the Nissan Gymnastics Stadium. The draw for the competition took place on August 1, 2011 in Guadalajara. This event was not contested at the last Pan American Games in 2007.
The rhythmic individual hoop competition of the rhythmic gymnastics events at the 2011 Pan American Games was held on October 17 at the Nissan Gymnastics Stadium. The draw for the competition took place on August 1, 2011 in Guadalajara. The defending Pan American Games champion was Alexandra Orlando of Canada, who has since retired.
The rhythmic individual club competition of the rhythmic gymnastics events at the 2011 Pan American Games was held on October 18 at the Nissan Gymnastics Stadium. The draw for the competition took place on August 1, 2011 in Guadalajara. The defending Pan American Games champion was Alexandra Orlando of Canada, who has since retired.
The women's rhythmic group 3 ribbons + 2 hoops competition of the rhythmic gymnastics events at the 2011 Pan American Games was held on October 18 at the Nissan Gymnastics Stadium. The draw for the competition took place on August 1, 2011 in Guadalajara. The defending Pan American Games champion was team Brazil.
Cynthia Yazmín Valdez Pérez is an individual Mexican rhythmic gymnast born in Guadalajara who has won 10 Pan American Games medals—two gold, four silver and four bronze medals.
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).
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.
Natália Azevedo Gaudio is a Brazilian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 South American Games all-around gold medalist, and the 2019 Pan American Games all-around bronze medalist.
Evita Griskenas is an American individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing 12th in the qualification round for the individual all-around. She is the 2024 Grand Prix Final ribbon bronze medalist.
Lili Mizuno is an American rhythmic gymnast. She is the Pan American Championships 2021 Group All-around bronze medalist and 2017 All-around silver medalist. She competed in the group all-around at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing eleventh in qualification.
Carmel Kallemaa is an Estonian-born Canadian rhythmic gymnast. She is a Commonwealth Games champion and a Pan American Championships medalist.
Tatiana Cocsanova is a Canadian rhythmic gymnast of Moldovan origin. She is a Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Championships medalist.
Marina Malpica is a Mexican rhythmic gymnast. She is the first gymnast from Mexico to qualify for a final at the World Championships.
Lina Dussan is a Colombian rhythmic gymnast. She participated at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Ledia Juárez is a Mexican rhythmic gymnast. She's a multiple Pan American medalist.
Vanessa Galindo is a Colombian rhythmic gymnast. She's a multiple South American Championships medalist.
