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. 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 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. The tournament is promoted and organized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the three tournaments in rhythmic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup and the gymnastics competitions at the Olympic Games. The first edition of the World Championships was held in 1963, a time when the sport was known as modern gymnastics. The current program of the World Championships contemplates both individual and group performances. In even non-Olympic years and the year before the Olympics, a team event is also contested. Two events are not competed at the World Championships anymore: individual rope and free hands.
Son Yeon Jae KTM is a retired South Korean individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a former member of the South Korean national gymnastics team, based in Taereung, Seoul. Son is the 2014 Asian Games All-around Champion, the 2010 Asian Games All-around bronze medalist, three-time Asian Championships All-around Champion. She is the first and only South Korean individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships, FIG World Cup series, Universiade and the Asian Games.
Deng Senyue is a retired Chinese individual rhythmic gymnast. She finished 4th in All-around at the 2013 World Championships. She is the first Chinese rhythmic gymnast to qualify for apparatus final in the World Championships. She is the first Chinese rhythmic gymnast to win a medal in the World Cup series.
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).
Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva is an Australian Olympic rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games clubs champion, team silver medallist, and all-around bronze medallist. She also won two bronze medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She is a four-time Australian all-around champion. She won five bronze medals at the 2022 Maccabiah Games, and has competed at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships five times.
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.
Evita Griskenas is an American individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She previously represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing 12th in the qualification round for the individual all-around. At the 2023 Portimao World Challenge Cup, she became the first American to win an all-around silver medal on the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series. She is the 2022 USA national all-around champion, a four-time national all-around silver medalist, and the 2015 junior national all-around champion.
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.
Chisaki Oiwa is a Japanese rhythmic gymnast. She represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics and finished nineteenth in the qualification round for the individual all-around. She is a three-time World Championships all-around finalist.
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.
Kim Chae-woon is a South Korean retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a multiple time medalist at the Asian Rhythmic Championships and was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games.
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.
Elzhana Taniyeva is a Kazakh rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2024 Asian all-around champion and will represent Kazakhstan at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She is the 2022 Asian Games all-around and team silver medalist. She won three medals at the 2021 Summer World University Games and four medals at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games. She is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women's rhythmic individual all-around.
Gemma Natasha Frizelle is a Welsh rhythmic gymnast, who won the individual hoop event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She has won multiple medals at the Welsh and British Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, and also competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
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.
Breanna Labadan is a Filipina rhythmic gymnast. She is the first gymnast from the Philippines to compete at the Rhythmic World Championships.
Wang Zilu is a Chinese rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2023 Asian Championships all-around, hoop, and team bronze medalist and a 2022 Asian Games team bronze medalist. She is representing China at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Women's rhythmic individual all-around, and qualified for the final; her performance resulted in 7th place in the individual AA.
Milana Parfilova is a Kazakhstani rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 Asian Games individual bronze medalist and silver team medalist.
Gymnastics at the 2022 Asian Games were held at the Huanglong Sports Centre Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China, from 24 September to 7 October 2023.
