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.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Georgia Dome from July 20–25 and July 28–29. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Stegeman Coliseum in nearby Athens, on the campus of the University of Georgia from August 1–4.
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.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Palau Sant Jordi from July 26 through August 2. The rhythmic gymnastics event were held at the Palau dels Esports de Barcelona from August 6 through 8th.
The men's artistic individual all-around competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium on August 9 and 14. There were 98 competitors from 35 nations. The event was won by Yang Wei of China, the nation's first victory in the event since 1996 and second overall. Yang, who had earned silver in 2000, was the 13th man to receive multiple medals in the individual all-around. Japan's Kōhei Uchimura took silver; it was the first medal in the event for Japan since 1984, the last of a four-decade stretch where the nation reached the podium every time it competed. Benoît Caranobe of France took bronze, the first men's all-around medal for that nation since 1920.
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.
Jade Ashtyn Carey is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girls".
The 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 10 to 16 September 2018 at Arena Armeec. The top three countries in the group all-around, Russia, Italy, and Bulgaria won the first three spots for the 2020 Olympic Games. Russia was the most successful nation of the competition with seven of the nine gold medals, and Bulgaria and Italy each won a title.
The Women's rhythmic individual all-around competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo, Japan, with the qualification taking place on 6 August and the final on 7 August.
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.
Bárbara de Kassia Godoy Domingos is a Brazilian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2023 Pan American Championships all-around champion, the 2023 Thiais Grand Prix ribbon gold medalist, and the first Brazilian rhythmic gymnast to qualify for the individual all-around final at the World Championships. She is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women's rhythmic individual all-around, and has qualified for the final.
Daiki Hashimoto is a Japanese artistic gymnast. Widely regarded as the successor of Kohei Uchimura, he won two gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in all-around and horizontal bar, as well as a silver in team. His Tokyo individual gold medal win win made him the youngest Olympic All-Around champion, at age 19 years, 355 days. At the world championships, he has also won 3 golds, 5 silvers, and 1 bronze.
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.
Zohra Aghamirova is an Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women's rhythmic individual all-around.
Fanni Pigniczki is a Hungarian rhythmic gymnast. She is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women's rhythmic individual all-around.
The men's artistic individual all-around event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was scheduled to take place on 27 and 31 July 2024 at the Accor Arena. 44 gymnasts from 23 nations competed in the all-around in the qualifying round.
The women's artistic individual all-around event at the 2024 Summer Olympics was scheduled to take place on 28 July and 1 August 2024 at the Accor Arena. 60 gymnasts from 32 nations competed in the all-around in the qualifying round.
The Women's rhythmic group all-around competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics will be held at the Adidas Arena in Paris, France, with the qualification taking place on 9 August and the final on 10 August.
Bulgaria competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. Bulgarian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics from 1924 onwards, except for three occasions: the 1948 Summer Olympics in London because of the nation's instigation in World War II, and the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles because of the worldwide Great Depression and Soviet boycott, respectively.
