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 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.
Evgeniya Olegovna Kanaeva OMF is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the only individual rhythmic gymnast in history to win two Olympic all-around gold medals, winning at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she finished with 3.75 points ahead of silver medalist Inna Zhukova, and at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she also became the oldest gymnast to win the Olympic gold. On 4 July 2013, Kanaeva received the International Fair Play Award for "Sport and Life".
Irina Alexandrovna Viner, formerly Irina Alexandrovna Viner-Usmanova, is an Uzbek-born Russian rhythmic gymnastics coach who is head coach of the Russian national team, president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, and former vice president of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee of the International Gymnastics Federation.
Jana Berezko-Marggrander is a German retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2010 Youth Olympic all-around bronze medalist.
Arina Charopa is a Belarusian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2012 Grand Prix Final All-around silver medalist and 2010 Youth Olympic silver medalist.
Kristina Rangelova-Yankova is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. Olympic medalist 2004 Athens, World Champion 2005 Baku and Europe Champion 2003 Riesa. She has a master's degree in sports management and bachelor's degree in rhythmic gymnastics.
Dina Alekseyevna Averina is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around silver medalist, the only four-time World All-around Champion, the 2018 silver and 2021 European All-around bronze medalist and the 2016 Grand Prix Final All-around silver medalist. On a National level, she is the 2017, 2018 and 2022 Russian National All-around champion and the 2013 Russian Junior All-around bronze medalist. Her identical twin sister, Arina Averina, is also a competitive rhythmic gymnast.
Kaho Minagawa is a retired Japanese individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2017 Asian Championships All-around silver medalist. She trained in Novogorsk in Moscow, Russia. She is the first Japanese individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at 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).
Sabina Ashirbayeva is a retired individual Kazakh rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2016 Asian Championships All-around bronze medalist.
Nicol Ruprecht is an Austrian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is Austria's most successful rhythmic gymnast.
Rut Castillo Galindo is a Mexican individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented Mexico at the 2020 Summer Olympics and became the first Mexican, and LGBTQ+ 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.
Rie Matsubara is a Japanese group rhythmic gymnast. Being World champion and 10-time Asian champion, she is widely considered to be the most successful Japanese rhythmic gymnast ever.
Nina Saeedyokota is a Japanese group rhythmic gymnast. She represented her nation at international competitions.
Aimee Van Rooyen is a South African individual rhythmic gymnast. She represents her nation at international competitions. She competed at world championships, including at the 2011 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. She was selected for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.
Saori Inagaki was a Japanese group rhythmic gymnast. She represents her nation at international competitions.
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. She is the 2017 and 2018 junior national all-around champion and the 2019 and 2021 national all-around silver medalist.
Enid Sung is an Australian former rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist with the team. She also competed at the 2010 World Championships.
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