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.
Irina Viktorovna Tchachina is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in all-around, a two-time World all-around bronze medalist, the 2004 European all-around bronze medalist and 2000 Grand Prix Final all-around silver medalist.
Hanna Volodymyrivna Bezsonova is a Ukrainian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the most decorated rhythmic gymnast of her generation. She is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist ; a five-time medalist in the all-around competition of the World Championships: gold in 2007, silver in 2003 and 2005, bronze in 2001 and 2009; a four-time medalist in the all-around competition of the European Championships: silver in 2004 and 2008, bronze in 2002 and 2006; and a four-time medalist in the all-around competition of the Grand Prix Final: gold in 2003, silver in 2002 and 2005, bronze in 2004.
Natalia Oleksandrivna Godunko is a Ukrainian former rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2001 team all-around world champion, 2005 European ribbon champion and the 2004 Grand Prix Final all-around champion.
Vera Valeryevna Sessina is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2007 World All-around silver medalist, the 2006 European All-around Champion, two time Grand Prix Final All-around champion and three time Grand Prix Final All-around silver medalist. She was known for her high releve during her pivot.
Olga Sergeyevna Kapranova is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2005 World All-around champion, the 2007 World All-around bronze medalist, the 2008 European All-around bronze medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final All-around champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final All-around silver medalist and the 2005 Grand Prix Final All-around bronze medalist.
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.
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.
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.
Anahi Sosa is an Argentine individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented her nation at international competitions. At the 2001 Pan American Gymnastics Championships she won the gold medal in the clubs event, and further a silver medal in the hoop and rope events and a bronze medal in the team all-around event. At the 2003 Pan American Games she won the bronze medal in the individual All-Around and hoops events. In 2006 she won three gold medal at the 2006 South American Games in the all-around, ball and ribbon events.
Evita Griskenas is an American individual rhythmic gymnast. She is representing 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.
Sofia Raffaeli is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2024 OIympic bronze medalist, 2022 World all-around, hoop, ball, ribbon and team champion, the 2023 World all-around, hoop and ball silver medalist, the 2023 European silver all-around medalist, and the 2024 European all-around silver medalist. She is the first Italian individual rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Championships, European Championships and World Games, and she has won seven all-around gold medals in the FIG World Cup circuit.
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.
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.
Darja Varfolomeev is a Russian-born German rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2024 Olympic all-around and 2023 World all-around gold medalist and the 2022 World all-around silver medalist. In 2024 she became the 2024 European all-around bronze medalist. At the national level, she is a two-time national All-Around champion as well a two-time All-Around junior champion.
Carmel Kallemaa is an Estonian-born Canadian rhythmic gymnast. She is a Commonwealth Games champion and a 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.
Rin Keys is an American rhythmic gymnast of Japanese descent. She won bronze in clubs at the 2023 Junior World Championships, becoming the first American to win a World Championships medal.
United States