The Rhythmic Gymnastics Junior European Championships are the European championships for junior gymnasts for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. They were first held in 1987. Prior to 1993, they were held as a separate event. Since the 1993 edition in Bucharest, Romania, the Junior European Championships were integrated to the senior European Championships. The competition is organized by the European Union of Gymnastics.
Teodora Alexandrova (Bulgaria), Dimitrinka Todorova (Bulgaria), Rosabel Espinosa (Spain), and Yelena Shalamova (Russia) hold the record of most medals earned at the Junior European Championships, with six medals each. Shalamova, Polina Shmatko (Russia) and Elizabeth Koleva (Bulgaria) hold the record for most gold medals, with five each.
Junior Team event has been held since 2006 on two years. Teams consisted of 2-4 junior individual gymnasts. Since 2017, team competition is held every year and either consists of Junior individual gymnasts and Senior group or Senior individual gymnasts and Junior group.
| Team All-Around Medalists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2006 |  Moscow, Russia | Russia |  Belarus |  Bulgaria |
| 2008 |  Torino, Italy | Russia | Belarus |  Ukraine |
| 2010 |  Bremen, Germany | Russia | Belarus | Germany |
| 2012 | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia | Russia | Belarus |  Georgia |
| 2014 |  Baku, Azerbaijan | Russia | Belarus | Azerbaijan |
| 2016 |  Holon, Israel | Russia | Belarus | Italy |
| 2017 |  Budapest, Hungary | Russia | Belarus | Bulgaria |
| 2018 |  Guadalajara, Spain | Russia | Ukraine | Bulgaria |
| 2019 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Russia | Belarus | Bulgaria |
| 2020 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Ukraine | Israel | Azerbaijan |
| 2022 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Israel |  Romania | Bulgaria |
| 2024 | Budapest, Hungary | Romania | Israel | Azerbaijan |
| Rope Medalists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2006 | Moscow, Russia | Aleksandra Ermakova | Anastasia Ivankova | Filipa Siderova |
| 2008 | Torino, Italy | Daria Andronova | Melitina Staniouta | Tsvetelina Stoyanova |
| 2010 | Bremen, Germany | Alexandra Merkulova | Arina Charopa | Viktoriia Shynkarenko |
| 2016 | Holon, Israel | Alina Ermolova | Julia Evchik | Alexandra Agiurgiuculese |
| 2020 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Dina Agisheva | Daria Atamanov | Eva Brezalieva |
| Clubs Medalists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2006 | Moscow, Russia | Natalia Pichuzhkina | Maria Yushkevich | Darya Kushnerova |
| 2012 | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia | Julia Sinitsyna | Maria Kadobina | Gabriela Khvedelidze |
| 2014 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Olesya Petrova | Mariya Trubach | Linoy Ashram |
| 2016 | Holon, Israel | Polina Shmatko | Alexandra Agiurgiuculese | Yuliya Isachanka |
| 2018 | Guadalajara, Spain | Daria Trubnikova | Anna Kamenshchikova | Valeria Sotskova |
| 2020 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Daria Atamanov | Yelyzaveta Zorkina | Evelin Viktoria Kocsis |
| 2022 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Amalia Lică |  Liliana Lewinska | Kamila Gafarova |
| 2024 | Budapest, Hungary | Amalia Lică  Romania | Alja Ponikvar  Slovenia | Alona Tal Franco  Israel |
| Ribbon Medalists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2006 | Moscow, Russia | Daria Kondakova | Bilyana Prodanova | Darya Kushnerova |
| 2008 | Torino, Italy | Daria Dmitrieva | Melitina Staniouta | Federica Febbo |
| 2010 | Bremen, Germany | Valeria Tkachenko | Arina Charopa | Oleksandra Gridasova |
| 2012 | Nizhny Novgorod, Russia | Aleksandra Soldatova | Katsiaryna Halkina | Gulsum Shafizada |
| 2014 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Irina Annenkova | Valeriya Khanina | Linoy Ashram |
| 2018 | Guadalajara, Spain | Lala Kramarenko | Khrystyna Pohranychna | Talisa Torretti |
| 2020 | Kyiv, Ukraine | Stiliana Nikolova | Karina Sydorak | Daria Atamanov |
| 2022 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Daniela Munits | Tara Dragas | Liliana Lewinska |
| 2024 | Budapest, Hungary | Amalia Lică Romania | Dara Malinova  Bulgaria | Barbare Kajaia  Georgia |
Junior Group All-Around has been held since 2011. It was not organized in 2017.
| Group All-Around Medalists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 2011 | Minsk, Belarus | Belarus | Russia | Israel |
| 2013 |  Vienna, Austria | Russia | Belarus | Bulgaria |
| 2015 | Minsk, Belarus | Russia | Belarus | Israel |
| 2019 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Russia | Israel | Belarus |
| 2021 | Varna, Bulgaria | Russia | Bulgaria | Israel |
| 2023 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Israel | Bulgaria | Azerbaijan |
since 2019 there are two competitions with two different single apparatus
| Group Single Apparatus Medalists | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1996 |  Asker, Norway | Russia | Belarus | Italy |
| 1997 |  Patras, Greece | Greece | Belarus | Russia |
| 1999 | Budapest, Hungary | Russia | Bulgaria | Greece |
| 2001 |  Geneva, Switzerland | Russia | Greece | Belarus |
| 2003 | Riesa, Germany | Russia | Greece | Bulgaria |
| 2005 | Moscow, Russia | Belarus | Russia | Greece |
| 2007 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Russia | Bulgaria | Belarus |
| 2009 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Russia | Azerbaijan | Belarus |
| 2011 | Minsk, Belarus | Russia | Belarus | Azerbaijan |
| 2013 | Vienna, Austria | Russia | Azerbaijan | Belarus |
| 2015 | Minsk, Belarus | Belarus | Russia | Bulgaria |
| 2017 | Budapest, Hungary | Russia | Italy | Israel |
| 2019 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Russia Russia | Ukraine Israel | Belarus Belarus |
| 2021 | Varna, Bulgaria | Russia Russia | Bulgaria Bulgaria | Belarus Israel |
| 2023 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Bulgaria Bulgaria | Israel Israel | Italy Azerbaijan |
1987–2024
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia (RUS) | 58 | 7 | 6 | 71 |
| 2 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 27 | 24 | 18 | 69 |
| 3 | Belarus (BLR) | 9 | 32 | 14 | 55 |
| 4 | Israel (ISR) | 6 | 9 | 12 | 27 |
| 5 |  Soviet Union (Soviet Union) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 | Romania (ROU) | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 7 | Ukraine (UKR) | 2 | 6 | 12 | 20 |
| 8 | Greece (GRE) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 9 | Spain (ESP) | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 10 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| 11 | Azerbaijan (AZE) | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| 12 | Poland (POL) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 13 |  Slovenia (SLO) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | Georgia (GEO) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Germany (GER) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 16 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (16 entries) | 116 | 105 | 104 | 325 | |
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.
Bianka Panova is a Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a World and European champion and was one of the Golden Girls of Bulgaria that dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the 1980s. She is the 1987 World all-around champion, 1989 World all-around silver medalist, 1985 World all-around bronze medallist and 1986 European all-around champion. Panova won a total of nine World Championship gold medals. She now works as a rhythmic gymnastics coach.
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 retired 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".
The Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships are the European championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. They were first held in 1978. The European Championships and the European Junior Championships were united in 1993. Prior to 2006, they were called the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The competition is organised by the European Union of Gymnastics.
The Rhythmic Gymnastics Grand Prix circuit is an annual competition of tournaments in rhythmic gymnastics open to gymnasts from all over the globe. The series consists of a number of stages in different countries in Europe. The Grand Prix circuit usually hosts some of the most watched yearly events in rhythmic gymnastics, frequently gathering some of the best gymnasts in the world. Each Grand Prix stage is held as an all-around qualification competition, followed by four apparatus finals with hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. The final event in the circuit is commonly referred to as Grand Prix Final. The focus in each stage is on individual performances, though groups have also been allowed to compete in some stages since, at least, 1995. The Grand Prix circuit should not be confused with the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series, which is a competition officially organized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), whereas the Grand Prix is neither organized nor promoted by FIG.
Dina Alekseyevna Averina is a Russian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She was 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 was 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, was also a competitive rhythmic gymnast.
Arina Alekseyevna Averina is a Russian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She was a 2020 Summer Olympics finalist, a two-time world all-around silver medalist, a two-time European all-around champion and the 2016 Grand Prix Final all-around bronze medalist. She was a three-time (2019–2021) Russian national all-around champion and a three-time Russian national all-around medalist. Her identical twin sister Dina Averina was also a competitive rhythmic gymnast.
The 30th Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships took place from June 10 to June 15, 2014 at the then newly opened National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. 33 participating federations with their juniors and seniors gymnasts participated at the event.
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. Ashram announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics at a press conference in Tel Aviv on 4 April 2022.
Nicol Zelikman is a former Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a two-time medalist at the 2016 European Junior Championships.
Lala Dmitrievna Kramarenko is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2019 junior world champion in ball and clubs and the 2018 European junior champion in ball and ribbon. At the 2021 European Championships, she won team gold. She is also a three-time junior national all around champion (2017-2019) and a two-time national all-around silver medalist (2020-2021).
Alina Aliaksandraŭna Harnasko is a Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast and former junior rhythmic gymnastics group gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around bronze medalist, 2021 World Championships all-around silver medalist and ribbon gold medalist, 2020 European all-around silver medalist, and twice Grand Prix final all-around silver medalist.
Erika Rosenova Zafirova is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion. She is the 2019 World group all-around bronze medalist and 5 balls silver medalist. She is the 2021 European 5 balls champion and 3 hoops + 4 clubs silver medalist. She won two silver medals and one bronze medal at the 2019 European Games.
Milena Baldassarri is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast. She won silver in the ribbon final at the 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the individual all-around.
Stiliana Nikolova is a Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2024 European all-around champion, the 2022 World all-around bronze medalist and hoop, clubs, and ribbon silver medalist, the 2023 World ball bronze medalist and team competition champion, and a two-time European all-around bronze medalist and champion in the team competition. At the national level, she is a two-time national champion and the 2022 national all-around silver medalist.
Eva Brezalieva is a Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 European junior bronze medalist with rope and the 2023 European silver medalist with ribbon. On national level, she is the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Senior all-around bronze medalist and the 2019 Bulgarian Junior All-Around bronze medalist.
Darja Varfolomeev is a German rhythmic gymnast. She is the 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.
Rachel Stoyanov is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She formerly represented North Macedonia in individual competition until 2021, when she joined the Bulgarian group. In 2022 she won gold medal with The Bulgarian team in All-around at the world championship in Sofia and become a World Champion. She won gold medal in the finals with 3 ribbons+2 balls. She is the European all-around champion and team champion with the Bulgarian team in 2023, as well as a silver medalist in the 5-hoop final. She is European champion with the Bulgarian team event of the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv. In 2024 Rachel and the Bulgarian team become an Europian Champion for a second time in Budapest.
Gemma Royo Lorte is a retired Spanish rhythmic gymnast. She was World champion in 1991 and two-time European champion in 1992. The generation of gymnasts that she was part of is known by the nickname "Primeras Chicas de Oro".
