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 2000 Summer Olympics, three different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline. The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events were held at the Sydney SuperDome on 16–25 September and 22–23 September, respectively. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Pavilion 3 of the Sydney Olympic Park on 28 September – 1 October.
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.
Alexandra Michel Orlando is a retired Canadian rhythmic gymnast. She represented Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.
Lauren Stephanie Mitchell is an Australian former artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 World champion on the floor exercise and the 2009 World Championships silver medalist on the balance beam and floor exercise. Mitchell is only the second Australian female gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships, and she is the first to win a gold medal. She is the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam, and with the Australian team, and she is the 2008 World Cup Final balance beam champion. She also represented Australia at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.
Mary Fuzesi was born February 21, 1974, in Budapest. She is a retired female gymnast from Canada, who was born in Hungary. She competed for Canada in the rhythmic gymnastics competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics. She won a total number of four medals at the 1987 Pan American games, six medals at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, and five at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.
Madonna Isabelle Gimotea is a retired gymnast from Canada, who competed for her native country in the rhythmic gymnastics competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics. She won a total number of three medals at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, and five at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.
Angélica Cristine Kvieczynski, better known as Angélica Kvieczynski, is an individual Brazilian rhythmic gymnast. She competed in the 2007 Pan American Games, won a silver medal and three bronze medals in the 2011 Pan American Games, won six gold medals in the 2010 South American Games and won the Prêmio Brasil Olímpico once. Now she is a coach for junior gymnasts.
Diane Simpson is an American athlete, an Olympian and an eight-time Rhythmic gymnastics national team member, and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, Class of 2004. She is a media marketing communications consultant and project manager who writes, produces and manages talent, events and operations logistics / hospitality for clients, sponsors and stakeholders.
Elsabeth Ann Black is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She is a four-time Olympian, having represented her country at the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympic games. She is the 2017 World all-around silver medallist, making her the first Canadian gymnast to win a world all-around medal, and she led the Canadian women's gymnastics team to a bronze medal in the 2022 World Championships team final, the first world team medal won by a Canadian gymnastics team. She won a silver medal on the balance beam at the 2022 World Championships. She is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games all-around champion, a two-time Pan American Games all-around champion, and a six-time Canadian national all-around champion. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Black placed fourth in the balance beam final, the highest placement in the Olympics for a female Canadian gymnast.
Patricia Bezzoubenko is a Canadian individual Elite rhythmic gymnast. She is a 4 time Canadian Senior National champion, 5 time Commonwealth Games Champion, Pan-American games medalist. She holds dual citizenship with Canada and Russia. She was training in Novogorsk with the highest level coaches and gymnasts. Now Patricia is coaching and providing Master Classes all around the World.
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).
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.
Félix Dolci is a Canadian male artistic gymnast. He represented Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He is the 2023 Pan American Games all-around and floor exercise champion and the 2019 Junior World Champion on rings. He has been a member of the Canadian national team since 2017.
Katherine Uchida is a Canadian 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.
Yelyzaveta Merenzon is a Ukrainian-born American group rhythmic gymnast. She was the alternate for the 2020 United States Olympic team. She won the 5 hoops event final with the American group at the 2017 Pan American Championships and won two silver medals at the 2019 Pan American Games.
Carmel Kallemaa is an Estonian-born Canadian rhythmic gymnast. She is a Commonwealth Games champion and a Pan American Championships medalist.
Laurie Denommée is a Canadian artistic gymnast. A national team member since 2017, she represented Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships where she contributed to two team bronze medal finishes, the latter being a historic feat for Canada. Individually, she is the 2022 Commonwealth vault silver medallist.
Tatiana Cocsanova is a Canadian rhythmic gymnast of Moldovan origin. She is a Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Championships medalist.
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