Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships

The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships^[1][2] 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 (in collaboration with the IOC and the federation of the country organising the Games).^[3] 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.

There is a clear dominance of post-Soviet republics at the World Championships, namely Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Successful nations also include Bulgaria, Italy and Spain, the last two of which are mostly dominant in group events. The only non-European nations to successfully achieve medal positions at the World Championships are Japan, China, North Korea and South Korea; other medal-winning nations — Azerbaijan and Israel — though geographically located in Europe and Asia, compete at the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.^[4]

Editions[]

Year	Games	Host City	Country	Events	First in the Medal Table	Second in the Medal Table	Third in the Medal Table	Comments
1963	1	Budapest	Hungary	3	Soviet Union	Bulgaria	N/A	(individuals only)
1965	2	Prague	Czechoslovakia	3	Czechoslovakia	Soviet Union	N/A	(individuals only)
1967	3	Copenhagen	Denmark	5	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Bulgaria
1969	4	Varna	Bulgaria	6	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia
1971	5	Havana	Cuba	6	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	North Korea
1973	6	Rotterdam	Netherlands	6	Soviet Union	Bulgaria	Czechoslovakia
1975	7	Madrid	Spain	6	West Germany	Japan	Italy
1977	8	Basel	Switzerland	6	Soviet Union	Bulgaria  Czechoslovakia	N/A
1979	9	London	Great Britain	6	Soviet Union	Bulgaria	Czechoslovakia
1981	10	Munich	West Germany	6	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia
1983	11	Strasbourg	France	6	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	North Korea
1985	12	Valladolid	Spain	6	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	North Korea
1987	13	Varna	Bulgaria	8	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	China
1989	14	Sarajevo	Yugoslavia	9	Soviet Union	Bulgaria	Spain
1991	15	Athens	Greece	9	Soviet Union	Spain	Bulgaria
1992	16	Brussels	Belgium	8	Russia	Belarus	Bulgaria
1993	17	Alicante	Spain	7	Bulgaria	Ukraine	Spain	(individuals only)
1994	18	Paris	France	8	Ukraine	Bulgaria	Russia
1995	19	Vienna	Austria	9	Bulgaria	Russia	Ukraine
1996	20	Budapest	Hungary	7	Ukraine	Belarus	Russia
1997	21	Berlin	Germany	6	Ukraine	Russia	Belarus	(individuals only)
1998	22	Seville	Spain	3	Belarus	Spain	Russia	(groups only)
1999	23	Osaka	Japan	9	Russia	Greece	Ukraine
2001	24	Madrid	Spain	6	Ukraine	Bulgaria	Belarus	(individuals only)
2002	25	New Orleans	United States	3	Russia	Greece	Ukraine	(groups only)
2003	26	Budapest	Hungary	9	Russia	Ukraine	Bulgaria
2005	27	Baku	Azerbaijan	9	Russia	Italy	Bulgaria
2007	28	Patras	Greece	9	Russia	Ukraine	Italy
2009	29	Ise	Japan	9	Russia	Italy	Belarus
2010	30	Moscow	Russia	9	Russia	Italy	Belarus
2011	31	Montpellier	France	9	Russia	Italy	Bulgaria
2013	32	Kyiv	Ukraine	8	Russia	Ukraine	Belarus
2014	33	İzmir	Turkey	9	Russia	Bulgaria	Spain
2015	34	Stuttgart	Germany	9	Russia	Italy	Belarus
2017	35	Pesaro	Italy	8	Russia	Italy	Japan
2018	36	Sofia	Bulgaria	9	Russia	Italy	Bulgaria
2019	37	Baku	Azerbaijan	9	Russia	Japan	Israel
2021	38	Kitakyushu	Japan	9	RGF [a]	Italy	Belarus
2022		Sofia	Bulgaria	Future event
2023		Valencia	Spain	Future event

Medalists[]

Dominant nations include Soviet Union (as well as its subsequent independent states, namely Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan) and Bulgaria.

Individual All-Around[]

Individual All-Around Medalists
Year	Location	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1963	Budapest, Hungary	Ludmila Savinkova	Tatiana Kravtchenko	Julia Trashlieva
1965	Prague, Czechoslovakia	Hana Mičechová	Tatiana Kravtchenko	Hana Machatová-Bogušovská
1967	Copenhagen, Denmark	Elena Karpukhina	Ute Lehmann	Liubov Sereda
1969	Varna, Bulgaria	Maria Gigova	Neshka Robeva Liubov Sereda Galima Shugurova	N/A
1971	Havana, Cuba	Maria Gigova	Elena Karpukhina	Alfia Nazmutdinova
1973	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Maria Gigova Galima Shugurova	N/A	Natalia Krachinnekova
1975	Madrid, Spain	Carmen Rischer	Christiana Rosenberg
1977	Basel, Switzerland	Irina Deriugina	Galima Shugurova	Kristina Guiourova
1979	London, Great Britain	Irina Deriugina	Elena Tomas	Irina Gabashvili
1981	Munich, West Germany	Anelia Ralenkova	Lilia Ignatova Iliana Raeva	N/A
1983	Strasbourg, France	Diliana Georgieva	Galina Beloglazova Lilia Ignatova Anelia Ralenkova	N/A
1985	Valladolid, Spain	Diliana Georgieva	Lilia Ignatova	Bianka Panova
1987	Varna, Bulgaria	Bianka Panova	Adriana Dunavska Elizabeth Koleva	N/A
1989	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	Alexandra Timoshenko	Bianka Panova	Adriana Dunavska Oksana Skaldina
1991	Athens, Greece	Oksana Skaldina	Alexandra Timoshenko	Mila Marinova
1992	Brussels, Belgium	Oksana Kostina	Maria Petrova	Larisa Lukyanenko
1993	Alicante, Spain	Maria Petrova	Kateryna Serebrianska	Amina Zaripova
1994	Paris, France	Maria Petrova	Larisa Lukyanenko Amina Zaripova	N/A
1995	Vienna, Austria	Maria Petrova Kateryna Serebrianska	N/A	Yana Batyrshina Larissa Lukyanenko
1997	Berlin, Germany	Olena Vitrychenko	Natalia Lipkovskaya	Yana Batyrshina
1999	Osaka, Japan	Alina Kabaeva	Yulia Raskina	Yulia Barsukova
2001	Madrid, Spain	Tamara Yerofeeva	Simona Peycheva	Anna Bessonova
2003	Budapest, Hungary	Alina Kabaeva	Anna Bessonova	Irina Tchachina
2005	Baku, Azerbaijan	Olga Kapranova	Anna Bessonova	Irina Tchachina
2007	Patras, Greece	Anna Bessonova	Vera Sessina	Olga Kapranova
2009	Mie, Japan	Evgeniya Kanaeva	Daria Kondakova	Anna Bessonova
2010	Moscow, Russia	Evgeniya Kanaeva	Daria Kondakova	Melitina Staniouta
2011	Montpellier, France	Evgeniya Kanaeva	Daria Kondakova	Aliya Garayeva
2013	Kyiv, Ukraine	Yana Kudryavtseva	Ganna Rizatdinova	Melitina Staniouta
2014	Izmir, Turkey	Yana Kudryavtseva	Margarita Mamun	Ganna Rizatdinova
2015	Stuttgart, Germany	Yana Kudryavtseva	Margarita Mamun	Melitina Staniouta
2017	Pesaro, Italy	Dina Averina	Arina Averina	Linoy Ashram
2018	Sofia, Bulgaria	Dina Averina	Linoy Ashram	Aleksandra Soldatova
2019	Baku, Azerbaijan	Dina Averina	Arina Averina	Linoy Ashram
2021	Kitakyushu, Japan	Dina Averina	Alina Harnasko	Arina Averina

Group All-Around[]

Group All-Around Medalists
Year	Location	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1967	Copenhagen, Denmark	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Bulgaria
1969	Varna, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia
1971	Havana, Cuba	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Italy
1973	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	East Germany
1975	Madrid, Spain	Italy	Japan	Spain
1977	Basel, Switzerland	Soviet Union	Bulgaria	Czechoslovakia
1979	London, Great Britain	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia	Bulgaria
1981	Munich, West Germany	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Czechoslovakia
1983	Strasbourg, France	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	North Korea
1985	Valladolid, Spain	Bulgaria	North Korea Soviet Union	N/A
1987	Varna, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	China Spain
1989	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	Bulgaria	Soviet Union	Spain
1991	Athens, Greece	Spain	Soviet Union	North Korea
1992	Brussels, Belgium	Russia	Spain	North Korea
1994	Paris, France	Russia	Spain	Bulgaria
1995	Vienna, Austria	Bulgaria	Spain	Belarus
1996	Budapest, Hungary	Bulgaria	Spain	Belarus
1998	Seville, Spain	Belarus	Spain	Russia
1999	Osaka, Japan	Russia	Greece	Belarus
2002	New Orleans, United States	Russia	Belarus	Greece
2003	Budapest, Hungary	Russia	Bulgaria	Belarus
2005	Baku, Azerbaijan	Russia	Italy	Belarus
2007	Patras, Greece	Russia	Italy	Belarus
2009	Mie, Japan	Italy	Belarus	Russia
2010	Moscow, Russia	Italy	Belarus	Russia
2011	Montpellier, France	Italy	Russia	Bulgaria
2013	Kyiv, Ukraine	Belarus	Italy	Russia
2014	Izmir, Turkey	Bulgaria	Italy	Belarus
2015	Stuttgart, Germany	Russia	Bulgaria	Spain
2017	Pesaro, Italy	Russia	Bulgaria	Japan
2018	Sofia, Bulgaria	Russia	Italy	Bulgaria
2019	Baku, Azerbaijan	Russia	Japan	Bulgaria
2021	Kitakyushu, Japan	RGF	Italy	Belarus

All-time medal table[]

Last updated after the 2021 World Championships.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Russia	113	57	35	205
2	Bulgaria	67	56	52	175
3	Soviet Union	50	43	27	120
4	Ukraine	25	28	38	91
5	Belarus	10	28	41	79
6	Italy	10	20	10	40
7	Spain	7	11	18	36
8	Russian Gymnastics Federation [a]	7	4	2	13
9	West Germany	5	5	0	10
10	Czechoslovakia	4	5	8	17
11	Greece	3	1	2	6
12	Japan	2	5	6	13
13	North Korea	1	2	4	7
14	Israel	0	7	7	14
15	Azerbaijan	0	1	7	8
16	East Germany	0	1	3	4
17	China	0	1	2	3
18	France	0	0	2	2
19	Hungary	0	0	1	1
	Romania	0	0	1	1
	South Korea	0	0	1	1
Totals (21 nations)		304	275	267	846

• ^[a] At the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, in accordance with a ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), athletes from Russia were not permitted to use the Russian name, flag, or anthem. They instead participated under name and flag of the RGF (Russian Gymnastics Federation).

Multiple gold medalists[]

Boldface denotes active rhythmic gymnasts and highest medal count among all rhythmic gymnasts (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

All events[]

Rank	Rhythmic gymnast	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Dina Averina	Russia Russian Gymnastics Federation	2017	2021	18	3	1	22
2	Evgeniya Kanaeva	Russia	2007	2011	17	1	–	18
3	Yana Kudryavtseva	Russia	2013	2015	13	3	–	16
4	Maria Tolkacheva	Russia Russian Gymnastics Federation	2014	2021	11	4	1	16
5	Alexandra Timoshenko	Soviet Union	1989	1991	10	2	–	12
6	Olga Kapranova	Russia	2003	2009	10	1	1	12
7	Maria Petrova	Bulgaria	1991	1996	9	9	4	22
8	Olena Vitrychenko	Ukraine	1992	1999	9	7	7	23
9	Galima Shugurova	Soviet Union	1969	1977	9	4	1	14
10	Alina Kabaeva	Russia	1999	2007	9	3	2	14

Individual events[]

Rank	Rhythmic gymnast	Country	From	To	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Dina Averina	Russia Russian Gymnastics Federation	2017	2021	15	3	1	19
2	Evgeniya Kanaeva	Russia	2009	2011	13	1	–	14
3	Yana Kudryavtseva	Russia	2013	2015	11	3	–	14
4	Olena Vitrychenko	Ukraine	1993	1999	9	5	4	18
5	Galima Shugurova	Soviet Union	1969	1977	9	4	1	14
6	Maria Gigova	Bulgaria	1967	1973	9	2	2	13
7	Maria Petrova	Bulgaria	1992	1996	8	7	4	19
8	Kateryna Serebrianska	Ukraine	1993	1996	8	4	3	15
9	Bianka Panova	Bulgaria	1985	1989	8	2	1	11
10	Alexandra Timoshenko	Soviet Union	1989	1991	8	2	–	10

Records[]

See also[]

• Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup
• Category:Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships
• Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
• Commonwealth Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
• FIG World Cup
• Gymnastics at the World Games
• Gymnastics at the Summer Olympics

References[]