On Wednesday, August 23, the main event of the season in rhythmic gymnastics begins – the World Championships. The tournament is important not only to determine the best gymnasts of the year, but also to win tickets to the 2024 Olympics.
We have compiled for you everything you need to know about the 2023 World Cup.
Where and when will the 2023 World Cup take place?
The 40th anniversary of the World Championship will be held from August 23 to 27 in Valencia (Spain). The venue for the tournament was determined at the FIG Council meeting in Saint Petersburg in 2019. Then, in addition to Spain, Russia also applied for the 2023 World Cup.
The 2022 World Championships were boring without the Russian gymnasts:
Russia says thanks to sanctions. Why the World Cup without our gymnasts is a complete misunderstanding
In the 2023 World Cup, the main places for the Paris Olympic Games will be played. The gymnasts will compete for 14 individual entries (maximum two per country, excluding registered) and five group entries to the 2024 Games. Italy, Bulgaria and Germany have already received their quotas for the Olympic Games in individual exercises and Bulgaria, Israel and Spain in group exercises.
world calendar 2023
Individuals will start competing first. The first and second days of the tournament will be dedicated to rankings and finals in individual events, with the overall final taking place on August 26. The gymnasts in group exercises will start the tournament only on August 25. They will close the competitive program on August 27.
Schedule of the 2023 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
August 23, Wednesday 10:30-20:30 – individual qualification, hoop and ball; 22:00-23:22 – individual finals, hoop and ball.
August 24, Thursday 10:30-20:42 – individual classification, clubs and ribbon; 22:00-23:22 – individual finals, clubs and ribbon.
August 25, Friday 17:00-20:36 – group all around, 5 hoops and 3 ribbons + 2 balls.
August 26, Saturday 16:00-20:54 – final of the individual general.
August 27, Sunday 17:00-18:43 – finals of group exercises, 5 hoops and 3 ribbons + 2 balls.
Will the Averina sisters be in the tournament?
FIG allowed Russians to compete in a neutral status at international competitions, but only from January 1, 2024. Russian gymnasts will therefore miss the World Championships and will not be able to win major quotas for the Games. Olympics.
averina sisters
Photo: RIA Novosti
Despite the absence of representatives of our country, there will be gymnasts with Russian roots at the tournament. And all of them are medal contenders.
29-year-old Ekaterina Vedeneeva represented the Russian national team for a long time, but in 2018 she changed her citizenship. Now the gymnast herself represents Slovenia. At the 2022 World Championships, Ella Vedeneeva took bronze in ribbon exercises, and this year at the European Championships she won bronze in mace exercises.
How Vedeneeva won a medal at the 2023 European Championships:
A unique achievement for the former Russian gymnast. She won a European medal at 28 years old.
Daria Varfolomeev is one of the favorites for the upcoming World Championship. The 16-year-old girl began to do gymnastics in her native Barnaul, at Russian national tournaments. In 2019, she changed her sports citizenship to German, and in 2022, having reached adult level, she became a real star.
At the 2022 World Cup, Daria won five medals: gold in clubs, silver in ball, team and individual, and bronze in hoop exercises. This year, Varfolomeeva came out of the European Championships with gold in ribbon exercises.
Daria Varfolomeev
Photo: Fabricio Carabelli/Getty Images
Daria Atamanov is perhaps the least Russian gymnast of all. The gymnast’s parents are from Russia, but moved to Israel when they were young. Ella Daria was born there, and there she began to do gymnastics. Atamanov did not compete in the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2023 due to injury, but she has now returned to show a great level again.
At her last international tournament, the 2022 European Championships, the 17-year-old Israeli won the individual total, placing second in the hoop, ribbon and mace exercises, and also took bronze in the team total.
Russian gymnasts had their own World Cup – II Games of the CIS countries:
The Russian gymnast won the main battle of the year! Is Kramarenko the best in the world right now?
2023 World Cup Favorites
In the absence of the Russians, a fierce battle for the World Cup medals is expected. We have already said that among the favorites in both the individual and general events are gymnasts of Russian roots: Varfolomeev and Atamanov. Vedeneeva also has chances, but rather in separate forms.
Among the main contenders for the medals is the Italian Sofia Rafaelli, the current world champion in five of the six disciplines! In 2022, the gymnast not only presented clubs, she won bronze in this way. At the 2023 European Championships, Sofia took gold in the club and ball exercises, as well as silver in the overall.
Sofia Rafaelli
Photo: Toru Hanai/Getty Images
The experienced Boryana Kaleyn will compete for the title of best gymnast. Last season, the Bulgarian missed the World Cup due to illness. At the 2023 European Championships, Boryana won the individual and team all-around events, she placed second in clubs and third in hoop exercises.
Another Bulgarian representative, Stiliana Nikolova, will also compete for the medals. The miniature gymnast took three silver medals at the World Championships (hoop, ribbon, clubs) and bronze in the all-around individual last season. At the 2023 European Championships, she became the first in the all-around team, she won silver in ball exercises and bronze in individual all-around and ribbon exercises.
Stilyana Nikolova at the 2022 World Cup surprised the audience:
The World Championship medal went to an unusual gymnast. She looks like a girl, but she is already 17 years old!
In the group exercises, the main favorites are Israel and Bulgaria, who occupied the first two rows in the last World Championships and European Championships. Italians and Spaniards will also compete for the medals.
Where to watch the 2023 World Cup?
You can watch online broadcasts of the competitions on the official YouTube channel of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The organization has already announced the show, however it is not clear if it will be available to residents of Russia. You can follow the results on the official website of the tournament. In the same place, the organizers promise to launch online broadcasts. “Campeonato” traditionally tells about everything that will be interesting in Valencia.
