FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2022: Day-by-day highlights guide and daily schedule

Paris 2024

Check out our in-depth daily preview of the events on each day and what to look forward to in Liverpool, Great Britain, from 29 October–6 November.

9 minBy ZK Goh | Created 26 October 2022
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(2022 Getty Images)

The 51st Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are here – and with it, six teams will become the first to book their Olympic Games Paris 2024 tickets.

Liverpool, Great Britain, welcomes the World Championships and Olympic qualifier from 29 October through 6 November 2022. Some 550 gymnasts from 75 countries, representing 24 women's and 24 men's teams as well as individual all-around and apparatus specialist gymnasts, will wow the world at the M&S Bank Arena in the English port city.

The arena has hosted British Gymnastics' national championships every year since 2011 (except in 2020, when the event was not held, and 2021, when it was relocated to its old home in Guildford). British gymnastics legends Max Whitlock – who is not competing – and Beth Tweddle are among the event's official ambassadors.

After the team finals, the top three women's and top three men's squads will secure their Olympic spots in the French capital in 2024. The top eight teams after qualification will also make it to next year's World Championships, where further Olympic places will be on offer. Additionally, 14 world titles are up for grabs across the nine days of competition.

Olympics.com will be in Liverpool to bring you in-depth coverage online and on social media. Ahead of the championships, here are the events to watch on a daily basis as well as the full schedule of rotations.

All times below are in local time (British Summer Time ends on the night of 29 October into 30 October, changing the times listed from UTC/GMT +1 hour on 29 October to UTC/GMT for the remainder of the competition). Schedule details are subject to change at short notice.

Day 1 – Saturday 29 October: Team USA women headline opening evening of action

Action gets underway on Saturday night after a short opening ceremony, with one of the main draws of any gymnastics meet: the Team USA women.

All of the action on Saturday and Sunday is dedicated to women's qualifying, with the Americans in the very first subdivision at 8pm on Saturday alongside Belgium and the two apparatus specialist groups, made up of individual gymnasts who have qualified only on specific apparatus and not as an all-around gymnast or part of a team.

The U.S. team includes the Olympic champion in the floor exercise Jade Carey as well as the silver-medal Olympic team member Jordan Chiles. However, unlike in previous years, the Americans are not the runaway favourites this time given the absence of both the most successful World Championships gymnast in history, Simone Biles, and the Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee.

READ MORE: Olympians Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles highlight U.S. women's squad for World Championships

With Belgium also in the first subdivision, Olympic uneven bars champion Nina Derwael will make her return to international competition for the first time since winning the Olympic crown.

Romania and Spain are the other two teams in action on the opening night.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 19:55 (Opening ceremony precedes competition)
  • 20:00–21:20 Women's Qualification Subdivision 1 (Belgium, USA, apparatus specialist groups 1 and 2)
  • 21:30–22:50 Women's Qualification Subdivision 2 (Romania, Spain, all-around groups 7 and 12)

Day 2 – Sunday 30 October: Hosts Britain set for centre stage

With the remaining 20 women's teams taking to the four apparatus on Sunday, all eyes of the home crowd will be on the night's very last subdivision, with Great Britain due to compete from 9:45pm. Their squad includes the Gadirova sisters as well as European silver medallist Alice Kinsella.

Earlier in the day, Brazil – led by Olympic champion on vault Rebeca Andrade as well as Flavia Saraiva – will stake their claim. The Pan-American champions are in subdivision 8 at 6:30pm.

China (subdivision 5 at 12:45pm) and Italy (subdivision 9 at 8:15pm) will also be among the teams expected to make it to the final.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 09:15
  • 09:30–10:50 Women's Qualification Subdivision 3 (Korea Republic, Ukraine, all-around groups 1 and 14)
  • 11:00–12:20 Women's Qualification Subdivision 4 (Sweden, Australia, Hungary, all-around group 9)
  • 12:45–14:05 Women's Qualification Subdivision 5 (Canada, China, all-around groups 5 and 10)
  • 14:15–15:35 Women's Qualification Subdivision 6 (Mexico, France, all-around groups 2 and 13)
  • 17:00–18:20 Women's Qualification Subdivision 7 (Finland, Netherlands, Japan, all-around group 8)
  • 18:30–19:50 Women's Qualification Subdivision 8 (Argentina, Brazil, Germany, all-around group 4)
  • 20:15–21:35 Women's Qualification Subdivision 9 (Italy, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, all-around group 3)
  • 21:45–23:05 Women's Qualification Subdivision 10 (Great Britain, Austria, all-around groups 6 and 11)

Day 3 – Monday 31 October: China and Japan men look to stake claims

Neither China nor Japan have competed extensively internationally over the last two years due to the pandemic, but both countries still have the strongest men's teams on paper.

Japan bested China at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021, while the Chinese got the upper hand earlier this year at the Asian Championships. China are in action in subdivision 2 (11:30am), while Japan follow in the very next subdivision (1:50pm).

The hosts Great Britain, who were fourth in Tokyo, are in the same subdivision as China but will be without Whitlock, who is on a sabbatical from the sport and recently spoke openly about his mental health.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 09:15
  • 09:30–11:20 Men's Qualification Subdivision 1 (Austria, USA, Canada, Switzerland, all-around groups 5 and 8)
  • 11:30–13:20 Men's Qualification Subdivision 2 (Kazakhstan, Korea Republic, Great Britain, China, all-around groups 2 and 6)
  • 13:50–15:40 Men's Qualification Subdivision 3 (Spain, Japan, Ukraine, Romania, all-around groups 3 and 10)
  • 15:50–17:40 Men's Qualification Subdivision 4 (Netherlands, Italy, Colombia, Brazil, apparatus specialist groups 1 and 2)
  • 19:00–20:50 Men's Qualification Subdivision 5 (Turkey, Egypt, Germany, Chinese Taipei, all-around groups 6 and 7)
  • 21:00–22:50 Men's Qualification Subdivision 6 (Belgium, Australia, France, Hungary, all-around groups 1 and 4)

Day 4 – Tuesday 1 November: First Olympic spots on offer for women's teams

The first world title on offer in 2022 – and the first three tickets to the 2024 Olympic Games – will be awarded on Tuesday.

Eight teams which have qualified from Saturday and Sunday will know that finishing on the podium guarantees their place in Paris – and the USA are, despite the absences of their Olympic all-around champions Biles and Lee, still favourites to win.

Brazil, hosts Great Britain, and Japan could all be in the mix for the podium, but Italy – who finished fourth at Tokyo 2020 – will be missing two of their brightest hopes, including European all-around champion Asia D'Amato, through injury.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 18:15
  • 18:30–21:00 Women's team final

Day 5 – Wednesday 2 November: Men's teams aim for Paris 2024 in final

Aside from the China vs Japan tussle, with both teams widely expected to be on the podium to secure their Paris berths, the big question will be which of the teams earn the third qualifying place.

Great Britain and USA finished fourth and fifth respectively in the team final at Tokyo 2020, but the teams haven't finished on the Worlds podium since 2015 and 2014 respectively. This could be the best chance for either team to break that streak.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 17:25
  • 17:40–21:00 Men's team final

Day 6 – Thursday 3 November: Who will be crowned women's world champion?

We know one thing for sure – there will be a new women's all-around world champion. With Biles – who won five of the last seven titles – and Morgan Hurd (2017) not competing for the USA and 2021 champion Angelina Melnikova ineligible, someone else will get to step forward.

Could it be Brazil's Andrade? The Olympic silver medallist might never have a better shot at winning a global gold medal. Otherwise, the U.S. will look to Chiles and Shilese Jones – who won the American national selection event – to take the crown back.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 18:30
  • 18:45–21:15 Women's individual all-around final

Day 7 – Friday 4 November: Zhang vs Hashimoto in apparent rematch

The men's individual all-around final appears to be a straight re-match between the current world and Olympic champions, China's Zhang Boheng and Japan's Hashimoto Daiki respectively.

Zhang narrowly edged out Hashimoto at last year's World Championships by just under two-hundredths of a point, and Hashimoto will be keen to win his first world all-around title.

The home fans will hope that Joe Fraser, the third event ambassador alongside Whitlock and Tweddle, can reach the podium too.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 17:45
  • 18:00–21:10 Men's individual all-around final

Day 8 – Saturday 5 November: Apparatus specialists get chance to shine

Reigning Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat (floor exercise) and defending world champion Stephen Nedoroscik (pommel horse) will both likely be in action, while men's rings are always hotly-contested with 2019 world champ Ibrahim Colak of Turkey hoping to regain his title. Carlos Yulo, the 2019 floor world champ, will also be in the mix.

On the women's side, Andrade – as reigning Olympic and world champion – is favoured in the vault, and she could double up in uneven bars too although will have Derwael in her way.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 13:15
  • 13:30–17:30 Apparatus finals (men's floor, women's vault, men's pommel horse, women's uneven bars, men's rings)

Day 9 – Sunday 6 November: Worlds conclude with apparatus finals

The Philippines' Yulo is defending world champion on vault and won silver last year in parallel bars too. He could well be in contention on both apparatus again, although Olympic champion Zou Jingyuan of China will want to have a say in the latter apparatus.

Carey, the Olympic champ in women's floor, would be expected to be another front-runner this year in that event, while China's Tang Xijing could have her eye on the balance beam title.

Schedule

  • Session begins at 13:15
  • 13:30–17:30 Apparatus finals (men's vault, women's balance beam, men's parallel bars, women's floor, men's horizontal bar)
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