What is Rhythmic Gymnastics?
Olympic rhythmic gymnastics is a female-only event that uses apparatus to showcase skill, flexibility and musicality, and made its Olympic debut in Los Angeles for the 1984 Games. There are just two categories: individual all-around women and group all-around women. Find out everything you need to know about the sport in this video guide to rhythmic gymnastics.
By whom, where and when was Rhythmic Gymnastics invented?
Rhythmic gymnastics originated in Europe during the 19th century and has since evolved into an Olympic sport.
The credit for inventing rhythmic gymnastics goes to the Swedish educator Per Henrik Ling, who developed a system of exercises. Ling's system focused on the harmonious combination of physical movement and music, which laid the foundation for the development of rhythmic gymnastics.
However, it was the Swiss composer and music educator, Emile Jacques-Dalcroze, who first incorporated dance and music into the practice of gymnastics in the early 20th century. Jacques-Dalcroze's approach, known as eurhythmics, used music as a way of expressing and enhancing movement.
What are the rules of Rhythmic Gymnastics?
As with artistic gymnastics, performances in rhythmic gymnastics are given by judges, who assess the performance and award a difficulty (D) score and an execution (E) score, which are combined to give the final score for the routine. The Code of Points is renewed after each Olympics.
- The D score is based on each element of the performance including leaps, jumps and use of apparatus. This difficulty score is unlimited.
- The E score is based on how well the routine was executed either by the individual or the group. This has a starting value of 10 points. The final number is an average of the middle three scores awarded by the judges.
- The D and E scores are combined at this stage, giving a final score. Then, any deductions for penalties are taken away. The list of instant deductions is incredibly long and complex in rhythmic gymnastics. Competitors can be penalised for anything from breaking the apparatus, to the time taken, to landing heavily on their feet.
Rhythmic Gymnastics and the Olympics
Rhythmic gymnastics competition began in the 1940s in the Soviet Union and was recognised by the International Gymnastics Federation in 1961. Although the first world championships for the sport were held in 1964, rhythmic gymnastics did not make its Olympic debut until 1984 when Canadian Lori Fung took the first Olympic title in the discipline. Group rhythmic gymnastics made its debut at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta where Spain was the champion.
Best Rhythmic Gymnasts to watch
Eastern European countries have dominated the international rhythmic gymnastics scene. However, no NOC has brought home more than a single gold medal from an Olympics, with the exception of the Russian team which, led by stars like Beijing 2008 and London 2012 champion Evgeniya Kanaeva and Rio 2016 champion Margarita Mamun, has swept 10 out of 17 golds since the sport was included on the Olympic programme in 1984.
At Tokyo 2020, Israel’s Linoy Ashram surprised the world when she stood on top of the podium in the individual all-around competition, becoming the first female Olympic gold medallist from her country. Sadly, we did not see her in Paris, as the 23-year-old announced her retirement from competitive rhythmic gymnastics in April 2022.
Italian rising star Sofia Raffaeli become the first Italian to claim the all-around overall title at the World Cup event following her victory in Athens this year. The 18-year-old is currently ranked no.1 in the world.
In the group competition, Bulgaria, the Tokyo 2020 team gold medallists, are leading the world ranking, followed by France.
Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition Rules at Paris 2024
In total, 94 rhythmic gymnasts competed at Paris 2024 – 24 individual athletes and 14 groups (five athletes per group). This was two less in total than Tokyo 2020, where 26 individual athletes competed.
As the host country, France received six quota places, including one group quota, while one quota place for the Universality place was decided by the Tripartite Commission.
The other 87 quota places were allocated to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) with a maximum number of seven per NOC – two for individual athletes and five for one group.
There were two events: the individual and group all-around competitions. All athletes born on or before 31 December 2008 (15 years old at Paris 2024) were eligible to compete at the 2024 Games.
