39th WORLDS of RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS 2022

(1) Sofia RAFFAELI (ITA); (2) Darja VARFOLOMEEV (GER), (3) Stiliana NIKOLOVA (BUL)- All-around Medal Trio

Since the inaugural event in Budapest in 1963, the 39^th WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Rhythmic Gymnastics 2022 are now on the horizon.
After 1969 and 1987 in Varna, where the 2021 European Championships were held last year, Bulgaria, the once proud leading nation of this sport, will be the host for only the third time and its capital Sofia will experience this major event for the first time. These world championships from September 14-18 will be the conclusion of a season full of historic results in this sport - without the sanctioned Russian stars, without Belarus and with Ukraine heavily burdened by war.
* With the all-around success plus three apparatus victories (hoop, ball and ribbon) by Sofia RAFFAELI, ITALY also presented itself as the absolute No. 1 of these World Championships also with gold in the national ranking.
* The vice-champion title of Germany in the team competition, which is mainly due to the brilliant success of 15-year-old Darja VARFOLOMEEV, also has a historic dimension: After three apparatuses in the all-around competition she was still in the lead by one point, but was beaten by the Italian Raffaeli with her ribbon exercise and thus she won the sensational first all-around silver medal of the reunited Germany. In addition, the world championship title with the clubs, silver with the ball, bronze with the hoop - a German success record like never before in the history of this competition.
* Frenetic shouts of "Stili, Stili", Stili from the Bulgarian spectators celebrated the smallest gymnast in the starting field, the bronze medal in the all-around by Stiliana NIKOLOWA, who already with her three silver medals at the apparatus finals seemed to end an almost two-decade-long lull in the success of the former leading nation ...!
* In the group competition, after the all-around title, host BULGARIA also won gold in the final of the combined exercise. With the 5 hoops won ITALY, which thus concluded these World Championships as the most successful nation!

♦ ♦ 39^th WORLDS of RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS
- Sofia / BULGARIA; 2022, September 14 - 18 -

* Thus, at this World Championships, each of the five individual titles that will be at stake in Sofia - hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon, as well as in the all-around - is guaranteed to be awarded to a new world champion by name.
* The group competitions, in which new world champions will be crowned in the disciplines 5 hoops, 3 balls/2 pairs of clubs and in the all-around, are peppered with medal contenders, so it will probably come to exciting and least predictable final decisions in recent years!
In addition to the nine World Championship titles up for grabs, Olympic spots for Paris 2024 will also be awarded to the nations.
* * *

♦♦ WCh - INDIVIDUAL ALL-AROUND

♦♦ → ALL-AROUND FINAL (Update: Saturday, Sep 17)
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RAFFAELI, Sofia          (ITA) - = 133,250
VARFOLOMEEV, Darja (GER) = 132,450
NIKOLOVA, Stiliana     (BUL) - = 128,800
   4. ONOPRIIENKO, Viktoria (UKR) - 125,050
   5. BALDASSARRI, Milena (ITA) - 124,900
     6. KATZ, Adi Asya    (ISR) - 124,450
     ...
    15. KOLOSOV, Margarita     (GER) - 115,650

   ► Detailed Final result
> Qualification

                                              (1) Sofia RAFFAELI (ITA)
(2) Darja VARFOLOMEEV (GER)    (3) Stiliana NIKOLOVA (BUL)
* * *
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FIG VIDEO on demand: WCh ALL-around FINAL:

* Youtube (00778)

* Thursday, (15. 09.)
♦ Day 2 of All-around Qualification --:
Sofia RAFFAELI (ITA) leads after four apparatuses in the all-around ahead of Stiliana NIKOLOVA (BUL), Darja VARFOLOMEEV (GER) and Margarita KOLOSOV (GER) in the overall ranking, followed by Viktoria Onoprienko (UKR), Ekaterina Vedeneeva (SLO) and Adi Asya Katz from Israel.
Varfolomeev stood in three finals (out of ribbon), Kolosov made the hoop and club finals ...
► Qualification results
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* daily summaries we will publish at the end of competitions..
.- the Editors

♦ APPARATUS FINALS

♦ Sofia RAFFAELI (ITA) wins the first World Championship title for her country after hoop bronze last year, adds the historic second World Championship gold with the ball at the same evening here in Bulgaria and won her third titel with the ribbon at the last final event!!! Historical successes!

♦ Darja VARFOLOMEEV (GER) wins the first Worlds medal again with the hoop for the reunited Germany, after the bronze medal of Bianca Dittrich from former GDR (1985 in Valladolid), becomes the first German Vice World Champion in the ball final only some minutes later and at the last final day she won the gold medal with the clubs, 47 years after the hoop victory of Carmen Rischer (1975 in Madrid)! A complete set of medals by a German gymnast - that has never happened before! Also historical successes!!
♦ Stiliana NIKOLOVA (BUL) wins a first medal for Bulgaria again since Simona Peycheva's victory (2001) with hoop silver, and with Milena BALDASSARI's ball bronze, Italy is well on its way to becoming the most successful nation of this World Championships here in Sofia.
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♦♦ RESULTS (Update: Wed, Sep 14)
* H O O P
RAFFAELI, Sofia           (ITA) - (17.5) = 34,850
NIKOLOVA, Stiliana (BUL) - (16.2) = 33,400
VARFOLOMEEV, Darja (GER) - (15,5) = 32,150
      ► Detailed Final results
> Qualification results

* B A L L
RAFFAELI, Sofia          (ITA) - (17.6) = 34,900
VARFOLOMEEV, Darja (GER) - (17.1) = 34,100
BALDASSARI, Milena    (ITA) - (15,6) = 32,400
      ► Detailed Final results
> Qualification results

* C L U B S   (Update: Thursday 15. Sep.)

VARFOLOMEEV, Darja (GER) - (16.8) =33,550
NIKOLOVA, Stiliana (BUL) - 16.4) =32,600
RAFFAELI, Sofia      (ITA) - (16,3) =31,850
      ► Detailed Final results
> Qualification

* R I B B O N
RAFFAELI, Sofia            (ITA) - (15.6) =32,650
NIKOLOVA, Stiliana     (BUL) - (14.7) =31,850
VEDENEEVA, Ecaterona (SLO) - (13.2) =29,900
      ► Detailed Final results
> Qualification
.

♦♦ WCh - TEAM ALL-AROUND Competition

* ITALY, as the undisputed No. 1 of these World Championships, also won the Nations Competition, in which both the individual gymnasts Sofia Raffaeli and Milena Baldassarri as well as the Italian group (Martina Centofanti, Agnese Duranti, Alessia Maurelli, Daniela Mogurean, Laura Paris, Martina Santandrea) took part in the scoring.

* GERMANY won a medal for the first time ever in this category with 2nd place, thanks to the two individual gymnasts Darja Varfolomeev (TSV Schmiden) and Margarita Kolosov (SC Potsdam) as well as the group formation with Daniella Kromm, Alina Oganesyan (both TSV Schmiden), Anja Kosan (SC Siemensstadt), Francine Schoening (Berliner TSC) and Hannah Vester (TB 1889 Oppau).

* SPAIN with Alba Bautista, Polina Berezina and the group (Ana Arnau Camarena, Ines Bergua Navales, Valeria Marques, Mirela Martinez, Patricia Perez Fos, Salma Solaun) won bronze, ahead of Ukraine, USA and Azerbaijan.
* * *
ITALY - 312,550
GERMANY - 301,400
SPAIN - 297,100
► Detailed Results
* * *

♦ WCh - GROUPS COMPETITIONS

* Sunday, 18. 09.

♦ GROUP FINALS (hoop + combined exercise)
* The FINALS with 5 hoops were won by last year's runners-up ITALY voe the strong group from ISRAEL as well as ahead of the EX-WORLD CHAMPIONS of 2019, Japan, who successfully defended their last year's bronze medal.
* COMBI WORLD CHAMPIONS (3 ribbons 2 balls) became the hosts from BULGARIA, who prevented a successful title defense of the Italians under home conditions. Bronze was won by Azerbaijan. The German group finished in sixth place.

* R e s u l t s: ► Finale 5 Hoops: ► Finale 3 Ribbons/2 Balls
* * *

→ T O D A Y : * Friday 16. 09.
** GROUPS, All-around

29 National groups entered this current Worlds competition - the last time in Kitakyushu 2021 there were 18, for the 37th World Cup before the pandemic in 2019 there were 24. groups. Missing are the suspended top groups of Russia, Belarus:
Buoyed by its hosting role, the BULGARIA group came out on top of the all-around standings, especially with an outstanding combined routine (66.600)
ISRAEL followed just two points behind (64.650), then Spain ahead of Italy with best score of 5 hoops.
Germany's girls unfortunately lost both apparatus routines and took a disappointing 14th place in the all-around. Fortunately, the deductions in the combined exercise (3 ribbons / 2 balls) were limited, so that they still reached the final with the sixth-best score:

► Results: Groups All-around-Mehrkampf
⁺⁺ VIDEO on demand:

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