FIG World Cup Serie Rhythmic Gymnastics 2024

The series of FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cups in the 2024 Olympic year consisted of five events in total.
After Athens, Sofia, Baku, Tashkent and the final tournament now in Milan / Italy (21-23 June), Germany's current five-time world champion Darja VARFOLOMEEV ended this FIG series as the overall 2024 World Cup winner by winning the all-around and also the apparatus titles with clubs and ball.
The victory with the hoop in Milan went to China's WANG Zilu, while Italy's star Sofia RAFFAELI won the ribbon competition ahead of Darya Varfolomeev.
* In the group finals, the Italian hosts celebrated victory with 5 hoops. All-around winner China took the victory with the combination routine.
All of these events took place between the end of March and the end of June, i.e. before the highlight of the year, the Olympic Games in Paris in August, even though only the individual all-around and the group competition are on the Olympic programme there.
♦ A final World Challenge Cup in Cluj Napoca, Romania (July 12-14) gave the participants one last chance to compete in front of an international judging panel before the Olympic Games in Paris and saw Germany's 5-time world champion and overall World Cup winner Darja VARFOLOMEEV with two more apparatus victories ...:

→ ... current& last FIG-World Challenge Cup:

(5)  F I G  WORLD Challenge CUP  in Cluj Napoca (ROU)  -  (July, 12 - 14)

Preview -:  Cluj-Napoca (ROU) is the last chance to compete before the sporting highlight of the year, the Olympic Games in Paris. Germany's Varfiolomeev and the two Bulgarian Nikolova and Kaleyn were the top favorits ...
The Olympic rhythmic gymnastics competitions begin there on 8 August, one day later will follow the group competitions.

* July 14  --:
♦ FINALS, Inividual - :

.* July 12/13
* All-around --:  Stiliana NIKOLOVA (BUL) defended her lead in the all-around on the second day with the highest score for her ribbon routine with 142.900 points.
Germany's Darja VARFOLOMEEV also achieved the best score of the day with the clubs (35.650) and extended her 2nd place in the all-around with 140.250 points.
Third place went to Israel's Daria ATAMANOV, who, with the second-best clubs routine and 136.550 points, pushed Bulgaria's Boryana Kaleyn, whose ribbon routine was not perfect, into fourth place.

* July 14 --:
* GROUPS Competitions
(1) BULGARIA (38.950 + 34.700=73.650) and (2) Brazil (37.750 + 34.100=71.850) overtook (3) Israel (39.000 + 32.000=71.000) after the all-around competition.
The German girls finished eighth behind Italy, Spain, France and Ukraine with 34.950 + 31.600=66.550 points
* FINAL results
* 5 Hoops
1. ISR - 39,400;    2. ITA - 38,750;   3. BUL - 38,700
* Combi exercise:
1. ESP - 34,700;   2. FRA - 33,850;  3. UKR - 33,850
 

→ ... l a s t :

(-)  F I G - WORLD Challenge CUP  in Portimao (POR)  -  (2024, May 10 - 12)

♦ The traditional Portuguese World Challenge Cup tournament saw last year's 5-time German world champion Darja VARFOLOMEEV win four times in dazzling form: after the qualifying all-around (135.70), the 17-year-old exceptional athlete also won the finals with hoop, clubs and ribbon ahead of the Belarusian Alina Harnasko (128.75), who competed under a neutral flag, and the Spaniard Alba Bautista (128.20).
The victory with the ball went to Harnasko, as Varfolomeev finished in 5th place without any mistakes.
.
♦ Challenge Cup Groups Results
* Finale 5 Hoops
1. SPAIN - 35,750;  2. BRAZIL - 34,500;  3. FRANCE - 34,050;
4. MEX - 31,850; 5. GRE - 31,250; 6. GBR - 28,000; 7. POR - 24,400.
* Combined exercises (3+2)
1. BRAZIL - 32,550;  2. MEXICO - 30,100;  3.SPAIN - 29,900;
4. FRA - 29,650;   5. GRE - 27,600;   6. POR - 23,450.
   + + +
.

(3)  F I G - WORLD CUP  in Baku  (AZE)  -  (2024, April 19 - 21)

♦ Four times World Cup Gold for  Varfolomeev!

As already impressively indicated in the all-around, perfectly realised and confirmed in three finals: Germany's 5-time current world champion Darja VARFOLOMEEV also won three of the four World Cup finals in Baku. Only with the clubs did she have to give way to her fiercest rival, the Italian Sofia RAFFAELI - after losing one apparatus - who relegated the Ukrainian Taisija Onofritschuk and Darja Varfolomeev to the medal ranks.
Margarita Kolosov from Potsdam finished fifth with 32.75 points in the clubs and seventh with 30.55 points in the ball. Anastasia Simakova from TSV Schmiden finished the final with the hoop in eighth place with 30.65 points. 

Wie im Mehrkampf bereits eindrucksvoll angedeutet, in drei Finals perfekt umgesetzt und bestätigt: Deutschlands 5-malige aktuelle Weltmeisterin Darja VARFOLOMEEV gewann auch drei der vier Weltcup-Finals in Baku. Nur mit den Keulen musste sie - nach einem Geräteverlust -  ihrer schärfsten Konkurrentin, der Italienerin Sofia RAFFAELI den Vortritt lassen, die die Ukrainerin Taisija Onofritschuk und eben Darja Varfolomeev auf die Medaillenränge verwies.
Die Potsdamerin Margarita Kolosov kam mit den Keulen auf 32,75 Punkte und Rang fünf sowie mit dem Ball auf 30,55 und Platz sieben. Anastasia Simakova vom TSV Schmiden beendete das Finale mit dem Reifen mit 30,65 Punkten auf dem achten Rang.   
►► INDIVIDUAL Results
* * *
♦ Germany's five-time world champion Darja VARFOLOMEEV was already in a strong competitive mood on the second competition day of the third World Cup in Baku: after qualifying, she was already leading the all-around with the best ball and best ribbon routine of the competition and the second-best scores with the hoop and clubs, where she initially had to give way to Bulgaria's Elvira Krasnobaeva - the best conditions, however, with all four apparatus to fight for victory in the World Cup finals.

** The All-around medal trioo :   (c) agf-fed
(1) VARFOLOMEEV (GER; middle);  (2) Krasnobaeva (BUL, left.);  (3)  RAFFAELI (ITA);
> All-around Results;  > EQualification results
   + + +
 ♦ In den Gruppenfinals gab es einen  überraschenden Doppelerfolg der Gruppe aus JAPAN, die sowohl die 5-Reifenübung, wie auch die kombinierte Übung (2 Bälle/3 Bänder) gewann -
- die Reifenübung vor Italien und Aserbaidschan und
- die Kombi-Übung vor Spanien und Italien, nachdem die Chinesinnen nicht fehlerlos waren ...!


* In the group finals, there was a surprising double victory for the group from JAPAN, who won both the 5-hoop routine and the combined routine (2 balls/3 ribbons) - the hoop routine ahead of Italy and Azerbaijan.
- the tyre routine ahead of Italy and Azerbaijan and
- the combined routine ahead of Spain and Italy, after the Chinese were not flawless ...!
►► Group Final Results

In the group qualification, the trio of Italy, Spain and Azerbaijan were in the lead in the qualifying all-around with the 5-tyre routine - Bulgaria's group only came fourth ... !!??
This was followed by a withdrawal in protest: "Bulgaria will no longer take part in the rhythmic gymnastics competitions in Baku, declared the President of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Iliana Raeva. She was reacting to the undeservedly low score (35.750) that the Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics ensemble received yesterday evening at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in the Azerbaijani capital in the five-hoop freestyle. The score was not changed despite the subsequent appeal. This leaves the Bulgarian team in fourth place after the first day. "Our team has been robbed mercilessly! It's no coincidence that we are lodging a protest for the first time," wrote Iliana Raeva under a post on the official Facebook page of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation. She also criticised the artistic scores for Elvira Krasnobaeva and Eva Brezalieva, who were currently in second and fifth place in the preliminary rankings.
>> Ergebnisse: Gruppen, Qualifikation
.

(1)  F I G - WORLD CUP  in Palaio Faliro / Athens (GRE)  -  (22. - 24. 03. 2024)
One week after the 9^th Aphrodite Cup 2024, the Greek organisers will host the first FIG World Cup of the 2024 Olympic season, which will be followed by three more in April alone (Sofia, Baku, Tashkent) and will conclude with the 5th World Cup at the end of June in Milan. All of these highlights therefore offer excellent opportunities to prepare for the annual highlight in Paris in August.

♦ R E S U L T S:
* App. FINALS:
Bulgaria's Elvira KRASNOBAJEWA finished the World Cup in Palaio Falio / Athens as a successful gymnast with a victory in the hoop and two 2nd places (clubs and ribbon).
She beat Italy's former world champion Sofia Raffaeli, who did not manage to win with two silver medals (hoop and ball), as Daniele MUNITS also won the ball final before her.
The final with the clubs was won by WANG, Ziliu (CHN), the ribbon final was won by Alina HARNASKO from Belarus.
Germany's only place in the final was 8th place with the ribbon by Margarita Kolosov.
► H o o p ;   ► B a l l ;   ►>  C l u b s ;   ► R i b b o n

* GROUP FINALS
In the first group final (5 hoops) the order was:
1st Italy ahead of 2nd Israel and China on third place. ... 5th place went to the German group.
The final results in the combi ecercises was:
  ►► 5 H O O P S;    >> Combi exerc.

* * *

* In the individual all-around, a Bulgarian double lead: Elvira Krasnobayeva (131.100) ahead of Eva Brezaliyeva (130.35):
Margarita Kolosov (GER; 121.350) is in 10th place with a difference of 10 points.
* In the group all-around, Israel is clearly ahead of China and Italy, followed by Spain, Bulgaria and Germany. 15 formations competed.
* FINALS:
   ....
* Qualification:
               ► INDIVIDUAL All-around:
               ► GROUPS; All-around  (> 5 hoops + 3 ribbon/2 balls)
  ....