Brazil 2028 becomes a key stop on the gymnastics road to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles
Brazil will host the Pan American Championships in artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline gymnastics in 2028, and these competitions will have a direct qualifying role for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. According to the announcement by the Pan American Gymnastics Union, the decision was made unanimously at the General Assembly held in Rio de Janeiro, confirming Brazil as the host of three senior continental championships in Olympic gymnastics disciplines. The host city has not yet been determined, so the next phase will decide where the competitions that could be decisive for athletes and national federations from across the Americas will take place.
The decision has broader significance than simply adding new major competitions in Brazil to the calendar. The Pan American Gymnastics Union states that the 2028 championships will serve as a continental qualifying event for Los Angeles 2028, which means that some Olympic places for the Americas will be distributed much closer to the Games themselves than would have been the case if the quotas had remained tied to the Pan American Games in Lima in 2027. According to the continental organization’s explanation, the aim is to reduce the effect of the long period between the major multisport competition in Peru and the Olympic tournament in the United States of America.
Unanimous decision and the still open question of the host city
According to information published by the Confederação Brasileira de Ginástica, the Brazilian national federation, the hosting decision was made on June 22, 2026, during the assembly of the Pan American Gymnastics Union in Rio de Janeiro. The same statement and reports by Brazilian media emphasized that the competitions will include artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline gymnastics, that is, the three gymnastics disciplines that are part of the Olympic program. This hosting is therefore not only an organizational confirmation for Brazil, but also an important point in the international qualification system.
The Brazilian Gymnastics Confederation announced that the host city has not yet been chosen. That detail will be especially important because such an event requires a hall with international technical standards, training space, infrastructure for judges and delegations, medical support, an accreditation system and logistics for teams coming from different parts of North, Central and South America. Rio de Janeiro is naturally mentioned in the broader context because in recent years it has hosted a number of major gymnastics competitions, but for now there is no official confirmation that this city will be chosen for 2028.
CBG president Henrique Motta assessed, according to ge.globo, that it is extremely strategic for the Brazilian federation to host these competitions because they can be important preparation for domestic athletes and play a decisive role in the Olympic race. Such a statement reflects the dual value of the event: the host gets the opportunity to organize competitions at the highest continental level, while athletes get a competitive framework in which the last, or some of the last, continental opportunities to compete in Los Angeles could be awarded.
Why the qualification focus is shifting to 2028
The Pan American Games in Lima in 2027 will be held from July 16 to August 1, 2027, according to the official announcement by Panam Sports. The Olympic Games in Los Angeles, according to the LA28 organizing committee, begin on July 14 and run until July 30, 2028. Almost a full year will pass between the end of the Pan American Games and the start of the Olympic competitions, and precisely this time gap is one of the key reasons for the change in the qualification approach in gymnastics on the American continent.
The president of the Pan American Gymnastics Union, Kenia Herrera, stated, according to the UPAG announcement, that the decision was made after a technical and sporting analysis, with the aim of a fairer qualification process, strengthening athlete development and increasing the possibility for the continent to be well represented at the Olympic Games. UPAG states that moving the continental qualifications to the 2028 Pan American Championships should better reflect the current form of athletes immediately before their Olympic appearance. In gymnastics, this is especially important because rankings, injuries, the age structure of teams and technical readiness can change significantly within a single season.
Such an approach also changes the distribution of pressure on national federations. The strongest national teams will first try to secure Olympic places through world championships, World Cups and other international qualification pathways, while the continental championship could open additional space for countries that failed to obtain quotas in earlier phases. According to UPAG’s interpretation, this could increase the number of federations that realistically remain in the Olympic race until the final phase of the cycle.
The competitions are not the same as the Pan American Games
It is important to distinguish between the Pan American Games and the Pan American Gymnastics Championships. The Pan American Games are a major multisport competition under the umbrella of Panam Sports, featuring athletes from many sports and disciplines. The Pan American Gymnastics Championships are specialized competitions run by the Pan American Gymnastics Union in coordination with national federations and the rules of the international gymnastics structure. According to UPAG’s confirmation, these specialized championships in Brazil in 2028 will have the qualification function for Los Angeles.
That difference is important for understanding the sporting impact of the decision. Multisport games often have a different organizational rhythm, a broader program and different logistics, while continental championships can be more precisely adapted to the rules of an individual international federation and to the needs of the Olympic qualification system. In gymnastics, where quotas differ by discipline and where individual, team and all-around criteria are carefully separated, such specialization can have great competitive significance.
For athletes from the Americas, this means that 2028 will be extremely compressed and important. The Pan American Championships in Brazil will not only be a fight for continental titles, but also part of the final phase of the road to Los Angeles. In such circumstances, a result in the final, qualification round or all-around can have long-term consequences for an entire national Olympic program.
Brazil is building continuity of major gymnastics events
The 2028 hosting builds on a series of major gymnastics competitions that have been held in Brazil in recent years, especially in Rio de Janeiro. The World Gymnastics Federation states in its official calendar that the 41st World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Rio de Janeiro from August 20 to 24, 2025, in the Olympic Park. It was one of the most important international gymnastics events in the cycle after Paris 2024 and a strong organizational test for Brazil.
According to UPAG results and documents, Rio de Janeiro hosted the Pan American Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships and the Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2026, while the Pan American trampoline competition that year was held in Medellín, Colombia. This series shows that continental gymnastics is increasingly relying on halls and organizers capable of meeting the demands of international competitions. In this context, Brazil has gained an important role, especially because of its experience working with large arenas, the sports park and the legacy of earlier Olympic events.
Organizational status does not arise only from the ability to hold a competition, but also from confidence that athletes will be provided with equal conditions, technically correct equipment, a stable training schedule and a transparent competition process. In qualifying competitions, this element is even more sensitive because the result can decide participation at the Olympic Games. That is why the choice of city, hall and technical team will be among the key decisions before the start of final preparations.
Broader impact on gymnastics in the Americas
The decision to link continental Olympic quotas to the 2028 Pan American Championships may change the way national teams plan the entire Olympic cycle. Federations will have to align peak form with the period immediately before Los Angeles, while also taking into account world championships, World Cups, national qualifications and the continental calendar. In sports such as gymnastics, where the risk of injury is high and form often depends on precise timing of workloads, such a change can have a significant impact on training programs.
For smaller and medium-sized gymnastics federations from the Americas, the change could have additional value. If the strongest national teams secure some quotas earlier through global pathways, the continental championship can become a more open space for countries trying to break through to the Olympic level. UPAG cites precisely this argument as one of the reasons for the change, emphasizing the possibility of broader representation of the continent at the Games. This does not guarantee an easier path, but it can increase the competitive relevance of the championship for a larger number of teams.
For Brazil, as host, the sporting stake will be even more pronounced. The home national team will have the advantage of performing in front of the crowd and in familiar surroundings, but also additional pressure because the competition will be held on the territory of a country that has in recent years invested in strengthening its gymnastics profile. CBG will have to combine organizational preparation and sporting ambitions, especially if some Brazilian athletes seek Olympic qualification precisely through these championships.
Los Angeles 2028 already has official dates and a competition framework
The LA28 organizing committee announced that the Olympic Games in Los Angeles will run from July 14 to 30, 2028, while a detailed schedule of medals by sports and venues was subsequently presented. Gymnastics remains one of the most followed Olympic sports, with disciplines that include artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. That is precisely why continental qualifying events in 2028 carry special weight: they will not be separate from the Olympic story, but its final regional part.
In practice, the final significance of the Brazilian championships will only be seen once the precise qualification details for each discipline, the list of already qualified National Olympic Committees and the number of remaining places are known. However, UPAG’s confirmation itself that these competitions will serve as a continental qualifying event already places Brazil at the center of the American gymnastics calendar for 2028. For athletes, coaches and federations, this means that planning an appearance in Brazil will be part of a broader Olympic strategy, not just a regular item of the continental season.
Until the host city is announced, questions of location, exact dates, discipline schedules and technical details will remain open. What has already been confirmed is that in 2028 Brazil will gather a large part of the gymnastics elite of the American continent with a goal that goes beyond winning medals. The Pan American Championships will then have both symbolic and practical weight: they will be the continental stage on which part of the road to Los Angeles will conclude immediately before the start of the Olympic summer.
Sources:
- Pan American Gymnastics Union (UPAG/PAGU) – confirmation that the 2028 Pan American Senior Championships in Brazil will serve as a continental qualifying event for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (link)
- ge.globo / Confederação Brasileira de Ginástica – report on the unanimous decision of the assembly, the disciplines, the statement by the CBG president and the fact that the host city has not yet been determined (link)
- LA28 – official announcement of the dates of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles (link)
- LA28 – official announcement of the competition schedule and medal events for the 2028 Olympic Games (link)
- Panam Sports – official confirmation that the Pan American Games in Lima 2027 will be held from July 16 to August 1, 2027 (link)
- World Gymnastics / FIG – official event record for the 41st World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Rio de Janeiro 2025 (link)
- Pan American Gymnastics Union (UPAG/PAGU) – results and calendar of Pan American gymnastics competitions, including the 2026 events in Rio de Janeiro and Medellín (link)