Russian rhythmic gymnasts return to the World Championships after five years: Frankfurt opens a new chapter
Russian rhythmic gymnasts are competing at the World Championships again, for the first time since the edition held in 2021 in Kitakyushu, Japan. The return is taking place at the 42nd Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, held from August 12 to 16, 2026, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. According to the official announcement by World Gymnastics, 100 individual gymnasts and 42 groups have been entered for the competition, while organizers expect approximately 300 athletes in Frankfurt's Festhalle. Russia has entered representatives in both the individual and group competitions, meaning the return is not merely a symbolic appearance after several years of absence, but also the comeback of a country that for decades belonged at the very top of this sport. Among those at the center of attention are Mariia Borisova and Sofiia Ilteriakova, two gymnasts who have already won medals at major European competitions during 2026.
The championships in Frankfurt began on August 12 with qualifications, and on August 13 the program continues with the second day of individual qualifications. According to the official schedule, the individual all-around final will be held on August 14, the group all-around on August 15, while on the final day, August 16, the apparatus finals are scheduled. World Gymnastics states that a total of nine world titles will be awarded in Frankfurt, including the team title, which is determined by combining the results of individual gymnasts and groups from the qualifications. For this reason, the success of delegations is measured not only by individual medals, but also by the breadth of their program and results across several disciplines. For Russia, which is returning to the world stage with ambitions in both the individual and group competitions, that breadth is particularly important.
Return to the World Championships for the first time since Kitakyushu 2021
Russia's last appearance at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships before Frankfurt came in 2021 in Kitakyushu. At that time, Russian athletes competed under the designation of the Russian Gymnastics Federation and finished the championships with an exceptionally dominant performance. World Gymnastics recorded after the end of the competition that the Russian delegation had won seven of the nine available titles. Dina Averina won her fourth consecutive individual all-around world championship title, further cementing her status as one of the most successful rhythmic gymnasts in history, while the Russian group won gold in the five balls final. It is precisely because of such a competitive legacy that the return of the Russian school of rhythmic gymnastics to the biggest world stage carries significance that goes beyond the question of participation itself.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Gymnastics Federation, now branded as World Gymnastics, introduced measures under which Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials were excluded from its competitions and sanctioned events. Over the following years, those decisions went through several phases, including the possibility of competing under special neutral conditions. A key change occurred in May 2026, when the World Gymnastics Executive Committee announced that it was lifting all restrictions that had applied to Russian and Belarusian athletes since February 2022. The federation stated at the time that the previous ad hoc rules were no longer in force. Nevertheless, the Frankfurt championships show that lifting general restrictions does not automatically mean the same use of national symbols at every individual event.
In Frankfurt without the Russian flag and anthem
The most sensitive part of the return concerns the way Russian athletes are represented in the arena and at ceremonies. Torsten Hartmann, spokesman for the German Gymnastics Federation, told TASS ahead of the championships that Russian and Belarusian athletes in Frankfurt would compete without official national symbols, meaning without state flags and anthems. According to him, in the event of a medal or victory, the World Gymnastics flag will be used, with neutral music played instead of the national anthem. Hartmann stated that such an arrangement had been agreed between World Gymnastics, the German Gymnastics Federation, the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the German federal government, and that Russia and Belarus had been informed of the conditions.
At the same time, the Russian Gymnastics Federation describes the formal status of its delegation differently. In a statement reported by TASS, it said that the athletes are participating as the full Russian national team, that official protocols and communication documents list them as representatives of Russia, and that it considers the use of World Gymnastics symbols in the arena to be a transitional solution for certain competitions. The Russian side also claims that such a procedure does not constitute a return to the previous system of individual neutral athletes, which World Gymnastics abolished by its decision in May. This has created a specific situation in Frankfurt: the Russian name and national team identity are present in the sporting and administrative context, but the state flag and anthem are not used in the official presentation of the competition. For spectators and athletes, that distinction is one of the most visible signs that the return process is not yet fully uniform at all levels of international gymnastics.
Borisova and Ilteriakova arrive with European medals
In the individual competition, Russian expectations are largely tied to Mariia Borisova and Sofiia Ilteriakova. Both established themselves during the spring of 2026 with results at the European Championships in Varna. According to results published by European Gymnastics, Ilteriakova won the European title in the hoop exercise with a score of 29.900 points, while taking bronze with the ball. Borisova won silver in the clubs final and bronze with the ribbon. Such results confirm that Russia's return in Frankfurt is based not only on historical reputation, but also on the current competitiveness of a new generation.
Ahead of the championships, World Gymnastics singled out Ilteriakova among the young gymnasts who could play an important role in the battle for high placements. However, the competition in Frankfurt is exceptionally strong. In the official preview, the leading names highlighted include German star Darja Varfolomeev, Italy's Sofia Raffaeli, Bulgaria's Stiliana Nikolova and Ukraine's Taisiia Onofriichuk, alongside a number of other continental and world medalists. World Gymnastics specifically noted that Varfolomeev dominated the 2026 World Cup series, which makes her one of the key favorites in front of her home crowd. For Borisova and Ilteriakova, Frankfurt therefore represents both the return of their country to the World Championships and a direct test against a generation that established itself while Russian gymnasts were absent from this level of competition.
Russian group also among the contenders for the top
Russia has not returned to Frankfurt only with individual gymnasts. Six Russian athletes have been entered in the group competition, and the very fact that the country is once again present in that discipline changes the balance of power. In its July preview of the championships, World Gymnastics placed the Russian Federation among the three group teams that had defined this year's World Cup rankings, together with China and Brazil. This means that the Russian group is returning to the medal race without a long transitional period at a lower international level. At the same time, it will face competition from national teams such as Germany, Spain and Israel, which the world federation also identified as possible podium contenders.
The group program in the current Olympic cycle includes one routine with five balls and another with three hoops and two pairs of clubs. World Gymnastics announced at the beginning of the season that this format will remain in place until the end of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. In rhythmic gymnastics, a group result requires not only individual technical quality, but also precise synchronization, apparatus exchanges and stability of the entire team's performance, so returning after several years of absence brings an additional challenge. The Russian program has traditionally had great depth in this discipline, but Frankfurt will show how much the balance of power has changed during the period in which other national teams assumed leading roles at world championships and Olympic competitions.
Frankfurt is also the first qualification stop for Los Angeles 2028
The 2026 World Championships carry additional significance because they open the qualification pathway for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. According to the official qualification system published by World Gymnastics and the Olympic Movement, the three highest-ranked gymnasts in the individual all-around final in Frankfurt earn quota places for their national Olympic committees. In the group competition, the three highest-ranked national Olympic committees in the all-around final also earn Olympic group quota places. The results in Frankfurt can therefore have a direct impact on the composition of the Olympic tournament almost two years before the Games begin. The qualification process then continues through the 2026 and 2027 World Cup series, the 2027 World Championships in Baku and the 2028 continental championships.
The Olympic context further increases the importance of Russia's return. In the individual competition, every place at the very top can secure a quota, while the group all-around offers an equally direct path toward Los Angeles. At the same time, the way in which a specific quota would be administratively applied to individual delegations depends on the rules of international sports bodies and the participation conditions in force at the time of the Games. For that reason, it is not justified to equate a result in Frankfurt in advance with the final Olympic participation of a particular athlete. What has been officially confirmed is that Frankfurt is the first qualification stage and that the first places in the LA28 system are being awarded there.
One championship, two parallel processes
The return of Russian rhythmic gymnasts in Frankfurt can be viewed through two parallel processes. The first is purely sporting: Russia once again has representatives in a competition it often marked in the past by winning world titles, and the current members of the national team arrive with results that make them relevant in the battle for finals and medals. The second is institutional: international gymnastics is trying to reconcile the World Gymnastics decision to lift previous restrictions with the conditions of individual host countries and organizers. Frankfurt is therefore an example of an event where the formal return is broader than in previous years, but the public use of national symbols remains restricted.
That difference is not merely a matter of protocol. The flag and anthem are traditionally an integral part of medal ceremonies at world championships, so their absence directly affects the way spectators see and experience a national-team appearance. On the other hand, the Russian federation emphasizes that its athletes are listed as Russia in official documents and that it considers the delegation a national team. Organizers in Germany emphasize the conditions excluding national symbols. Both facts simultaneously define the framework of these championships and explain why the status of Russian gymnasts cannot be reduced to the simple label of a return under the flag or a return in a completely neutral form.
New generation against the established world elite
For rhythmic gymnastics itself, however, the most important answer will be provided by the results on the carpet. Since 2021, the international elite has changed, and gymnasts from Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Israel and other countries have built their own continuity of medal-winning performances. Ahead of Frankfurt, World Gymnastics also specifically highlighted Asian champion Takhmina Ikromova of Uzbekistan and Pan American champion Barbara Domingos of Brazil, showing how geographically broad the circle of candidates for high placements has become. Russian athletes are therefore not returning to the same competitive order they left after Kitakyushu. They are returning to a considerably more open international field, with a number of rivals who have since gained experience in world and Olympic finals.
Frankfurt will therefore show how quickly the Russian program can once again turn its tradition and domestic base into results at the highest world level. Ilteriakova and Borisova have already shown at the European Championships that they can win medals against Europe's leading gymnasts, while the Russian group also attracted attention during the season with its World Cup results. But the World Championships bring a broader field of rivals, greater pressure and an additional Olympic stake. By the end of the competition on August 16, it will be clearer whether the five-year absence has left a deeper competitive mark or whether Russia can immediately return among the most successful nations in rhythmic gymnastics.
For now, the most important fact has already been confirmed by the very start of the championships: Russian rhythmic gymnasts are once again part of the World Championships after their last appearance in 2021. Their return is taking place under special protocol conditions, without the Russian flag and anthem in the arena, but with entries in both the individual and group competitions and with realistic sporting ambitions. At the same time, Frankfurt brings together one of the largest fields of competitors in recent years and opens the qualification cycle for Los Angeles 2028. Because of this combination of a sporting return, changed international rules and Olympic quotas, the championships in Germany represent an important turning point both for Russian gymnastics and for the broader structure of world rhythmic gymnastics.
Sources:
- World Gymnastics – official announcement of the line-up and number of registered competitors for the 2026 World Championships. (link)
- World Gymnastics – May 2026 Executive Committee decision to lift restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes. (link)
- World Gymnastics – 2022 decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from FIG competitions. (link)
- World Gymnastics – report from the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu and the information on seven Russian titles won. (link)
- European Gymnastics – results from the final day of the 2026 European Championships and medals for Sofiia Ilteriakova and Mariia Borisova. (link)
- Frankfurt26 – official schedule and competition format of the 2026 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. (link)
- Olympics.com – official explanation of the rhythmic gymnastics qualification system for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. (link)
- TASS – statements by the German Gymnastics Federation on competing without the national flag and anthem and on ceremony conditions. (link)
- TASS – position of the Russian Gymnastics Federation on the status of the national team and the transitional arrangement in Frankfurt. (link)
- TASS – confirmation of the Russian national team's return to the World Championships for the first time since 2021 and the basic composition of the delegation. (link)
- World Gymnastics – announcement of the 2026 World Cup series and confirmation of the group apparatus format in the current Olympic cycle. (link)