Rhythmic sporting gymnastics: Advertising for home World Cup: Varfolomeev “Best Gymnastics in the World”

Finally out of the hall. After their triumphal procession at the World Championships with their four single gold medals, Darja Varfolomeev wanted to experience more from Rio the Janeiro than just the magnificent atmosphere in the arena Carioca 1. “I will look at Brazil for three days. The fans are very crazy and very nice,” said the Olympic champion.

In the 2016 Olympic metropolis, the 18-year-old from Schmiden near Stuttgart once again outshone everything and underpins her exceptional position in rhythmic sports aerobics for two years. After her five-time triumph 2023 in Valencia and the Olympic victory in Paris last year, Germany’s athlete of the year once again won the title in the prestigious all-around battle as well as the ball, the clubs and the band. “Dascha once again showed that she is the best gymnast in the world,” said Thomas Gutekunst, sports director of the German Turner Federation (DTB).

With a total of eleven times World Cup gold, she has been in fourth place in the most successful gymnasts at World Championships. Varfolomeev only remained medalless with the tire because she came out of balance in a pirouette and had to support herself. “Unfortunately, the tire was a mistake on the surface,” she regretted.

After Rio is in front of the home World Cup

For this, the gymnastics star and her Schmiden team colleague Anastasia Simakova and the group won the team title for the first time for Germany, so that she is flying home again with five gold medals. “The result of the gymnasts here in Rio absolutely exceeded our expectations,” said Gutekunst. In particular, the premiere win with the team for which the qualification services are added up is “great”.

The German team leader Isabell Sawade was also “overjoyed”. “We won the gold medal in the team competition for the first time in history. This shows that we are very well positioned and did a very good job,” she said.

For the DTB, after the title fights in Brazil in front of the home World Cup. With five gold and once bronze, the German team set a high scale for the event in August 2026 in Frankfurt/Main. “We want to take this tailwind with us for next year,” said Gutekunst, “we want to continue to make the RSG known in Germany and continue to advertise the sport in order to have a festival of rhythmic gymnastics in Germany next year.”

Dark side of the upswing

With Varfolomeev as the face of sports gymnastics, the DTB has an unaffected advertising medium. “Popularity is increasing. Overall, we have seen great progress in all areas in recent years,” said Isabell Sawade. Already at the German Championships in Dresden, fully occupied ranks proved that the RSG has left the earlier shadow with the recent successes. “You can see how the spectators are getting more and more. It’s just great. My sport is one of the most beautiful sports,” enthused the top child.

In the pull of Varfolomeev and led by national coach Yuliya Raskina, other athletes have worked into the international class at the federal base in Schmiden. The 20-year-old Russian Simakova, who started for Germany for the first time last year, won with the ball in Rio Bronze with the tire after EM silver and finished sixth in the all-around and with the band.

Behind it have recently drawn Lada Pusch or Viktoria Steinfeld. “Of course it would be even more beautiful if we could work more widely if we could have more clubs,” said Sawade. But success also has a dark side: there are only two starting places per nation at the World Championships and Olympic Games. The Server of this regulation was the Olympic fourth Margarita Kolosov (Potsdam), who was only a replacement starter for Rio.