Rhythmic gymnastics star Varfolomeev wins World Championship all-around gold

Darja Varfolomeev has been crowned World Champion in the all-around for rhythmic gymnastics for the third consecutive time at the home World Championships. The 19-year-old German athlete achieved this feat by scoring a total of 119.500 points across her four routines with the hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon.

This victory mirrors her previous all-around World Championship wins in 2023 and 2025. Varfolomeev also made history two years ago by becoming the first German gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal in the all-around competition. She was enthusiastically cheered by the 4,250 spectators in the sold-out Frankfurt Festhalle throughout her performances.

Varfolomeev has additional opportunities to win gold in the individual finals for ball, ribbon, and hoop on Sunday. However, she narrowly missed qualifying for the clubs final, placing ninth by a margin of 0.3 points. This near-miss seemed to fuel her motivation for the all-around competition, which she had dominated in qualifications.

Despite a slightly shaky start with the hoop routine, earning only 28.300 points and showing visible dissatisfaction, Varfolomeev recovered impressively. She delivered a strong, error-free performance with the ball, earning 30.050 points and moving closer to the lead. Her exceptional clubs routine, scoring 31.500 points, was the highest of the day and propelled her into the lead after three of the four disciplines. A solid performance with the ribbon, securing 29.650 points, confirmed her victory.

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Just wobbled a bit, then shone, and finally celebrated: Darja Varfolomeev was crowned World Champion in the all-around in Rhythmic Gymnastics for the third time in a row at the home World Championships.