The 10 Greatest Rhythmic Gymnasts of All-Time
The Greatest Ever Rhythmic Gymnasts
Rhythmic gymnastics – a sport combining ballet, dance and theatre into one spectacular performance.
International rhythmic gymnast Neringa Masionyté lists the best of the best!
Great rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram
Before introducing the top 10 rhythmic gymnasts, let’s start by understanding everything you need to know about this beautiful sport.
What is rhythmic gymnastics?
Rhythmic gymnastics involves performing on a floor while using apparatus such as hoops, balls, ribbons, ropes and clubs.
The goal of rhythmic gymnastics is to amaze the judges with precisely planned routines, employing hand-held apparatus and a variety of jaw-dropping movements that cover the whole surface of the carpet.
Gymnasts aim to receive the highest score.
Although rhythmic gymnastics is becoming popular in the UK, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus typically have the largest number of rhythmic gymnastic legends.
Without further delay, read about the 10 greatest rhythmic gymnasts in the world!
1. Evgeniya Kanaeva
Evgeniya Kanaeva – 2 Olympic gold medals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 make her first place in the list of the 10 greatest rhythmic gymnasts of all-time.
She has also won several European and World Championships, making her a legend in this graceful sport.
Evgeniya Kanaeva is a Russian gymnast born in Omsk, and she started rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 6.
Kanaeva’s performances were noticed by the age of 12, and she was invited to train at the School of the Olympic Reserve in Moscow.
Shortly after, she joined the national team and started winning her first medals in World Cups.
In 2008, despite being the youngest finalist at only 18 years old, Kanaeva pulled in her greatest performance, defeating Belarus' Inna Zhukova by 3.5 points to win the Olympic all-around gold in Beijing.
In the years that followed, Kanaeva dominated in sport, winning the World Championships in 2009 and 2011 and defending the Olympic Champions at the London Olympics.
After her victory in London, 22-year-old Kanaeva announced her retirement from sports and moved into coaching.
2. Linoy Ashram
Linoy Ashram – Israel's gold medallist in Tokyo 2020- entered history by becoming the first gymnast from outside a post-Soviet republic to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
Ashram got into rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 7 because she was a hyperactive child.
She became a member of the Israel national team in 2014, due to her hard work and dedication.
Linoy also served in the Israel Defense Forces from 2017 to 2019. In 2020, she became a European Champion. After two years, she announced her retirement.
Her signature move is the "Ashram," which is a backbend turn performed on the floor with support.
Linoy described herself as a shy person in real life, which is very different to what you see out on the floor.
3. Yana Kudryavsteva
Yana Kudryavsteva holds the record as the 15-year-old rhythmic gymnast who won the all-around World Championships.
Yana is a Russian rhythmic gymnast who has been competing since 2011.
She is the 2016 Olympic silver medallist in the individual all-around event and a 3-time all-around World Champion.
She has also won numerous medals in team and individual events.
When she was 4 years old, her father took her to a gymnastics class to help with her posture, flexibility and body composition.
Since the start of her career, she was spotted for her incredible flexibility and strength, as well as her grace and artistry on the floor.
Yana is known for her dynamic routines and precise execution.
She is a true artist on the floor, connecting with the music and her audience with every move.
Her dedication and hard work are an inspiration to aspiring gymnasts around the world.
According to reports from 2016, Kudryavtseva's career ended due to a leg injury.
4. Anna Bessonova
Anna Bessonova is one of the most decorated rhythmic gymnasts of all-time, winning an Olympic bronze medal, 6 World Championship medals and 16 European Championship medals.
She is a Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast who competed from 1998 to 2009.
She was also the first rhythmic gymnast to win 3 consecutive European titles.
Her creative and daring routines set her apart from other competitors, and they have earned her numerous awards throughout her career.
She had a graceful, powerful style and enviable physical strength and athleticism.
After quitting sports in 2010, Anna coached girls in the school where she used to train.
She later moved to the United States to continue training gymnasts in Florida.
5. Margarita Mamun
Margarita Mamun – 2016 Olympic Games all-around gold medallist.
Margarita was born in 1995 and started competing at an international level in 2011.
While part of the Russian national team, she became a 2-time World all-around silver medallist, silver medallist at the 2015 European Games and silver medallist at the 2016 European Championships.
She now holds the record for the greatest all-around score under the 20-point scoring system with 77.150 points, which she achieved in the 2016 Baku World Cup.
In 2017, Margarita announced her retirement. In the same year, Marta Prus' documentary about Margarita Mamun, ‘Over the Limit’, was released.
6. Anna Rizatdinova
Anna Rizatdinova is a Ukrainian rhythmic gymnast. She is the bronze medallist winner of the all-around event of the 2016 Olympic Games.
During her 18 year career, she became a 2-time World all-around medallist and a 2-time European all-around bronze medallist.
Rizatdinova competed for Ukraine in the individual all-around competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing tenth overall.
Anna was known for her grace and athleticism. She was a hard-working, passionate athlete whose determination and skill have earned her a well-deserved place in the history of rhythmic gymnastics.
After quitting gymnastics, Anna wrote a book ‘My romance with sports’ about her difficult path towards an Olympic medal.
She intended to expose the aspects of professional sport that are hidden from audiences and admirers of rhythmic gymnastics.
7. Aleksandra Soldatova
Aleksandra Soldatova is an elite Russian rhythmic gymnast.
She won the World all-around bronze medal in 2018, the World ribbon gold in 2018 and the Grand Prix Final all-around gold in 2016.
Aleksandra began to train at the age of 5 and she made her international debut in 2011.
Following on from this, she won multiple titles in World Cups, Grand Prix, European and World Championships.
Soldatova participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics as a reserve individual competitor for Russia.
She was one of the most beloved gymnasts in the world, admired for her extreme flexibility, impressive pivot turns, dynamic and expressive performances.
She also had an incredible passion for the sport that propelled her to the highest levels of success.
In 2020, she quit sports and revealed her struggle with bulimia for the past 2 years.
She decided to share her story in order to help people cope with illness and realise that they are not alone.
8. Sofia Raffaeli
Sofia Raffaeli is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast.
She is the most decorated individual rhythmic gymnast in Italy and the first Italian to win a gold medal at the World Championships, European Championships and World Games.
She was involved in sports from a very young age. She began with artistic gymnastics before switching to rhythmic gymnastics.
Raffaeli made her senior international debut in the World Cup in the 2021 season, later followed by many international victories.
Currently, she is working on her goal to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games.
The International Gymnastics Federation presented a new element of the sport in her honour in 2021.
Even though Sofia Raffaeli is still a rising star, she has already entered the rich history of rhythmic gymnastics.
9. Alina Harnasko
Alina Harnasko - 2020 Olympic all-around bronze medallist, as well as 2021 World Championships all-around silver medallist and 2020 European all-around silver medallist.
The Belarusian gymnast started her career as a group gymnast and she won group silver in the 2015 European Championships.
She then immediately resumed competing as an individual, and after 6 years she brought the fifth Olympic medal for Belarus in rhythmic gymnastics.
As a hobby, she makes videos for her YouTue channel where people can see the world of rhythmic gymnastics behind the scenes.
On March 7 2022, the FIG banned all athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in the near future.
10. Carolina Rodríguez
Carolina Rodríguez is known as a veteran of rhythmic gymnastics.
In the early 2000s, she began her senior career. She participated in 3 Olympic cycles:
The 2004 Athens Games, where she represented Spain as a group member
The 2012 London Games, where she competed as an individual gymnast and placed fourteenth in the all-around qualifications
The 2016 Rio Games, where she competed once more as an individual and placed eighth in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final
Carolina stated that she fell in love with this sport on the first day she practised it.
Both of her parents are deaf, and she communicates with them using her hands. This allowed her to perform phenomenal routines by telling stories to the audience using just her hands.
She quit gymnastics at 30 years old, having 11 National Champion titles in her pocket.
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