Some of the strongest rhythmic gymnastics nations, such as Russia, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy, have booked their places at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The sport’s first qualifying slots were confirmed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) along with the final results of the 2015 World Championships, which were held in the German city of Stuttgart and ended on Sunday (13 September).

According to the Olympic qualification system, the top 15 gymnasts in the individual competition at the 2015 World Championships were to secure a slot for their National Olympic Commitees (NOCs) – Russia and Belarus earned two places each, while Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Israel, USA, Spain, Bulgaria, Republic of Korea, France, Greece and Japan earned one each.

The same principle applied to the group competition: the 10 best teams would earn places for their NOCs. These were Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Japan, Israel, Belarus, China, USA and Ukraine. 

The remaining slots will be defined at the Rio 2016 rhythmic gymnastics test event, scheduled to take place at the Rio Olympic Arena in April 2016.

Follow the race to qualify for the Olympic Games here.

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.