Spain crowned Group All-Around world champions in thrilling final

Spain are the new Group All-Around world champions after holding on for gold in another thrilling final at the 42nd Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Frankfurt. The chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole” echoed around the Festhalle as the huge amount of Spanish fans celebrated. The bronze medallists from 2025 scored a total of 57.450 points, 0.750 clear of second place.

“We are still trying to believe it because it's something huge,” said Spain’s Ines Navales. “I mean, there's a lot of sacrifice and hard work behind this medal. There's a lot of hours only we know and the people close to us. So it's a prize for all the effort, and at the moment we are just really, really happy.”

“It feels like home because really we are here, but it felt like if we were in Spain. And looking at the crowd and seeing everyone's family and friends, it just, it's, it's so heartwarming.”

The defending champions Japan took the silver, but after many changes to the 2025 gold medal-winning team, they celebrated their result in the Kiss and Cry area just as much as if it was the title. Brazil ended with bronze to repeat the podium line-up of the 2025 Worlds. All three teams have also earned the first Group quota places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

“Now that I’m wearing this heavy medal, to be honest, it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. But my heart is just so full, and I really want to say thank you to so many people,” said Japan’s Hisano Taguchi. 

“Since my teammate (Megumi) Nishimoto and I had previously missed out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics, this chance to compete in Los Angeles meant more to us than to anyone else. Being able to earn that spot on our own this year has really given us a huge boost of confidence.”

“I can't describe it. We came here with this goal and we did it,” said Brazil captain Maria Eduarda Arakaki. “Now we just want to celebrate a little, rest, and thank God for everything because we worked so hard. And we know that our dream is to bring an Olympic medal home. It would be the first Olympic medal for rhythmic gymnastics in Brazil. So it's just unbelievable.”. 

Spain had led since the end of the second session, ahead of Brazil. Going into their final routine, Japan knew they needed 29.000 points in their 5 Balls routine to take the gold away from Spain. It was a stunning performance, but the score of 28.150 wasn’t quite enough for top spot. 

Hosts Germany (55.050) ended in an impressive fourth place, ahead of Ukraine, who had topped the standings after the morning session with 54.900. 

“We're super proud that we pulled this off and are just happy to be here,” said Germany captain Helena Ripken. “After the first exercise, some of the pressure had already eased, but we definitely managed to stay focused.”

“The performance evoked incredible emotions, even despite the fact that we made a mistake,” said Ukraine’s Taisiia Redka. “But we’re still glad we were able to perform. We’re glad we managed to pull it off. It was another challenging routine we were able to execute.”

“We’re incredibly proud to represent our country, Ukraine, at this World Championships, because we train under extremely difficult conditions. Sometimes we don’t sleep at night because of the shelling, but we still show up for practice in the morning and try to give it our all. I’m incredibly proud of every single one of my teammates,” said Polina Horodyncha.

Italy were the first group to earn over 25.000 in the opening rotation with a beautifully presented 5 Balls routine. Ukraine then took the top spot after the first rotation with 27.450 points — Madonna’s “Vogue” the soundtrack to a catwalk-inspired routine that had the whole arena clapping. China were close behind with their 3 Hoops/2 Pairs of Clubs routine, set to some iconic theme tunes including “Game of Thrones”.

“Today it's a very long journey, we don't know yet if we will get to the apparatus finals, but we hope. And now we watch the other teams and we wish it to be a good result for us,” said Italy’s Sofia Sicignano. 

Yesterday we watched Sofia (Raffaeli) win bronze and some of us start crying,” said teammate Bianca Vignozzi. “We're very happy for her. She's one of the wonderful girls. She deserves it. She worked so much for this medal.”

Ukraine’s routine was not the only time Vogue was heard in the Festhalle on Saturday morning. Canada’s 3 Hoops/2 Clubs was a journey through fashion history, paying special tribute to the late designer Gianni Versace. 

“It’s not just Vogue, it's not just Devil Wears Prada, it goes much deeper and much more historic. This routine is about Versace, and it starts with a sad part as we are showing that he was killed, sadly,” explained Carmel Kallemaa. 

“But then there is a clock effect in our routines. The music takes the time back and shows the good fashion times, everything that he created and what legacy he left behind. So we also want to leave a legacy behind with our routine.”