Darja Varfolomeev ended the rhythmic gymnastics world championships in Frankfurt with two more titles. On 16 August the 19-year-old won the apparatus finals with the ball and with the ribbon.
They were her 13th and 14th world titles. Two days earlier the 2024 Olympic champion had already taken the all-around competition, for the third time in succession. She competed in front of a home crowd, in a Frankfurt Festhalle sold out with 4,500 spectators.
In the ribbon final the gymnast from TSV Schmiden scored 30.500 points. Her margin over Stiliana Nikolova of Bulgaria was five hundredths. Third place went to Sofiia Ilteriakova, who competes under a neutral flag.
With the ball the gap was wider. Varfolomeev reached 30.350 points, ahead of Ilteriakova on 29.800 and Mariia Borisova on 29.150.
The hoop final brought bronze. Her 30.400 points left her three tenths short of the winner, Taisiia Onofriichuk of Ukraine. Silver went to the defending champion Sofia Raffaeli of Italy. Varfolomeev narrowly missed the clubs final after finishing ninth in qualifying.
"Today it really went perfectly," Varfolomeev said in an ARD interview after her last routine. "It was very important to me that I got through this final routine cleanly and without losses, in front of this crowd." Four medals at a home world championship had been "incredible and unforgettable", she said.
The German group finished without a medal. The quintet of Alisa Datsenko, Anja Kosan, Alina Ott, Helena Ripken and Anna-Maria Shatokhin missed the podium in the final with three hoops and two pairs of clubs.
Beyond the titles, one consequence of the all-around win matters most. According to ZDF, Varfolomeev secured Germany its first quota place for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Who takes that place will be decided only in the qualifying rounds before the Games.