Darja Varfolomeev achieved historic success at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships with five gold medals at one World Championships. After four victories in the apparatus finals, the exceptional 16-year-old athlete also won the all-around this Saturday in Valencia. The protégé of trainer Yuliya Raskina scored 137,450 points with ball, ribbon, clubs and hoops, making him the first German all-around world champion after Carla Rischer in 1975. Varfolomeev won silver at the World Championships last year and thus has a quota starting place for the Olympic Games next year year in Paris.
The native Russian, who came to Germany at the age of 12, relegated defending champion Sofia Raffaeli from Italy to second place with 135,700 points. Third was Daria Atamanov from Israel with 131,400 points. Margarita Kolosov from Potsdam, who secured the second possible starting place in Paris for the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB), finished twelfth with 125.800 points.
Varfolomeev had previously won the singles titles with hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. She also won silver in the team classification in Valencia together with Kolosov and the group made up of Anja Kosan (Berlin), Daniella Kromm and Alina Oganesyan (both Schmiden), Hannah Vester (Oppau) and Emilia Wickert (Söflingen).
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“Combat is the most important thing. So I’m trying to get on the podium. That’s my dream,” the student said before the final competition. The day before, the German gymnastics group had secured an Olympic ticket with eighth place. The places will only be officially allocated after the EM 2024 in Budapest.
