Sport Rhythmic Gymnastics
16-year-old student is now Germany’s great gold hope
Status: 24.08.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Exceptional athlete Darja Varfolomeev inspires at the World Championships in Valencia
Credit: AFP/JOSE JORDAN
The 16-year-old Darja Varfolomeev trumped at the World Championships in rhythmic gymnastics and became Germany’s gold hope for the Olympics. Her journey to the top of the world is unusual and began in Siberia.
You should remember this name, this face: Darja Varfolomeev made history in rhythmic gymnastics last year at the age of 15 when she won the first world title for Germany in 47 years. Now the student from Fellbach in Baden-Württemberg has followed suit in a spectacular way.
At the World Championships in Valencia late on Wednesday evening, she first won gold with the hoop and shortly afterwards also celebrated the World Championship title with the ball. The exceptional 16-year-old athlete not only celebrated a double triumph, but also achieved her dream of Olympic victory a lot closer. Margarita Kolosov from Potsdam came in fifth with the hoop.
“I’m very proud that everything worked out at the right moment and that all the work we do in the hall every day was so worth it,” said Varfolomeev. “I’m very happy about the two gold medals for Germany.” And there can be more to come, the World Championships are far from over. “You can tell,” says DTB team boss Isabell Sawade, “Darja is hungry for more.” That applies to this World Cup and beyond.
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Varfolomeev’s journey to the top of the world began in Russia, more precisely: in Siberia. Her German roots, her big dream and her will to make it come true led her to Germany as a child. “My big goal is the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. We have been preparing for this for many years, since I was little my goal has been to come to the Olympics,” she says in the WELT talk. “My dream is to get to the final – and then to win it.” To do this, she trains an immense amount of around 36 hours a week.
At the age of twelve she left her homeland alone
And: Varfolomeev started her sport extremely early and made her first attempts at the age of three. “I didn’t really understand what I was doing before,” she says with a laugh, “but I’ve really enjoyed training since I’ve been in Germany.”
Only 16 years old and already enormously successful: Darja Varfolomeev
Credit: AFP/JOSE JORDAN
She left her homeland at the age of twelve and moved to Baden-Württemberg because she saw better opportunities for a sports career there than in Russia. Her German grandfather in Aschaffenburg and a German passport that she has had since birth made it possible. Her mother lived in Germany as a teenager. “I wanted to get better. In Russia, however, the chances of getting to the base from a small town in Moscow are not so good,” explains Varfolomeev. “That’s why we considered going to Germany so that I can fulfill my dream here.”
She lived in a boarding school for the first two years until her parents arrived. The family now lives together in Germany. “It was difficult at first. Without my parents, another country, I didn’t know the language yet,” she says. “But my trainer and everyone else helped me a lot.” She has long felt comfortable and at home, and speaks German very well.
Aiming high: Darja Varfolomeev still has a lot planned
Credit: AFP/JOSE JORDAN
And the training work is paying off: Last fall, the then 15-year-old student won gold with clubs at the World Championships, plus silver with the ball and bronze with the hoop. In May she then followed up with the ribbon with EM gold and had very special support: her grandmother from Russia had boarded a plane for the first time and left her homeland for the first time. The family has already secured a few tickets for Paris.
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“I never thought that I could celebrate such successes last year and this year,” said Varfolomeev before the World Cup and announced: “Now I want to win even more titles, I want to show that I can do even more and want even more. She has done that perfectly in Valencia so far.
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