Italy, Bulgaria win last two titles at rhythmic gymnastics worlds in Sofia

SOFIA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Italy and hosts Bulgaria won the last two titles as the 39th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships concluded here on Sunday.

In the group, five hoops final, Italy continued their strong performance in Sofia and gained 34.950 points, followed by Israel with 34.050, and Spain with 33.800.

In the group of three ribbons/two balls, Bulgaria won the title with 33.300, Italy came second with 31.450, and Azerbaijan took the bronze with 30.750.

China qualified for the two finals, and took 7th place in the five hoops with 31.650 points, and fourth place in the three ribbons/two balls with 29.350 points.

In the previous competition days, Tokyo Olympic champions Bulgaria won the group all-around title in their debut at a world championship. Sofia Raffaeli of Italy won the individual all-around title as well as the gold medals in hoop, ball and ribbon individual apparatus events, while Darja Varfolomeev of Germany snatched the gold in clubs.

The competition was the first Olympic qualification for rhythmic gymnastics for the Paris 2024 Games, and the medal-winning nations in the group and individual all-around competitions earned automatic berths. Those were Bulgaria, Israel and Spain for the groups, and Italy, Germany and Bulgaria for the individuals, respectively.

"If I have to be honest, I did not expect such successes from the Bulgarian athletes," said Iliana Raeva, president of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

"The main and most important thing for us was the two quotas for Paris," she said.

Some 300 athletes from 62 countries and regions participated in the five-day event, which kicked off in Arena Armeec Hall on Wednesday.

This was the fourth time for Bulgaria to host a rhythmic gymnastics world championships. It has been staged twice in the seaside city of Varna in 1969 and 1987, and in Sofia in 2018.