From August 23 to 27, the world’s top rhythmic gymnasts gathered in Valencia, Spain, for the 40th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. This prestigious event also served as a qualification competition for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Azerbaijan was represented by individual gymnasts Zohra Aghamirova, Ilona Zeynalova, and Kamila Gafarova, as well as members of the group routines national team: Gullu Aghalarzade, Laman Alimuradova, Kamilla Aliyeva, Zeynab Hummatova, and Yelizaveta Luzan.

According to the qualification rules, the top 14 in the individual all-around and the top 5 group routines (excluding already-qualified athletes and teams from last year’s top three finishers) would secure Olympic berths for Paris 2024.

During the first two days of the championships, gymnasts showcased their routines with hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon in the individual qualification rounds. Based on the all-around results, Azerbaijani national team member Zohra Aghamirova — bronze medalist of the European Championships and four-time silver and bronze medalist at the Summer Universiade — secured 12th place (95.250 points) and thus earned an Olympic license for Paris 2024. With this result, she also advanced to the all-around final, where she placed 18th (122.450 points).

This marks Azerbaijan’s first gymnastics qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It’s worth noting that Zohra also represented Azerbaijan at the 32nd Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, making history as the first Azerbaijani rhythmic gymnast to compete individually at the Olympic Games.

For Ilona Zeynalova and Kamila Gafarova, this World Championships served as a valuable experience. Zeynalova performed routines with hoop, ball, and clubs, while Gafarova presented her ribbon routine.

On August 25, Azerbaijan’s group routine team entered the all-around competition, performing routines with 5 hoops and a combined routine with 3 ribbons and 2 balls. The team scored 63.900 points, finishing in 9th place — narrowly missing out on an Olympic qualification spot. However, their strong 6th place (32.200 points) finish in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls routine qualified them for the event final, where they outperformed teams from Japan, Bulgaria, and Mexico to claim 5th place (30.300 points) in the final rankings.

Looking ahead, our gymnasts will have another opportunity to qualify for the Olympics at the upcoming European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. We believe they will continue to improve their results and secure another Olympic license for Azerbaijan in rhythmic gymnastics.