First in 13 years: Ukraine's Onofriichuk crowned world champion in rhythmic gymnastics
Ukrainian gymnast Taisiia Onofriichuk has won gold in the hoop final at the 2026 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships currently taking place in Frankfurt am Main.
Source: Champion, a sports news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company
Details: The judges awarded Onofriichuk's routine a score of 30.700. The Kyiv-born gymnast performed to Thriller by American singer Michael Jackson.
Onofriichuk received 8.300 points for artistry and 14.100 for difficulty, helping the Ukrainian gymnast finish ahead of all her rivals.
She beat Italy's 2022 Olympic bronze medallist Sofia Raffaeli to gold. Germany's Darja Varfolomeev, who was born in Russia, took bronze.
Final results:
- Taisiia Onofriichuk (Ukraine) – 30.700
- Sofia Raffaeli (Italy) – 30.500
- Darja Varfolomeev (Germany) – 30.400
- Daniela Munits (Israel) – 30.050
- Takhmina Ikromova (Uzbekistan) – 30.000
Notably, this is Ukraine's first gold medal at this year's World Championships.
The last time Ukraine won an individual event at the World Championships, which were held in Ukraine, was in 2013, when Hanna Rizatdinova claimed gold. She also won the hoop event.
This is Onofriichuk's first World Championship title. The Kyiv-born gymnast won two bronze medals at last year's World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
Ukraine will contest two more finals on 16 August at this year's World Championships.
Onofriichuk will return to compete in the clubs final at 16:10, while Ukraine's group will battle for gold in the three hoops and two pairs of clubs final at 15:00.
Earlier, the Ukrainian team narrowly missed out on a medal in the five-ball final at the 2026 World Championships.
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