Russian native Darja Varfolomeev wins Germany’s first Olympic gold in rhythmic gymnastics

PARIS (AP) — Darja Varfolomeev left her native Russia for Germany five years ago in search of Olympic glory.

She found it in Paris.

The 17-year-old won gold in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around competition on Friday. Varfolomeev posted the highest score in all four events — hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon — on her way to a total of 142.850, well clear of silver medalist Boryana Kaleyn of Bulgaria and bronze medalist Sofia Raffaeli of Italy.

Varfolomeev was born in Barnaul, Russia — over 2,000 miles east of Moscow — in 2006. The Russians have long been a powerhouse in a sport that focuses on artistry. Varfolomeev believed the odds of her making the Russian national team were slim considering the remoteness of her hometown, so she moved to Germany in 2018 to train while living with her grandparents.

She swept all four events at the 2023 world championships. She did the same in Paris a day after finishing runner-up to Raffaeli in qualifying after dropping her hoop during her routine in an uncharacteristic mistake.

There were no miscues in the finals for Varfolomeev, who earned Germany’s second medal in the sport 40 years after Regina Weber claimed bronze for West Germany when rhythmic gymnastics was introduced in Los Angeles in 1984.

Russia had produced at least one all-around medalist in every Games dating to 1996, but it was banned from competing in Paris due to the war in Ukraine. Its absence created opportunities for other countries to step into the spotlight.

The final was also missing Stiliana Nikolova of Bulgaria. She had an error-prone qualifying round in an uncharacteristic performance that left her just outside of the top 10.

Baryana’s silver was the first individual medal by a Bulgarian gymnast since 1988, and Raffaeli became the first Italian gymnast to medal in the individual competition.

Rhythmic gymnastics concludes on Saturday in the team competition. Defending Olympic champion Bulgaria topped qualifying on Friday with a score of 70.400, just ahead of Italy and Ukraine.