XXI World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Berlin, Germany on 23–26 October, 1997.
159 gymnasts from 50 countries competed. Reigning World champion Kateryna Serebrianska did not compete. The reason given for this was that her mother, who was also her coach, had fallen seriously ill with a heart condition, though Sovetsky Sport ran an article claiming that it was because her mother was not chosen to be a judge at the competition. Instead, Olena Vitrychenko's mother was selected.
Vitrychenko was second in the preliminary round to Natalia Lipkovskaya but went on to win the competition in the final, earning perfect 10 scores for two of her routines. She also won three of the event finals. Lipkovskaya won the silver medal and medaled in all four apparatus finals, including winning hoop. The bronze medalist was Yana Batyrshina, who tied Vitrychenko for gold on rope and also won silver with clubs. Eva Serrano won two bronze medals in the event finals, and Tatiana Popova tied Lipkovskaya for bronze with clubs.
Medal winners
All-around Finals Yana BatyrshinaNatalia LipkovskayaAmina ZaripovaEvgenia PavlinaYulia RaskinaValeria VatkinaOlena VitrychenkoTamara YerofeevaTatiana Popova Olena Vitrychenko Natalia Lipkovskaya Yana Batyrshina Apparatus Finals Olena VitrychenkoYana Batyrshina None awarded Natalia Lipkovskaya Natalia Lipkovskaya Olena Vitrychenko Eva Serrano Olena Vitrychenko Yana Batyrshina Natalia LipkovskayaTatiana Popova Olena Vitrychenko Natalia Lipkovskaya Eva Serrano
Participants The following countries sent competitors: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, The United Kingdom, USA, Uzbekistan and Yugoslavia.
Individual entrants Argentina: Lorena Garroco, Roxana Marion, Sandra Re, Anahi Sosa Armenia: Nina Aloian, Narine Davoyan, Lusine Galstyan, Karine Kachatrian Australia: Shaneez Johnston, Danielle Le Ray, Leigh Marning, Kristy Darrah Austria: Alexandra Baer, Valerie Hackl, Birgit Schielin Azerbaijan: Alfia Kukshinova, Alieva Nourdjachan, Irina Pavlichenco, Sabina Tagiev Belarus: Tatiana Ogrizko, Evgenia Pavlina, Yulia Raskina, Valeria Vatkina Belgium: Astrid de Mul, Frederique Donnay, Cecile Maissin Brazil: Kizzy Antualpa, Dayane Camilo da Silva, Camila Ferezin, Elise Penedo Bulgaria: Teodora Alexandrova, Boryana Gineva, Viktoria Danova Canada: Julia Lombara, Jodie Miller, Erika-Leigh Stirton China: Yunfei Pu, Xi Zhang, Bei Wu, Xiaojing Zhou Croatia: Kristina Bajaz, Petra Jurinec, Zrinka Uzbinec, Tanja Balazic Cuba: Yamile Sotolongo, Yordania Corrales, Yasleidy Rodriguez Cyprus: Angela Georgiou, Maria Kyprianidou, Chrtalla Panayiotou, Elena Theodorou Czech Republic: Lucie Barkova, Renata Hostinska, Kamila Krynicka, Andrea Šebestová Estonia: Natalja Kornysheva, Ege Soidla, Irina Stadnik, Julia Tsvetajeva Finland: Heini Lautala, Heidi Niemi, Minna Markkanen, Laura Pietilainen France: Eva Serrano, Stephanie Delayat, Caroline Stepanoff, Amelie Villeneuve Georgia: Vanda Kereselidze, Inga Tavdishvili Germany: Magdalena Brzeska, Edita Schaufler, Monique Strobl, Helene Asmus Greece: Sophia Bakola, Maria Pagalou, Irene Polydorou, Georgia Straka Hungary: Viktoria Frater, Orsolya Balogh, Dora Toth, Katalin Kiss Israel: Lital Baumwell, Svetlana Tokayev, Ania Shabsis, Dana Sulema Italy: Susanna Marchesi, Martina Nadalini, Arianna Rusca, Laura Zacchilli Japan: Mikako Iwamoto, Rieko Matsunaga, Kayako Miyazaki, Yukari Murata Kazakhstan: Elena Rogojina, Yulia Yourtchenko, Valeria Khairoulina Kyrgyzstan: Saule Tlebaldinova Latvia: Lioubov Hohloya, Darya Medyouho, Ina Proyouma, Ana Zelenska Lithuania: Anzelika Filipovic, Kristina Kliukevičiūtė, Natalija Filistovic, Živilė Rezgytė Malaysia: Carolyn Au Yong, Farah Zellinah Kemal, Sarina Sundarajah, Chee Kiat Thye Mexico: Silvia Palacios, Marcela Salinas, Laura Escalante, Karenia Gutierrez The Netherlands: Sabina Hoogendijk, Lucinda Schuurman, Ramona Stook New Zealand: Felicity Gould-Thorpe, Gemma Railton, Simone Clark Norway: Marianne Haugli, Siri Kjeksrud Poland: Krystyna Leśkiewicz, Joanna Bobrucka, Agnieszka Brandebura, Anna Kwitniewska Portugal: Ines Honorio, Susana Nascimento, Vanessa Pereira, Joana Raposo Romania: Evelina Benchea, Dilana Ferencz, Dana Carteleanu, Alina Stoica Russia: Yana Batyrshina, Natalia Lipkovskaya, Amina Zaripova Slovakia: Zuzana Dobiasova, Eva Filcova, Eleonora Korcekova, Ivana Morolikova Slovenia: Anja Cucek, Dusica Jeremic, Ana Rebov, Nina Vengust South Africa: Andrea Schermoly, Michelle Cameron, Brigitte Heeb, Cheryl Phillips South Korea: Hwang Sook-Hyun, Kim Eun-Hae, Kim Min-Jung, Kwon Bo-Young Spain: Almudena Cid, Alba Caride Costas, Esther Dominguez, Carolina Malchair Thailand: Aunchaya Yeansukon Turkey: Misra Gigeroglu Ukraine: Tamara Erofeeva, Elena Vitrichenko, Tatiana Popova The United Kingdom: Debbie McLarnon, Annabel Brown, Laura Mackie, Melanie Willmott The United States: Alicia Albe, Tara McCargo, Meaghan Muller Uzbekistan: Lilya Nasirova, Tanya Budarina, Elena Mesheryakova, Irina Zamyatina Yugoslavia: Iva Zimonjic
Individual All-Around Place Nation Name Total 1 Elena Vitrichenko 39.900 2 Natalia Lipkovskaya 39.866 3 Yanina Batyrchina 39.832 4 Evgenia Pavlina 39.706 5 Yulia Raskina 39.623 6 Teodora Alexandrova 39.540 7 Eva Serrano 39.499 8 Tatiana Popova 39.482 9 Edita Schaufler 39.449 10 Magdalena Brzeska 39.366
Individual Rope Place Nation Name Result 1 Yanina Batyrchina 9.950 1 Elena Vitrichenko 9.950 3 Natalia Lipkovskaya 9.950 4 Evgenia Pavlina 9.916 5 Eva Serrano 9.875 6 Yulia Raskina 9.866 7 Tatiana Popova 9.841 8 Edita Schaufler 9.791
Individual Hoop Place Nation Name Result 1 Natalia Lipkovskaya 10.000 2 Elena Vitrichenko 10.000 3 Eva Serrano 9.950 4 Teodora Alexandrova 9.941 5 Yanina Batyrchina 9.916 6 Edita Schaufler 9.850 7 Boryana Gineva 9.841 8 Magdalena Brzeska 9.562
Individual Clubs Place Nation Name Result 1 Elena Vitrichenko 10.000 2 Yanina Batyrchina 9.950 3 Natalia Lipkovskaya 9.900 3 Tatiana Popova 9.900 5 Magdalena Brzeska 9.833 6 Edita Schaufler 9.816 7 Viktoria Danova 9.716 8 Almudena Cid Tostado 9.691
Individual Ribbon Place Nation Name Result 1 Elena Vitrichenko 10.000 2 Natalia Lipkovskaya 10.000 3 Eva Serrano 9.933 4 Evgenia Pavlina 9.925 5 Amina Zaripova 9.874 6 Edita Schaufler 9.858 7 Almudena Cid Tostado 9.841 8 Magdalena Brzeska 9.775
Team All-Around Final Place Nation Total 1 Russia 118.678 2 Belarus 118.264 3 Ukraine 118.229 4 Germany 117.397 5 Bulgaria 78.290 6 Italy 77.927 7 Spain 77.517 8 Japan 76.979
References