Artistic Gymnastics World Championships launch team qualification for LA 2028
Six Olympic qualification places and 14 World titles will be at stake at the 54th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 17-25 October in Rotterdam (NED).
LA 2028 qualification begins in Rotterdam
Along with being the most prestigious competition on the yearly calendar, this year’s World Championships carries added importance as the first qualification event for the LA 2028 Olympic Games. The top three men’s and women’s teams in Rotterdam earn automatic berths to the next Games, guaranteeing those nations the right to send teams of five to Los Angeles.
In addition to the team champions, the Men’s and Women’s Individual All-Around and 10 Apparatus World champions will be decided at the 54th edition of the championships that dates back to 1903. Eight of the 11 World champions from 2025 will seek to defend their titles, and six Paris Olympic gold medallists will also be in the mix. A total of 24 nations representing all five continents have qualified teams to the event, which will see gymnasts from 82 nations competing over nine days.
World and Olympic champions set for Rotterdam showdown
High-profile contenders include three-time World All-Around champion Hashimoto Daiki (JPN), who is aiming to become only the second man to win four, Rebeca Andrade (BRA), whose six Olympic medals make her the most decorated Brazilian Olympian in history, Kaylia Nemour (ALG), Africa’s first World and Olympic champion in Artistic Gymnastics, and Zou Jingyuan (CHN), who owns two Olympic golds and four World titles on Parallel Bars.
Team competitions are only held at the World Championships in the two years leading up to an Olympic Games, meaning the last time a team title was given out was in 2023. The U.S. women have won a record seven consecutive World team titles, but are expected to face strong challenges from 2024 Olympic medalists Italy and Brazil, as well as Great Britain, China and Japan.
“It is a great honour to welcome the world’s best gymnasts to Rotterdam for the 54th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. This vibrant city will provide a wonderful stage for sporting excellence, while bringing our global gymnastics community together in a spirit of friendship, solidarity and shared passion,” said World Gymnastics President Morinari Watanabe.
The medal events begin on 20 October with the Men’s team final. The Women’s team final will be held on the 21st and Men’s and Women’s All-Around finals on the 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Two days of apparatus finals cap the championships.
Rotterdam ready to welcome the world’s best
No stranger to hosting World Championships, Rotterdam has produced highly memorable editions in both 1987 and 2010. With the 2026 edition, it becomes only the third city after Paris and Prague, to stage the World Championships three times, and the only one to do all three in the modern era of the sport.
“These World Championships are first and foremost a celebration of Gymnastics at the very highest level, and of the athletes who have worked incredibly hard to perform on this stage. And our ambition extends beyond the competition itself,” said Monique Kempff, President of the Royal Dutch Gymnastics Federation (KNGU). “Under the theme ‘Building Bridges,’ we want to connect elite sport with the city and its people. Together with the city of Rotterdam and the many partners and organisations involved, we are proud to bring that ambition to life.”
