Road To LA 2028 Begins

The gymnastics world is descending on Rotterdam this year for a season that officially bridges the gap between the glory of Paris and the dreams of Los Angeles. With the slogan “Building Bridges,” the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships (Oct 17–25) serve as the first major qualifying event for the 2028 Olympic Games.

High Stakes in Rotterdam

The pressure in the Netherlands will be immense. The top three teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions will automatically punch their tickets to LA 28.

• The Men’s Duel: Expect the fierce rivalry between Japan and China to dominate the floor. All-Around champions Hashimoto Daiki and Oka Shinnosuke (JPN) are set to revive their inter-team battle, while China’s Zhang Boheng looks for redemption after silver in Paris and Jakarta.
• The Women’s Dynasty: Team USA has held every world title since 2011. However, with Simone Biles on a prolonged absence, the young guard—led by Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson—must defend the gold in the very city where the U.S. last fell from the top spot in 2010.

Rhythmic Royalty in Frankfurt

From August 12–16, the Rhythmic World Championships return to Germany. Home-crowd favorite and reigning Olympic champion Darja Varfolomeev is the woman to beat.

“It’s a very, very big event for me,” says Varfolomeev, who has become the face of the sport in Germany.

She faces a “murderer’s row” of challengers, including Bulgaria’s Stiliana Nikolova and Italy’s Sofia Raffaeli. Like the artistic event, the top three All-Around finishers here will earn early berths for their nations at the Los Angeles Olympics.

The 30+ Event Marathon

Before the World Championships, gymnasts will sharpen their skills across a massive international calendar:

• Artistic: 6 World Cups (starting Feb 19 in Cottbus, GER) and 5 World Challenge Cups.
• Rhythmic: 4 World Cups (starting March 28 in Sofia, BUL) and 2 World Challenge Cups.

Every point scored in 2026 brings these athletes one step closer to the ultimate dream of competing under the lights in Los Angeles.

Source: article on gymnastics.sport, published January 19, 2026.

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By Vitalina Andrushchenko, Staff Writer