{"id":3233,"date":"2026-01-24T05:11:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T02:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/?p=3233"},"modified":"2026-01-24T05:11:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T02:11:55","slug":"road-to-la-2028-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/road-to-la-2028-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Road To LA 2028 Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The gymnastics world is descending on Rotterdam<\/strong> 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,”<\/strong> the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships (Oct 17\u201325) serve as the first major qualifying event for the 2028 Olympic Games<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High Stakes in Rotterdam<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The pressure in the Netherlands will be immense. The top three teams<\/strong> in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s competitions will automatically punch their tickets to LA 28<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • The Men\u2019s Duel:<\/strong> Expect the fierce rivalry between Japan<\/strong> and China<\/strong> to dominate the floor. All-Around champions Hashimoto Daiki<\/strong> and Oka Shinnosuke<\/strong> (JPN) are set to revive their inter-team battle, while China’s Zhang Boheng<\/strong> looks for redemption after silver in Paris and Jakarta.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Women\u2019s Dynasty:<\/strong> Team USA has held every world title since 2011. However, with Simone Biles<\/strong> on a prolonged absence, the young guard\u2014led by Leanne Wong<\/strong> and Joscelyn Roberson<\/strong>\u2014must defend the gold in the very city where the U.S. last fell from the top spot in 2010.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Rhythmic Royalty in Frankfurt<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    From August 12\u201316, the Rhythmic World Championships return to Germany. Home-crowd favorite and reigning Olympic champion Darja Varfolomeev<\/strong> is the woman to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    “It\u2019s a very, very big event for me,” says Varfolomeev, who has become the face of the sport in Germany.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    She faces a “murderer’s row” of challengers, including Bulgaria\u2019s Stiliana Nikolova<\/strong> and Italy\u2019s Sofia Raffaeli<\/strong>. Like the artistic event, the top three All-Around finishers here will earn early berths for their nations at the Los Angeles Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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