Second title in Rio de Janeiro: Darja Varfolomeev carries the German team to World Championship gold

Darja Varfolomeev is and remains the dominant figure in rhythmic gymnastics. There's no way around her in the team competition either: The German team takes gold. It won't be the last at the competitions in Rio de Janeiro.

The German team won another gold medal at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, thanks in part to Darja Varfolomeev. One day after the Paris Olympic champion's triumph in the individual all-around, Germany secured victory in the team ranking, which is calculated across all disciplines from individual and group results. The results of Varfolomeev and Anastasia Simakova, who finished sixth in the individual all-around, helped the German team secure gold.

The German group, meanwhile, finished eighth in the all-around final, while the Japanese team won. The group narrowly missed reaching the finals in the hand apparatus competition. "We're happy that we were able to deliver our best performance, and the gold medal is, of course, the crowning achievement of our season," said group member Melanie Dargel. "Unfortunately, we didn't qualify for the apparatus final, but we're happy that we still gave it our best and are thrilled to win gold."

The 18-year-old Varfolomeev is back in the spotlight on Sunday: Germany's Sportswoman of the Year now has the chance to successfully defend four more World Championship titles in Rio. She also won gold in the individual finals for the ball, clubs, ribbon, and hoop in Valencia in 2023, and on Sunday she will once again start the respective finals as the favorite.

After her victory, an anthem mishap caused confusion: During the flag-raising ceremony, Georgia's national anthem was played instead of Germany's. "Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that the wrong anthem is played. But I definitely thought that wouldn't happen at World Championships," Varfolomeev said. "I thought: What should I do now? Should I just sing my anthem?" the 18-year-old said. She thought the correct anthem would still be played. But that didn't happen. "But it's okay. Then we'll just look forward. It can't be changed anyway," Varfolomeev said.