Quick Answer
The 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships run from 17 to 25 October 2026 at Rotterdam Ahoy in the Netherlands. You get nine days of qualification, team finals, all-around finals, and apparatus finals.
Here is why this edition matters. Team medalists earn the first Olympic places for Los Angeles 2028, according to Gymnastics Now. So the team finals on 20 and 21 October are the nights to mark in your calendar.
Table of Contents
- What Is Happening in Rotterdam?
- Your Day-by-Day Schedule
- When to Watch From Where You Live
- Rotterdam Ahoy and the Host City
- How the Competition Works
- Who Is Competing?
- Who Won Last Time?
- The Storylines Worth Following
- Gymnasts to Watch
- A Quick Look Back at Rotterdam's History
- How to Watch
- Tickets and Travel
- What to Expect in Rotterdam
- FAQ
What Is Happening in Rotterdam?
The 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are the 54th edition of the event. They are also the first big team competition since the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 2025 event in Jakarta had no team medals, so this is the first time in a while that you can follow a real team race.
Think of the week as three stories running side by side. The team finals decide which countries move toward LA 2028. The all-around finals crown the best gymnast across every apparatus. The apparatus finals reward specialists who are brilliant on one event.
Not sure where to start? Read the schedule and the storylines below, and pick two or three nights to follow closely. Facts here are current as of 7 October 2026, and rosters can still change.
The key facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | 54th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships |
| Dates | 17 to 25 October 2026 |
| Venue | Rotterdam Ahoy, Ahoyweg 10, Rotterdam |
| Organizer | World Gymnastics (FIG); local organizer details are not currently available. |
| Teams | 24 men's teams and 24 women's teams, listed on Wikipedia |
| Number of participants | Information is not currently available. |
| Prize money | Information is not currently available. |
| Ranking points | Information is not currently available. |
Your Day-by-Day Schedule
Times below are Netherlands local time. Qualification session times change after the draw of lots, so check the official schedule for exact start times before you plan your day.
| Date | What you can watch |
|---|---|
| Saturday 17 October | Men's qualification |
| Sunday 18 October | Men's qualification, then women's qualification begins. |
| Monday 19 October | Women's qualification |
| Tuesday 20 October | Men's team final, 19:00 |
| Wednesday 21 October | Women's team final, 19:00 |
| Thursday 22 October | Men's all-around final, 19:30 |
| Friday 23 October | Women's all-around final, 19:30 |
| Saturday 24 October | Apparatus finals, 14:00 |
| Sunday 25 October | Apparatus finals, 14:00 |
Saturday's finals: men's floor, pommel horse, and rings, plus women's vault and uneven bars.
Sunday's finals: men's vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar, plus women's balance beam and floor.
Short on time? Watch the two team finals and the two all-around finals. Those four evenings give you the full picture of the championships.
When to Watch From Where You Live
These are my conversions from the official Netherlands times. Double-check them against your local listings.
| Session | Netherlands | UK | US Eastern | US Pacific | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team finals (20 and 21 Oct) | 19:00 | 18:00 | 13:00 | 10:00 | 04:00 the next day |
| All-around finals (22 and 23 Oct) | 19:30 | 18:30 | 13:30 | 10:30 | 04:30 the next day |
| Apparatus finals (24 Oct) | 14:00 | 13:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 | 23:00 same day |
| Apparatus finals (25 Oct) | 14:00 | 13:00 | 09:00 | 06:00 | 00:00 on 26 Oct |
Good to know: The Netherlands and the UK set their clocks back on 25 October. That makes the final day start one hour later in UTC terms. The US changes its clocks a week later.
Rotterdam Ahoy and the Host City
Rotterdam Ahoy is the arena for all nine days. It sits in the Charlois district and has hosted major events, including the Eurovision Song Contest, according to RotterdamStyle. It also hosted the 2010 World Championships, so the building already knows this competition.
Getting there is easy. The Zuidplein metro and bus stop is close to the arena. If you drive, a ticketing page lists parking for about 2,000 vehicles. Rotterdam The Hague Airport is nearby too.
A city worth a look
Rotterdam is home to Europe's biggest seaport. German bombing destroyed much of the city center in May 1940, and the rebuilt city grew into a showcase for modern architecture. If you visit, look for the Erasmus Bridge, the Markthal, and the Cube Houses.
Gymnastics fans will also like this fact. The 2010 championships took place in this same arena. China won the men's team title that year, and Russia won the women's.
How the Competition Works
New to gymnastics? Here is the short version.
What the gymnasts compete on
Men compete on six apparatuses: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar. Women compete on four: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor.
Judges give two marks. The difficulty score rewards the skills in the routine. The execution score rewards how cleanly the gymnast performs them. The two add up to the final score.
The stages
- Qualification: Teams of five and individual gymnasts compete in subdivisions. Qualification decides who reaches each final.
- Team finals: The top eight teams from qualification advance, per Wikipedia.
- All-around finals: The top 24 gymnasts advance.
- Apparatus finals: The best eight in each event advance.
How countries earned a place
Countries qualified through the 2026 continental championships. Each region received a set number of team places.
- Men's teams: Africa 1, Asia 5, Europe 13, Oceania 1, Pan America 4.
- Women's teams: Africa 1, Asia 4, Europe 13, Oceania 1, Pan America 5.
Individual gymnasts earned places through continental all-around rankings and the 2026 World Cup series, which included the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Szombathely. World Cup qualifiers can only compete on the apparatus they qualified on.
Who Is Competing?
Men's teams
Egypt, China, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Russia, Switzerland, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Ukraine, Cyprus, Australia, Canada, Colombia, the United States, and Brazil.
Women's teams
Algeria, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Ukraine, Switzerland, Romania, Sweden, Belarus, Australia, the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico.
One caution: Russia and Belarus appear on the qualified lists. The sources do not confirm their competing status or rosters, so check the official entry list before you make claims about flags or anthems.
Rosters announced so far
| Team | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Patrick Hoopes, Danila Leykin, Kameron Nelson, Frederick Richard, Shane Wiskus | Skye Blakely, Charleigh Bullock, Reese Esponda, Claire Pease, Hezly Rivera |
| China | Zhang Boheng, Zou Jingyuan, Yang Haonan, Tian Hao, Li Hongyan | Ke Qinqin, Zhang Qingying, Qiu Qiyuan, Zhang Yihan, Du Siyu |
| Japan | Daiki Hashimoto, Shinnosuke Oka, Shohei Kawakami, and Ryosuke Doi (fifth member listed in source) | Haruka Nakamura, Mana Okamura, Aiko Sugihara, Rina Kishi, Misa Nishiyama |
| Great Britain | Jake Jarman, Harry Hepworth, Reuben Ward, Joe Fraser, Courtney Tulloch | Alice Kinsella, Abigail Martin, Ruby Evans, Becky Downie, Alia Leat |
| Canada | Felix Dolci, William Emard, Rene Cournoyer, Sam Zakutney, Jordan Carroll | Ellie Black, Gabrielle Black, Coralie Demers, Lia-Monica Fontaine, Lia Redick |
Other rosters were still coming in when I checked. Dulcy Caylor is the US women's traveling replacement, and Yul Moldauer is the men's.
Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade of Brazil also appeared in early FIG registration documents. That points to a return in Rotterdam, but treat it as an entry-list report until Brazil confirms its team. Brazilian fans can also read about Flavia Saraiva's results in Szombathely.
Who Won Last Time?
The last World Championships took place in Jakarta in October 2025. That program had no team event, so no team title is up for defense this time. You can still see who holds the individual titles.
Women's 2025 gold medalists
| Event | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| All-around | Angelina Melnikova (Authorised Neutral Athlete) | 55.066 |
| Vault | Angelina Melnikova | 14.466 |
| Uneven bars | Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) | 15.566 |
| Balance beam | Zhang Qingying (China) | 15.166 |
| Floor exercise | Aiko Sugihara (Japan) | 13.822 |
Men's 2025 gold medalists
| Event | Champion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| All-around | Daiki Hashimoto (Japan) | 85.131 |
| Floor exercise | Jake Jarman (Great Britain) | 14.866 |
| Pommel horse | Hong Yanming (China) | 14.600 |
| Still rings | Donnell Whittenburg (USA) | 14.700 |
| Vault | Carlos Yulo (Philippines) | 14.866 |
| Parallel bars | Zou Jingyuan (China) | 15.300 |
| Horizontal bar | Brody Malone (USA) | 14.933 |
The women's all-around was a close one. Melnikova beat Leanne Wong of the United States by just 0.100, and Zhang Qingying took bronze. On the men's side, Zhang Boheng of China took silver, and Noe Seifert of Switzerland took bronze behind Hashimoto.
Whether each champion defends a title depends on final rosters. Whittenburg and Malone are not on the announced US men's team.
The Storylines Worth Following
1. The race for Olympic places
Gymnastics Now reports that the first LA 2028 Olympic berths go to the team medalists. USA Gymnastics also calls Rotterdam the first chance to qualify a team for the 2028 Games. Every top team will aim for the final eight first, then a medal. Check FIG's published rules for the full qualification pathway.
2. A fresh US women's team
The US women bring a squad that is mostly new to the world. Skye Blakely is competing at her fourth World Championships, and she won team gold in 2022 and 2023. Bullock, Esponda, Pease, and Rivera all make their world debuts.
Pease won the all-around at the selection event in Tennessee with a 56.7. She and Bullock secured automatic spots on day one. At the national championships, Rivera won the all-around and the beam, Pease finished second and won bars, and Bullock took third. Rivera was also on the US gold-medal team at the 2024 Olympics.
Gymnastics Now expects a tough fight, with China, Russia and Japan all able to contend for gold.
3. China versus Japan
These two powers keep pushing each other. At the 2026 Asian Games, China won women's team gold with 166.462 and Japan took silver with 165.362, according to The IX. China's 168.498 at the Asian Championships is the highest women's team score of the year in that report.
The men's side looks just as close. China brings Zhang Boheng and Zou Jingyuan. Japan brings Hashimoto, the 2025 all-around champion, and Oka. Japan also won men's team gold at Paris 2024.
4. Great Britain's floor strength
British gymnasts won floor medals in 2025. Jake Jarman took gold, and Luke Whitehouse took silver. On the women's side, Ruby Evans won silver, and Abigail Martin won bronze. Jarman, Fraser and Hepworth lead the men's squad, while Kinsella, Martin, Evans, Downie and Leat make up the women's team.
5. Russia's team returns
Russian gymnasts came back to major international events in 2025 after a ban of more than three years, TASS reported. Melnikova's all-around win made her a two-time world all-around champion. Wikipedia lists Russia among the qualified teams for 2026, but roster details are not confirmed in the sources.
6. Rebeca Andrade's possible return
Andrade appeared in FIG early registrations. She finished second behind Simone Biles in the Paris 2024 all-around. If she competes, Brazil gains Olympic-level power on vault, floor, and in the all-around.
7. The home crowd
The Netherlands qualified both a men's and a women's team. Naomi Visser reached the 2025 all-around final and finished ninth, and she tied for sixth on uneven bars. The sources do not confirm the Dutch roster, but expect loud local support all week.
Gymnasts to Watch
This list uses confirmed entries and recent results. It is analysis, not a prediction.
Men
- Daiki Hashimoto (Japan): Defending all-around champion and 2025 horizontal bar silver medalist.
- Zhang Boheng and Zou Jingyuan (China): Zhang won all-around silver in 2025. Zou won parallel bars gold with a 15.300.
- Carlos Yulo (Philippines): Defending vault champion, qualified through the Asian all-around rankings.
- Jake Jarman and Joe Fraser (Great Britain): Jarman owns the 2025 floor title. Fraser took horizontal bar bronze.
- Frederick Richard and Shane Wiskus (USA): They anchor a US men's team that also includes 2025 pommel horse bronze medalist Patrick Hoopes.
- World Cup specialists: Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland, Hamlet Manukyan and Mamikon Khachatryan of Armenia (pommel horse), Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece (rings), Tin Srbic of Croatia (horizontal bar) and Artur Davtyan of Armenia (vault and rings).
Women
- Hezly Rivera and Claire Pease (USA): One newsletter analysis points to them as the likely all-around options.
- Skye Blakely (USA): The most experienced member of the US team.
- Zhang Qingying (China): Defending balance beam champion and 2025 all-around bronze medalist.
- Aiko Sugihara and Rina Kishi (Japan): Sugihara won floor in 2025. Both reached the all-around final.
- Ruby Evans and Abigail Martin (Great Britain): Both medaled on floor in 2025.
- Kaylia Nemour (Algeria): Defending uneven bars champion. Algeria earned the African team place, but the roster is not confirmed.
- Ellie Black and Lia-Monica Fontaine (Canada): Black is a veteran. Fontaine took 2025 vault silver.
- Oksana Chusovitina (Uzbekistan): The veteran qualified on vault through the World Cup series.
A Quick Look Back at Rotterdam's History
The 2010 championships ran from 16 to 24 October in this same arena. That edition had 73 federations and 615 gymnasts, including 343 men and 272 women. Fifty-three men's teams and 44 women's teams competed.
| Team event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men, 2010 | China | Japan | Germany |
| Women, 2010 | Russia | United States | China |
The 2026 version caps team entries at 24 per gender, so the field is smaller than it was in 2010.
Handy facts to remember
- Rotterdam hosts the championships for the third time (1987, 2010, 2026).
- China topped the 2025 medal table with three golds, one silver and three bronzes, according to an Antara report. Japan was second with two golds, and the US finished third.
- Last year's women's all-around gold came down to 0.100.
- Men's apparatus golds in 2025 went to athletes from China, Great Britain, Japan, the Philippines and the United States.
- Other sports crown world champions too. See the 2026 World Fencing Championships results from Hong Kong for another recent example.
How to Watch
Broadcast details for 2026 are not fully confirmed in the sources I checked, so use this as a starting point.
- United States: Peacock streamed the 2025 finals, and NBC also covers major gymnastics events. Confirm the 2026 schedule on NBC Sports.
- United Kingdom, Canada and Australia: Rights holders for 2026 are not currently confirmed. Check BBC, CBC and Nine listings, or World Gymnastics, close to the start date.
- Live scores: FIG's results service provides official live scoring.
For viewers in the UK and North America, the evening finals land in the afternoon, which is easy to follow. Australian viewers will be watching overnight, so plan accordingly. If you enjoy following several world championships, our 2026 Canoe Slalom World Championships results are another good read.
Tickets and Travel
Tickets are on sale through the Rotterdam Ahoy event page and a ticket partner listing. Availability by session is not currently confirmed. The team finals and all-around finals usually draw the biggest crowds, so book early if you want those nights.
For travel, take the Zuidplein metro or bus stop near Ahoy. If you drive, the arena has parking for around 2,000 vehicles. Rotterdam The Hague Airport is close, and Rotterdam Centraal station links to the metro.
What to Expect in Rotterdam
The team finals on 20 and 21 October set the tone, because Olympic places are on the line. On 22 October, the men's all-around final will show whether Hashimoto can hold off the Chinese challengers. On 23 October, the women's all-around final should be open after Melnikova's narrow win in 2025, and the final entry list will tell us how open.
The apparatus finals on 24 and 25 October then belong to the specialists. Watch pommel horse, rings, vault and horizontal bar, where the World Cup qualifiers add depth.
Looking for another recent world title event? Read our 2026 UCI Road World Championships report from Montreal. LankaSport will update this guide with confirmed rosters, start lists and results as they arrive.
FAQ
When are the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships?
They run from 17 to 25 October 2026.
Where are they being held?
At Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
When are the team finals?
The men's team final is on Tuesday 20 October at 19:00 local time. The women's team final is on Wednesday 21 October at 19:00.
When are the all-around and apparatus finals?
The men's all-around final is on 22 October and the women's is on 23 October, both at 19:30 local time. Apparatus finals take place on 24 and 25 October at 14:00.
Who are the defending champions?
Angelina Melnikova won the 2025 women's all-around and Daiki Hashimoto won the men's all-around. No team title is up for defense because the 2025 event had no team competition.
How many teams compete?
Wikipedia lists 24 men's teams and 24 women's teams. The total number of participants is not currently available.
How can I watch?
Peacock carried the 2025 finals in the US, but the 2026 broadcast plan is not confirmed in the sources. Check NBC Sports, your local broadcaster, and World Gymnastics.
Is there prize money or ranking points?
Information is not currently available.