The 1995 Rhythmic World Championships took place in Vienna, Austria, September 19-24. This event was the qualifying competition for the 1996 Olympic Games for individual competitors. The top 35 gymnasts from this competition (limit two per country) earned their country a berth in the Olympic Games.

USA’s Jessica Davis, 17, from San Anselmo, Calif., took 24th in the all-around and earned the U.S. a spot in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. Davis trains at Gymmarin Pacific with her coach Jan Exner. Tina Tharp from Jacksonville, Fla., took 55th in the all-around. Tharp trains at International Rhythmic Gymnastics and is coached by Efrossina Anguelova and Mila Marinova.

USA Gymnastics Rhythmic Program Director Nora Campbell said, “In 1992 there were 50 qualifiers to the individual competition at the Olympic Games. This year there are only 35 plus five wild card invitations. We feel very good to have qualified one athlete to the 1996 Olympic Games. The competition was very difficult.”

There were 97 competitors in the World Championships and only 15 countries qualified two athletes to the 1996 Olympic Games.

The 1996 Rhythmic National Championships is tentatively set for June 1-3. The 1996 Olympic Trials for Rhythmic Gymnastics is scheduled for June 27-30 in Boston, Mass. This event will determine the one athlete that will compete for the USA in the individual rhythmic competition at the 1996 Olympic Games.

The USA Rhythmic Group will also participate in the 1996 Olympic Games. This Olympics will be the first time that the Rhythmic Group competition will be a part of the Games.

Rhythmic World Championships Results
1. Maria Petrova/BUL/29.600
2. Ekaterina Serebrianskaya/UKR/29.500
2. Yana Batyrchina/RUS/29.500
4. Amina Zaripova/RUS/9.450
5. Larissa Lukyanenko/BLR/29.300
6. Elena Vitrichenko/UKR/29.200
7. Diana Popova/BUL/28.800
8. Magdalena Brzeska/GER/28.750
9. Eva Serrano/FRA/28.700
10. Almudena Cid Tostado/ESP/28.500
10. Eugenia Pavlina/BLR/28.500
12. Alina Stoica/ROM/28.350
13. Katia Pietrosanti/ITA/28.200
14. Irene Germini/ITA/28.050
15. Viktoria Frater/HUN/28.000
16. Alba Caride-Costas/ESP/27.950
17. Maria Pangalou/GRE/27.900
18. Anna Kwitniewska/POL/27.700
19. Krystyna Leskiewicz/POL/27.650
19. Zhou Xiaoqing/CHN/27.650
21. Wu Bei /CHN/27.600
22. Kristin Sroka/GER/27.550
22. Miho Yamada/JPN/27.550
24. Jessica Davis/USA/27.500
25. Svetlana Tokaev/ISR/27.450
25. Lenka Oulehlova/CZE/27.450
25. Akane Yamao/JPN/27.450
28. Andrea Sebestova/CZE/27.400
28. Kristina Kliukevichute/LTU/27.400
28. Andrea Sebestova/CZE/27.400
28. Erika Leigh Stirton/CAN/27.400
31. Dana Carteleanu/ROM/27.350
31. Katri Kalpala/FIN/27.350
33. Hanna Laiho/FIN/27.300
34. Nina Taborsky/AUT/27.250
34. Andrea Szalay/HUN/27.250
34. Victoria Gogou/GRE/27.250