Editing Rhythmic gymnastics (section)

==The gymnast==
[[File:Medalistswaving-syd2000-600pxl.JPG|left|thumb|upright=1.2|From left: [[Alina Kabaeva]] (bronze), [[Yulia Barsukova]] (gold) and [[Yulia Raskina]] (silver) at the [[2000 Sydney Olympics]]|alt=Kabaeva, Barsukova, and Raskin wave on the medal podium]]
International competitive rhythmic gymnastics is restricted to female participants. However, men's rhythmic gymnastics has a history in Japan as its own sport that was originally performed by both men and women.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Galofaro |first=Claire |date=2021-08-07 |title=Left out of Olympics, men's rhythmic gymnasts loved in Japan |url=https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-gymnastics-entertainment-sports-lifestyle-abeb9ae89ceccd0f95728c07846310e6 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> In France, men are allowed to participate in lower-level national competitions, while in Spain, there is a national rhythmic gymnastics championships for men and mixed-sex group competitions. A men's program has yet to be formally recognized by the FIG.<ref name=":21">{{Cite news |title=Rhythmic gymnastics: One man's fight for equality |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2022/0217/Rhythmic-gymnastics-One-man-s-fight-for-equality |access-date=2024-08-03 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Peterson Ceus, le joyau magique de la gymnastique rythmique |url=https://tetu.com/2021/07/26/peterson-ceus-le-joyau-magique-de-la-gymnastique-rythmique/ |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=[[Têtu]] |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

Gymnasts start at a young age; it is considered an [[Early sports specialization|early specialization]] sport.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Sterkowicz-Przybycień |first=Katarzyna |date=October 2022 |title=A comparative analysis of scores and chronological age of participants in the 2017-2020 Olympic cycle individual Rhythmic Gymnastics Continental Championships |journal=Journal of Physical Education and Sport |volume=22 |issue=10 |doi=10.7752/jpes.2022.10315|doi-access=free }}</ref> They become age-eligible to compete in the Olympic Games and other major senior international competitions on January 1 of their 16th year (for example, a gymnast born on 31 December 2024 would be age-eligible for the 2024 Olympics).<ref name="reg" /> Rhythmic gymnasts have historically tended to peak at a slightly later age than artistic gymnasts.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Liz |date=2 July 2012 |title=London 2012: Julie Zetlin hopes to promote rhythmic gymnastics in the U.S. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/london-2012-julie-zetlin-hopes-to-promote-rhythmic-gymnastics-in-the-us/2012/07/02/gJQA7bm7IW_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> In the late 90s and early 2000s, Olympic rhythmic gymnasts were on average a year older than Olympic artistic gymnasts, and gymnasts increasingly began to compete through their 20s.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Mazumdar |first=Christine |title=Sporting Performances: Politics in Play |date=6 August 2020 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780429560187 |editor-last=Walsh |editor-first=Shannon |chapter=Skirting the Ideal: Embodying hyperfemininity through rhythmic gymnastics’ evolutionary leotard and other aesthetic sports’ vested vestments}}</ref> The median age of gymnasts competing at the 2021 continental championships was in the late teens, with the [[African Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships|African Championships]] and Oceania Championships skewing slightly younger, while the median ages of event finalists at the [[Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships|European Championships]] and [[Pan American Gymnastics Championships|Pan American Championships]] were in the early 20s.<ref name=":8" />

[[File:La escultura de Ana Bautista, vista desde atrás.JPG|thumb|Sculpture of [[Ana Bautista]] by Fernando Garcíarramos in San Cristóbal de La Laguna|alt=Metal sculpture showing Bautista in a penché position]]Top rhythmic gymnasts must have good balance, flexibility, coordination, and strength,<ref name=":9" /> and they must possess psychological attributes such as the ability to compete under intense pressure and the discipline and work ethic to practice the same skills over and over again.

Currently a gymnast can perform in the individual event or in the group event. Since 1995, groups consist of five gymnasts. Originally six gymnasts composed a group, although around the 1980s eight gymnasts were permitted.