1987 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

1987 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Varna, Bulgaria on September 17–20, 1987.
The World Championships were a qualifying event for the 1988 Summer Olympics. The top 50 gymnasts in the all-around won an Olympic quota for their country, up to two per country.
Bulgaria dominated the competition; the individual all-around winner, Bianka Panova, received a perfect 10.0 score on every routine and won all four apparatus finals as well. She was the first gymnast to win all five individual medals at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. The two tied silver medalists, Adriana Dunavska and Elizabeth Koleva, were also Bulgarian. Bulgaria also won the group competition and both routine finals, receiving a perfect 20.0 score for most of their routines and one 19.900.
The competition was the first World Championships where groups were required to compete two different routines. Video replay was used by the judges more frequently than in the past. Nora Hitzel, the head of the United States rhythmic gymnastics program, noted changes in difficulty and style in routines performed at the competition, with more use of the feet to manipulate the hoop, more bouncing and rolling of the clubs, and better jumping and skipping in rope routines.

Participants

The following countries sent competitors: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, the United Kingdom, the United States, the USSR, West Germany, and Yugoslavia.

Groups

Countries who participated in the group competition are as follows.

Flag	Nation	Flag	Nation	Flag	Nation	Flag	Nation
	Austria		Czechoslovakia		Japan		Spain
	Brazil		Finland		The Netherlands		Switzerland
	Bulgaria		France		North Korea		The United States
	Canada		Hungary		Norway		USSR
	China		Italy		New Zealand		West Germany

Group

All-Around

The first exercise consisted of 3 balls and 3 hoops. The second exercise consisted of 6 balls.

Place	Nation	First Exercise	Second Exercise	Total
1	Bulgaria	20.000	20.000	40.000
2	USSR	19.300	19.900	39.200
3	China	19.600	19.050	38.650
3	Spain	19.450	19.200	38.650
5	Japan	19.350	18.700	38.050
6	Italy	18.950	18.900	37.850
7	Finland	18.900	18.850	37.750
8	Czechoslovakia	19.100	18.400	37.500
9	Hungary	18.200	19.100	37.300
9	North Korea	17.900	19.400	37.00
11	France	17.750	19.150	36.900
12	Norway	17.950	18.600	36.550
13	Norway	17.950	18.600	36.550
14	Canada	18.350	18.000	36.350
15	The Netherlands	18.000	18.200	36.200
16	Switzerland	17.650	18.500	36.150
17	West Germany	17.900	17.950	35.850
18	USA	16.850	18.650	35.500
19	Brazil	16.800	18.250	35.050
20	New Zealand	17.400	17.400	34.800