Aug 16 (Reuters) - Spain, Japan and Brazil became the first nations to secure quota places for the rhythmic gymnastics group competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after finishing on the podium at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Frankfurt on Saturday.
Spain claimed the world title, ahead of silver medallists Japan, while Brazil took bronze to secure the final available Olympic berth from the event.
Japan's team of Hisano Taguchi, Megumi Nishimoto, Kaseno Tanabe, Natsumi Hanamura, Yuna Tanaka and Rin Manabe earned the country's first qualification spot for the Los Angeles Games across all sports.
The result also marked Japan's return to the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics group all-around competition, having last competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
"Now that I'm wearing this heavy medal, my heart is just so full," Taguchi said.
"Since my teammate Nishimoto and I had previously missed out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics, this chance to compete in Los Angeles means more to us than to anyone else.
"Being able to earn that spot this year has really given us a huge boost of confidence."
The next Olympic quota places in the discipline will be awarded through the 2027 World Cup Series, the 2027 World Championships and the 2028 continental championships.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
