Megumi Nishimoto

Megumi Nishimoto
Born (2007-09-26) 26 September 2007
Height162.4 cm (5 ft 4 in)[2]
Gymnastics career
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
Country
represented
 Japan
(2023–present)
ClubShowa Gakuin Senior High School[1]
Head coach(es)Yukari Murata[1]
Medal record
Group rhythmic gymnastics
Representing  Japan
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 1 1 0
World Cup 3 4 2
Total 4 5 2
World Championships
2025 Rio de Janeiro Group All-Around
2025 Rio de Janeiro 5 Ribbons
Asian Championships
2023 Manila Group All-around
2023 Manila 5 Hoops

Megumi Nishimoto (西本愛実, Nishimoto Megumi; born 26 September 2007) is a Japanese group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2025 World group all-around champion.

Career

Megumi took up the sport at age seven.[1]

In 2023 the Japanese group debuted at the World Cup in Athens, being 9th in the All-Around and did not qualify for finals.[3] In Sofia she was 8th overall, 4th with 5 hoops, and 10th with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.[4] In Baku they finished 9th in the All-Around, 12th with 5 hoops and 8th in the mixed event.[5] In Portimão the group was 6th in the All-Around and with 5 hoops, and won bronze with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.[6] Competing at the Asian Championships she won bronze in the All-Around and silver with 5 hoops.[7][8] In the World Cup in Cluj-Napoca Japan was 14th overall, 16th with 5 hoops and 12th with 3 ribbons & 2 balls. In August she was selected, along Rina Imaoka, Chihana Nakamura, Ayuka Suzuki, Rinako Inaki and Hisano Taguchi, for the World Championships in Valencia, being 13th in the All-Around and with 5 hoops, 6th with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.[9]

Suzuki helped Japan win the gold medals in both the 5 hoops and 3 ribbons and 2 balls finals at the 2024 Baku World Cup.[10] At the 2024 Asian Championships, they finished second in the all-around to Uzbekistan and missed the continental Olympic berth.[11][12] They won the gold medal in the 5 hoops final and finished second to Uzbekistan again in the 3 ribbons and 2 balls final.[13]

In 2025, she competed as a part of a renewed group and won silver medal in all-around at Sofia World Cup. They also won silver medal in 5 ribbons and bronze in 3 balls + 2 hoops finals. In July, they bronze in 5 ribbons and silver medals in all-around and 3 balls + 2 hoops at Milan World Cup.[14] Next week, they competed at Cluj-Napoca World Challenge Cup, where they took 4th place in all-around and 7th place in 5 ribbons final.[15] In late August, she was selected to represent Japan alongside Natsumi Hanamura, Hatsune Miyoshi, Ayuka Suzuki, Rinako Inaki and Hisano Taguchi at the 2025 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They won gold medal in group all-around, 0.3 point in front of Brazil, being the first World all-around champions from Asia.[16]They also won silver medal in 5 ribbons final and took 5th place in 3 balls + 2 hoops final.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "NISHIMOTO Megumi - FIG Athlete Profile". www.gymnastics.sport. International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  2. ^ "西本愛実". www.tv-asahi.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  3. ^ "FIG Results - 16833". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  4. ^ "FIG Results - 16837". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  5. ^ "FIG Results - 16841". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  6. ^ "FIG Results - 17174". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 2025-01-04.
  7. ^ "Group All-Around Final" (PDF). Gymnastics Association of the Philippines, Asian Gymnastics Union. 1 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Group 5 Hoops Finals".
  9. ^ "2023 World Championships".
  10. ^ "Darja Varfolomeev back to her winning ways in Baku". International Gymnastics Federation. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Kazakhstan's Elzhana Taniyeva Triumphs in Senior All-Around at Asian RG Championships". Asian Gymnastics Union. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  12. ^ "List of the rhythmic gymnastics 2024 Olympic qualifiers" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. 6 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Uzbekistan's Ikromova Stands Out in Senior RG Competitions at Tashkent Championships". Asian Gymnastics Union. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  14. ^ "WC Milan 2025 Results Book (Media)" (pdf). International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  15. ^ "World Challenge Cup". rgform.eu. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Japan pip hosts Brazil for Group All-Around title". International Gymnastics Federation. 24 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Hat tricks and history makers as Rio Worlds draw to a close". www.gymnastics.sport. International Gymnastics Federation. 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2025-08-25.