A curse has been lifted from the US gymnastics team today. The first-ever Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships was held way back in 1963, and since then, no US gymnast has been on the podium of the competition. For 62 years, the USA did not know what gold, silver, or even bronze would look like in its cabinet. This was until Rin Keys rewrote history today.

To start, Rin Keys has always been that one athlete who loves etching her name into history books. Back in 2023, she became the first U.S. athlete to medal at an FIG Rhythmic World Championship at either the Junior or Senior level, winning a bronze medal in clubs. Today, she did the same thing, just a level higher.

When Keys donned the leotard today, she was no longer walking out for the USA at a junior level, but at the senior Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Rio, Brazil. She was competing against the very best of the best, and the tougher the competition, the better the reward. A Reddit thread declared, “Rin Keys becomes the first US Rhythmic Gymnast to medal at Worlds!” And fans?

“Oh my gosh! Are you serious!! This is amazing!! So proud of her!” Comments like this filled the thread.

The gymnast scored 29.050 on the balls, finishing behind Darja Varfolomeev of Germany and ahead of Sofia Raffaeli of Italy. And she was not done with just that!

Keys secured the highest placement by a U.S. gymnast at Rhythmic Worlds, finishing Hoop in fourth. She narrowly missed the podium by two tenths after scoring a 29.200.

Earlier in the competition, Keys also achieved a 7th-place finish in the all-around final, the best all-around Worlds finish for a U.S. athlete since Laura Zeng placed sixth in 2017. However, all of this has been overshadowed by the silver medal she won. And now, fans are overjoyed.

Fans ‘GEEKED’ at the Rin Keys’ gymnastics achievement

This might be one of the best days in the life of the rhythmic gymnastics community. One fan remarked, “Amazing!!! Rin is such a huge talent, and I cannot wait to see how she develops over the rest of the quad leading to LA 2028. Megan Chu is also doing great, and I’m excited by her as well.” There is no debating her talent. In 2025 alone, she first shone at Pan American Championships with golds in the all-around, ball, clubs, and team events, plus a silver in ribbon. And talking about Megan Chu, she scored 109.950 in the all-around final, finishing 12th at the 2025 Rhythmic World Championships. Of course, hope will find its way.

Rin Keys has kept her streak going at the U.S. National Championships, sweeping all five events, hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon, and all-around. And so, praise for Chu and Key echoed in another fan’s comment as well. “I am GEEKED by this!!! Her routine was so stunning and her best performance was in the final. And she was so close to getting a medal on hoop. Can’t wait to watch her growth! (Megan too! She’s going to be fantastic!).” Key’s routine was graceful yet dynamic. She opened with smooth rolls into a steady balance, then wowed with a high throw and pirouette catch. Flowing body waves and rolling transitions kept the routine expressive, while her finale, a bold throw into a split balance, was outwardly.

Then, one user noted, “Silver with the ball! Only beaten by Varfolomeev, Raffaeli wins bronze.” The gymnast was only beaten by Darja Varfolomeev of Germany (29.850), while Sofia Raffaeli of Italy took the bronze (28.750).

Another fan remarked, “Omg finally!! Congrats to Rin and USA rhythmic!!” The US team finished 12th with a combined score of 253.600. That’s definitely something US gymnast enthusiasts would love to celebrate…

Let the congratulations keep pouring in for Rin and the USA rhythmic team.