A total of 54 medals were awarded across the three disciplines. The most successful nation was China, winning five gold medals and 12 in total. Brazil and South Korea won their first gold medals in the discipline in the Summer Olympic Games history. Yevgeniya Kanayeva of Russia marked history by becoming the first back-to-back Olympic champion at the individual all-around in rhythmic gymnastics.
The men's artistic team all-around final became the subject of controversy when the judges were booed by the crowd following Japan's Kōhei Uchimura's score for his pommel horse routine, and how it shuffled the medals of Japan, Great Britain, and Ukraine.[5][6][7]