Brink of history: Vladimir Putin congratulates Dina Averina after gymnastics great becomes world champion for a 15th time (VIDEO)

Dina Averina is close to becoming the most successful rhythmic gymnast in the history of the World Championships in individual events, earning recognition from Russian president Vladimir Putin after securing a 15th world title.

Dazzling in this year's championships in the Japanese city of Kitakyushu, the 23-year-old earned gold medals in the hoop and ball competitions on Wednesday to take her tally to 13 individual world titles, moving level with two-time Olympic gold medalist Evgeniya Kanaeva's total.

Tokyo Games silver medalist Averina performed to AC/DC’s 'Thunderstruck' on her way to finishing nearly two points clear of Belarusian Alina Harnasko in the hoop showdown.

Averina then beat her twin sister, Arina, to ball gold with a score of 27.675 despite having the most difficult tariff of the eight finalists.

Averina twins take the top 2⃣ spots in the Ball final, with Dina winning her second 🥇 of the day, her 13th World title!

Alina Harnasko 🇧🇾 wins🥉to add to the silver she won in the earlier Hoop final. #Kitakyushu2021 #GWC2021 pic.twitter.com/32ZGxZzMFe

— FIG (@gymnastics) October 27, 2021

Victory Ceremony Ball Final - World Championship #kitakyushu2021
🥇 Dina Averina (RGF) 29.125
🥈 Arina Averina (RGF) 27.675
🥉 Alina Harnasko (BLR) 27.300

5️⃣ 喜田純鈴 (JPN) 26.050 pic.twitter.com/t1OKxo5Acl

— 数寄屋番外地 (@SukiyaBangaichi) October 27, 2021

She now needs only two more triumphs to match Kanaeva's 17 overall titles, won between 2007 and 2011.

"I am pleased to congratulate you on the double-triumph in Japan," read a statement from Putin, who signed a decree to give Averina state awards following her achievement at the 2020 Games.

"You have outstandingly opened ‘the gold medal count’ for our team, confidently winning in the hoop and ball exercises and becoming the 15-time World Champion."

#2021RhythmicWorldChampionships - Ball Final results

1. Dina Averina RGF 29.125 (routine below)
2. Arina Averina RGF 27.675
3. Alina Harnasko BLR 27.300
4. Boryana Kaleyn BUL 26.350
5. Kita Sumire JPN 26.050
6. Milena Baldassarri ITA 25.850

Video: FIG pic.twitter.com/QFSLwSHMPx

— InternationalGymnast (@intlgymnast) October 27, 2021

I guess Dina Averina took the Olympics seriously.

And she came back to kick some ass.

Too bad Linoy is not here, because it'd be epic.

— Gergely Marosi (@emgergo) October 27, 2021

Fans were enthralled by the ten-time European Championships winner's latest feat.

"What an astounding hoop gold medal performance at the World Championships," said one.

Another referenced Averina's contentious position behind Israeli star Linoy Ashram in Japan by saying: "I guess Dina Averina took the Olympics seriously.

🇷🇺#Russia’s Dina #Averina has shown a dominant performance on the opening day of the 2021 #RhythmicGymnastics World Championships in #Japan’s Kitakyushu, winning 2 gold medals🥇 in Hoop⭕️ & Ball🟣 events

🥳She is now a 15-time World Champion and there is definitely more to come! pic.twitter.com/xre6ULH3Wi

— Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka (@RusEmbSriLanka) October 27, 2021

Dina Averina 🧡 pic.twitter.com/OBR6Zs3Pvp

— Agnes/Buureänkelin 🇨🇭 (@Aggi037) October 27, 2021

"And she came back to kick some ass. Too bad Linoy is not here, because it'd be epic."

Italian Sofia Raffaeli finished third in the hoop, with Harnasko securing bronze in the ball competition.

The championships continue until October 31.

Also on rt.com

Averina twins triumph on return after Olympic scandal as champ admits Russia head coach helped convince her not to retire (VIDEO)