Alja Ponikvar | ||||||||||||
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Full name | Alja Ponikvar | |||||||||||
Born | Ljubljana, Slovenia | 17 February 2009|||||||||||
Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||
Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics | |||||||||||
Country represented | ![]() (2022-) | |||||||||||
Club | Narodni dom | |||||||||||
Gym | Gimnastični center Ljubljana | |||||||||||
Head coach(es) | Alena Yakubouskaya | |||||||||||
Assistant coach(es) | Alena Salauyova | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Alja Ponikvar (born 17 February 2009) is a Slovenian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2024 European Junior clubs silver medalist. On national level, she is a two-time (2023, 2024) Slovenian Junior All-Around champion.
As pre-junior, she is the 2022 Slovenian All-Around champion [1] and the 2021 Slovenian All-Around silver medalist. [2]
As the youngest member of the team (still a pre-junior) she competed at the 2022 Junior European Championships and placed 17th in Team competition (out of 33 countries) together with teammates Ela Polak, Asja Pučnik and Nika Zajc. [3]
After winning gold medal in all five events at the 2023 Slovenian Junior Championships, she was selected to represent Slovenia at the 2023 Junior World Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. [4] Together with teammate Urša Kračman, she took 15th place in Team competition. She placed 21st with Hoop, 10th with Ball and 11th with Ribbon. [5] [6] At 1st Balkan Championships in November 2023, she won bronze medal in Clubs and Ball final, as well as in Team competition.
In 2024, she competed at 1st European Cup, held in Baku, Azerbaijan and qualified to two apparatus finals (8th in Hoop and 7th in Ball). [7] Alja was selected to represent Slovenia together with Urša Kračman at the 2024 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. They placed 8th in Team competition which is the best Slovenian result. [8] Alja also qualified to two apparatus finals, winning historic silver medal in clubs and 7th place in ball final. [9] In September, she competed at 2nd Balkan Championships in Budva, Montenegro. She won gold medal in team competition with teammate Urša Kračman, gold in ball and clubs final and silver medal in hoop final. [10]
Alja became a senior in 2025, but missed the spring season, including Slovenian Championships, due to a stress fracture in her foot that began developing at the end of 2024 and forced her to sit out much of the season. [11] [12] At the end of June, she presented two new compositions at a competition in Slovenia. In July, she made her senior international debut at Milano World Cup, where she took 35th place in all-around. [13] In August, she was selected to represent Slovenia at the 2025 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [14] [12]
Year | Apparatus | Music title |
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2025 | Hoop | Final Act by Power-Haus, Ros Stephen |
Ball | Believer by Christina | |
Clubs | ||
Ribbon | Horizon of Memories by Eternal Eclipse | |
2024 | Hoop | Gloria Regali by Tommee Profitt, Fleurie |
Ball | Reflection by Christina Aguilera | |
Clubs | Stalker's Tango by Autoheart | |
Ribbon | We are justice by Gabriel Saban | |
International: Senior | ||||||||
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Year | Event | AA | Team | Hoop | Ball | Clubs | Ribbon | |
2025 | World Championships | 39th (Q) | 43rd (Q) | |||||
World Cup Milan | 35th | 43rd (Q) | 32nd (Q) | 30th (Q) | 28th (Q) | |||
International: Junior | ||||||||
Year | Event | AA | Team | Hoop | Ball | Clubs | Ribbon | |
2024 | Balkan Junior Championships | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | |||
Junior European Championships | 8th | 10th (Q) | 7th | 2nd | ||||
European Cup Baku | 8th | 7th | 12th (Q) | 10th (Q) | ||||
IT Aphrodite Cup | 9th | 21st (Q) | 4th | 7th | 42nd (Q) | |||
2023 | Balkan Junior Championships | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | |||
Junior World Championships | 15th | 21st (Q) | 10th (Q) | 11th (Q) | ||||
IT MTM Cup | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||
IT Ritam Cup | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 5th | |||
2022 | IT Tart Cup | 6th | 4th | 5th | 27th (Q) | 3rd | ||
Junior European Championships | 17th | 26th (Q) | ||||||
IT Irina Deleanu Cup | 23rd | 24th (Q) | 31st | 29th (Q) | 30th (Q) | |||
National: Junior | ||||||||
Year | Event | AA | Team | Hoop | Ball | Clubs | Ribbon | |
2024 | Slovenian Junior Championships | 1st | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | ||
2023 | Slovenian Junior Championships | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||
Q = Qualifications (Did not advance to Event Final due to the 2 gymnast per country rule, only Top 8 highest score); WR = World Record;WD = Withdrew;NT = No Team Competition; OC = Out of Competition (competed but scores not counted for qualifications/results) | ||||||||