| Gretel Mendoza | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gretel Adelina Mendoza Ramírez [1] |
| Country represented |  Cuba |
| Born | 14 April 2000 [2] |
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics |
| Level | International Elite |
| Years on national team | 2017– |
Medal record | |
Gretel Mendoza (born 14 April 2000) is a Cuban rhythmic gymnast. She earned the bronze medal on ribbon at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Gretel has competed at the 2018 and 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, 2019 Pan American Games, 2022 and 2023 Pan American Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, as well as the 2023 Baku World Cup. [3]
Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordinated. Rhythmic gymnastics is governed by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), which first recognized it as a sport in 1963. It became an Olympic sport in 1984, with an individual all-around event. The group all-around competition was added to the Olympics in 1996. At the international level, rhythmic gymnastics is a women-only sport. The most prestigious competitions, besides the Olympic Games, are the World Championships, World Games, European Championships, European Games, the World Cup Series and the Grand Prix Series. Gymnasts are judged on their artistry, execution of skills, and difficulty of skills, for which they gain points. They perform leaps, balances, and rotations along with handling the apparatus.
The International Gymnastics Federation is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in Liège, Belgium, making it the world's oldest existing international sports organisation. Originally called the European Federation of Gymnastics, it had three member countries—Belgium, France and the Netherlands—until 1921, when non-European countries were admitted and it received its current name.
The Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics. The tournament is promoted and organized by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the three tournaments in rhythmic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup and the gymnastics competitions at the Olympic Games. The first edition of the World Championships was held in 1963, a time when the sport was known as modern gymnastics. The current program of the World Championships contemplates both individual and group performances. In even non-Olympic years and the year before the Olympics, a team event is also contested. Two events are not competed at the World Championships anymore: individual rope and free hands.
Alexa Citlali Moreno Medina is a Mexican artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 World bronze medalist on vault, the first Mexican female gymnast to medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She represented Mexico at the 2016 Summer Olympics where she was the second reserve for the all-around final and at the 2020 Olympics where she placed fourth in the vault final. She won a silver medal on vault at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games and a bronze medal on vault at the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships. She is also a five-time medalist on the FIG World Cup circuit. She is the 2011 Pan American Games and 2014 and 2018 Pan American Championships team bronze medalist and the 2010 and 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games team gold medalist.
The Pan American Gymnastics Union organizes Pan American Gymnastics Championships in different disciplines of gymnastics: men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, as well as aerobic gymnastics. The Pan American Gymnastics Championships are considered by the International Gymnastics Federation to be the official continental championships for the Americas. Pan American Championships have also been organized for the sport of aesthetic group gymnastics.
The South American Gymnastics Confederation (CONSUGI) organizes South American Gymnastics Championships in different disciplines of gymnastics: men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, as well as aerobic gymnastics.
Rut Castillo Galindo is a Mexican individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented Mexico at the 2020 Summer Olympics and became the first Mexican, and LGBTQ+ rhythmic gymnast to compete at an Olympic Games. She is the 2021 Pan American all-around champion. At the 2007 Pan American Games, she won the silver medal in hoop and the bronze medals in the all-around and clubs. She is an eight-time Central American and Caribbean Games champion. She has also competed at nine World Championships.
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Dafne Carolina Navarro Loza is a Mexican trampoline gymnast. She is the 2018 and 2022 World synchro bronze medalist and was Mexico's first World medalist in trampoline. As an individual, she became Mexico's first Pan American Games medalist in trampoline when she won the silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, and she won the bronze medal at the 2019 Pan American Games. She competed at the 2020 Olympic Games, becoming the first trampoline gymnast to represent Mexico at the Olympics.
Nicole Pircio Nunes Duarte is a Brazilian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2021 and 2022 Pan American group all-around champion and the 2019 Pan American Games 3 hoops + 4 clubs champion. She won three gold medals at the 2018 South American Games and at the 2019 South American Championships, and she won four gold medals at the 2022 South American Championships. She represented Brazil at the 2020 Summer Olympics and finished twelfth in qualifications for the group all-around.
The 2021 Pan American Gymnastics Championships was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2021. Three gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. The event was originally to be held in the United States but was changed due to concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic. The event serves as qualification to the 2020 Olympic Games.
Sol Martínez Fainberg is a retired Spanish-Argentinian rhythmic gymnast. She is a three-time Pan American Gymnastics Championships medalist and the first Argentine gymnast to win a medal at the World Challenge Cup. She announced her retirement on 24 March 2023.
Carmel Kallemaa is an Estonian-born Canadian rhythmic gymnast.
Marina Malpica is a Mexican rhythmic gymnast. She's the first gymnast from Mexico to qualify for a final at the World Championships.
Ledia Juárez is a Mexican rhythmic gymnast. She's a multiple Pan American medalist.
Bernardo Actos Miranda is a Brazilian artistic gymnast and a member of the national team. He participated in the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
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Javiera Rubilar is a Chilean rhythmic gymnast. She participated at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in 2018 and 2021.
Oriana Viñas is a Colombian/Venezolana rhythmic gymnast. She participated at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in 2019 and 2023.
