Sofia Raffaeli

Last updated
Sofia Raffaeli
Sofia Raffaeli (ITA) 2022.jpg
Raffaeli at the 2022 European Championships
Personal information
Nickname(s)Sofi, Atomic Ant, Chiaravalle Vulcano
Country representedFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
Born (2004-01-19) 19 January 2004 (age 20)
Chiaravalle, Marche; Italy
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) [1]
Discipline Rhythmic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2017–present
ClubFaber Ginnastica Fabriano
Head coach(es)Claudia Mancinelli
Assistant coach(es)Valeria Carnali
Former coach(es) Julieta Cantaluppi, [2] Kristina Guiourova
ChoreographerBilyana Dyakova
Eponymous skills The Raffaeli: Side split pivot without help, trunk side at horizontal on relevé with free leg bent [3]
World ranking 7 WC [4] ( 2021 ) 1 WC [5] ( 2022 ) 1 WC [6] ( 2023 )
Medal record
Event1st2nd3rd
World Championships 543
World Games 120
European Championships 430
FIG World Cup 241910
Grand Prix Final 312
Junior World Championships 030
Total373215
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Representing Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Sofia All-Around
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Sofia Hoop
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Sofia Ball
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Sofia Ribbon
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Sofia Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2021 Kitakyushu Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Valencia All-around
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Valencia Hoop
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Valencia Ball
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2021 Kitakyushu Hoop
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Sofia Clubs
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Valencia Team
European Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Tel Aviv Hoop
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Tel Aviv Clubs
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Baku Ball
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Baku Clubs
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Tel Aviv Ball
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Tel Aviv Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Baku All-Around
World Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Clubs
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Hoop
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Ball
Junior World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Moscow Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Moscow Rope
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Moscow Clubs

Sofia Raffaeli (born 19 January 2004) is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 World all-around, hoop, ball, ribbon and team champion, the 2023 World all-around, hoop and ball silver medalist, the 2023 European ball and clubs champion and silver all-around medalist, and the 2022 European hoop and clubs champion. She is also the 2019 Junior World silver medalist with rope and clubs. She is the first Italian individual rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Championships, European Championships and World Games, and she has won seven all-around gold medals in the FIG World Cup circuit.

Contents

At the national level, she is the 2022 and 2023 Italian National all-around champion, 2021 Italian National all-around silver medalist, and 2020 Italian National all-around bronze medalist. As of 2023, she is the most decorated individual rhythmic gymnast from the Italian Gymnastics Federation.

Personal life

Raffaeli was born in Chiaravalle, Marche; Italy. Her mother, Milena Martarelli, is an engineer at the University of Ancona, while her father, Gianni Raffaeli, is an architect. She has a younger brother, Pietro Raffaeli, who is a fencer. [1] Raffaeli got involved in artistic gymnastics at the age of three, and she switched to rhythmic gymnastics four years later.

In 2021, she joined the Sports Group of the Fiamme Oro. [7]

At Gazzetta Sports Awards 2023 (Oscars of Sports), Raffaeli was named the Best Female Athlete of the year alongside the Olympic, World and continental higher jumper champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who was the best male of the year. This made her the first-ever Italian rhythmic gymnast to win this award. [8]

Career

Junior

She represented Italy at the 2018 Junior European Championships in Guadalajara, Spain, where she qualified to the clubs final and she finished in 5th place. In 2019, she competed at the 2019 Junior World Championships in Moscow, Russia. She won three silver medals - team, rope and clubs. She also placed 8th in ball and 7th in ribbon. [9]

Senior

2020

In 2020, Raffaeli officially made her senior debut at the 2020 Italian National Championships, where she won the bronze medal in the all-around behind Milena Baldassarri and Alexandra Agiurgiuculese. She also won a gold medal with clubs and a silver medal with ball. [10]

2021

In the 2021 Season, Raffaeli made her senior international debut at the 2021 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series. She finished 10th in the all-around behind Sabina Tashkenbaeva and qualified to two apparatus finals, where she won a silver medal with clubs and a bronze medal with ribbon. [11] On 16–18 April Raffaeli competed at the 2021 Tashkent World Cup where she finished 4th in the all-around behind Anastasiia Salos, and qualified to three apparatus finals, winning a silver medal with hoop and ribbon, and also placing 4th in clubs. [12] In May, Raffaeli participated at the 2021 Pesaro World Cup where she placed 8th in the all-round behind Laura Zeng and qualified to 2 apparatus finals, placing 6th in clubs and 5th in ribbon.

In June, she won the silver medal in the all-around final at the 2021 Italian National Championships only behind Milena Baldassarri and in front of Alexandra Agiurgiuculese. This championship decided the two gymnasts who were going to represent Italy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Despite the fact that Raffaeli came second, the national coach, Emanuela Maccarani, decided that the gymnast accompanying Baldassarri should be Agiurgiuculese due to her experience throughout the Olympic cycle. Raffaeli also managed to enter all four apparatus finals, winning gold in clubs, silver in hoop, and bronze in ball and ribbon.

Raffaeli was then selected to compete at the 2021 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, along with Alexandra Agiurgiuculese. She qualified to the individual all-round final and the clubs final; she finished both finals in 8th place. At the 2021 Marbella Grand Prix Final, Raffaeli placed 4th all-around behind Anastasia Simakova, and she also placed 1st in clubs, 3rd in ball and ribbon, and 7th in hoop. She was selected to represent Italy at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. At her senior world championships debut, she won a bronze medal in the hoop final. [13] Raffaeli also made it into the individual all-around final, finishing in 6th place behind Viktoriia Onopriienko. She additionally won a silver medal in the team competition, together with Milena Baldassarri, Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, and the Italian group.

2022

In the 2022 season, Raffaeli adapted to the new FIG code of points and became the top gymnast of the Italian national team.

Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Athens and won the gold medal in the all-around, in front of Daria Atamanov, becoming the first Italian individual rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal in the all-around event of a FIG World Cup stage. She also qualified to three apparatus finals, winning two gold medals with ball and clubs, and a silver medal with hoop. [14] [15] On 8–10 April Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Sofia where she finished second in the all-around behind Boryana Kaleyn. She also won 3 silver medals with hoop, ball, clubs and she placed 6th in ribbon. [16] On 22–24 April Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Baku where she won the second all-around title of her career ahead of Boryana Kaleyn and teammate Milena Baldassarri. She also won a gold medal with hoop and two bronze medals with ball and clubs, and she placed 5th in ribbon. [17]

On 27–29 May Raffaeli competed at the 2022 Italian National Championships. She won the gold medal in the general all-around competition, and she also managed to win four gold medals in the apparatus finals, all in front of Milena Baldassarri. [18] On 3–5 June Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Pesaro where she won the gold medal in the all around competition. On top of that, she won three gold medals in the hoop, ball and clubs final and a silver medal with the ribbon behind Viktoriia Onopriienko. [19] With this, she won the all-around trophy of the World Cup circuit, and she also won the apparatus trophies with hoop, ball and clubs. [20]

From 15 to 19 June Raffaeli competed at the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel. Although a poor performance in the individual final saw her left off the all-around podium, she won two gold medals and two silver medals in the hoop, clubs, ball and team final respectively. This made her the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal at the European Championships. [21] On 12–13 July Raffaeli competed at the World Games 2022. She won the gold medal in the clubs final and two silver medals in the hoop and ball final. [22] She was the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Games.

On 26–28 August Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca. She won the gold medal in the all around competition. [23] She became the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win an all-around gold medal at a World Challenge Cup. Additionally, she won two gold medals in the hoop and ribbon final and a bronze medal with clubs. From 14 to 18 September Raffaeli represented Italy at the World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she won five gold medals in the all-around, hoop, ball, ribbon and team competition, and a bronze medal in the clubs final. She was Italy's first all-around individual champion at the World Championships. [24]

2023

Raffaeli with Margarita Kolosov (left) and Takhmina Ikromova (right) at 2023 World Cup Tashkent 2023 World Cup Tashkent Hoop podium.jpg
Raffaeli with Margarita Kolosov (left) and Takhmina Ikromova (right) at 2023 World Cup Tashkent

Raffaeli began her season by competing at the Grand Prix RG Marbella 2023, where she won a gold medal in the all-around and ribbon finals as well as a silver medal in the clubs final. On 18 March, Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Cup Athens and won the gold medal in the all-around competition. She also won a gold medal in the hoop final and a silver medal in the ball final. On 1–2 April Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Cup Sofia where she finished second in the all-around. She also won a silver medal with ball, and two bronze medals with hoop and clubs. On 15 April Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Cup Tashkent and won five gold medals in the all-around, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon final. The next week, she competed at the 2023 World Cup Baku and finished second in the all-around.

From 18 to 21 May Raffaeli competed at the 2023 European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. She won the silver medal in the all-around final by just 0.05 points after making large improvements to her scores from qualifications. This made her the first Italian individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal in the all-around final at the European Championships. [25] [26] In addition, she won two gold medals in the clubs and ball finals. [27] On 10 June Raffaeli competed at the 2023 Italian National Championships. She won her second consecutive national title in the all-around competition. [28] She also managed to win all the gold medals in the apparatus finals. [29]

On 14–16 July Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca and won the gold medal in the all around competition. She won the gold medal in the hoop final and two bronze medals in the ball and clubs finals. [30] On 21–23 July Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Cup Milan, where she won the gold medal in the hoop final and two silver medals in the all-around and clubs final. [31] With this, she also won the FIG World Cup series all-around and hoop trophy for the second year in a row. [32]

Raffaeli was selected to compete at the 2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, in Valencia, Spain, where she won three silver medals in the all-around, hoop and ball finals. She also contributed massively to the Italian team bronze. [33] Throughout the World Championships, Raffaeli was seen training with a new coach, Claudia Mancinelli, and it was rumoured that she and her long-time coach Julieta Cantaluppi had some disagreements. In November, less than a year before the 2024 Summer Olympics, it was formally announced by the Italian and Israeli Gymnastics Federation that Julieta Cantaluppi was leaving Italy to pursuit other coaching opportunities in Israel. [34]

2024

Raffaeli began her season by competing at the 2024 World Cup Athens and won two silver medals with hoop and ball. On 12-14 April, Raffaeli, competed at the 2024 World Cup Sofia where she finished fourth in the all-around. She also won a bronze medal with hoop, and a gold medal with clubs. The next week, she competed at the 2024 World Cup Baku where finished third in the all-around. She also won a gold medal with clubs, and a silver medal with hoop.

Eponymous skill

Raffaeli has one eponymous skill listed in the code of points, a 180 degree turn in a side split position on relevé with the free leg bent. [35] It was added to the code in 2021. She is the second Italian rhythmic gymnast to have an eponymous skill after Alexandra Agiurgiuculese. [3]

NameDescriptionDifficulty [lower-alpha 1]
RaffaeliSide split with or without help, trunk horizontal with free bent leg0.5 base value
  1. Valid for the 2022-2024 Code of Points

Achievements

Routine music information

YearApparatusMusic title
2024HoopRescue by Lauren Daigle
BallBella ci dormi by Maria Mazzotta and Pulcinella
ClubsDark Mirror by Power-Haus, Christian Reindl and Lucie Paradis
RibbonVesoul by Mouron and Terry Truck
2023HoopPsycho Suite by Bernard Hermann and The Murder by Danny Elfman
Ball Il Mondo by Jacopo Rossetto
ClubsQuand C’est by Stromae
RibbonThat’s life by Frank Sinatra
2022HoopVai Vedrai by Cirque du Soleil
BallNemesis by Benjamin Clementine
ClubsCall me Cruella by Florence + the Machine
Ribbon (first)Two Trains by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Ribbon (second)Ladder Fight (Xena Warrior Princess Soundtrack) by Joseph Lo Duca
2021Hoop Montagues & Capulets by Richard Clayderman, Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra, Deyan Pavlov
Ball (first)Oogie Boogie's Song by Danny Elfman
Ball (second)The man with the harmonica Song by Ennio Morricone
ClubsMerry Christmas Mr Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto
RibbonTango De Amor (The Addams Family Ost) by Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth
2020Hoop Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy by Jennifer Thomas
BallOogie Boogie's Song by Danny Elfman
Clubs (first)Aha! by Imogen Heap
Clubs (second)Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto
RibbonTango De Amor (The Addams Family Ost) by Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth
2019Rope Far From Over by Frank Stallone, From "Staying Alive" Soundtrack
BallAmara Terra Mia by Ermal Meta
ClubsMoney by Alan Cumming
RibbonThe Penguins of Madagascar by Lorne Balfe
2018Hoop La foule by Edith Piaf
BallMain Theme (From "Pink Panther") by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
ClubsMarajà by Vinicio Capossela
RibbonThe Penguins of Madagascar by Lorne Balfe

Competitive highlights

(Team competitions in seniors are held only at the World Championships, Europeans and other Continental Games.)

International: Senior
YearEventAATeam Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2024 World Cup Baku 3rd2nd4th1st15th(Q)
World Cup Sofia 4th3rd4th1st12th(Q)
World Cup Athens 8th2nd2nd11th (Q)29th (Q)
2023 World Championships Valencia 2nd3rd2nd2nd15th (Q)4th
World Cup Milan 2nd1st7th2nd8th
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca 1st1st3rd3rd6th
European Championships Baku 2nd4th4th1st1st29th (Q)
World Cup Baku 2nd2nd7th6th14th (Q)
World Cup Tashkent 1st1st1st1st1st
World Cup Sofia 2nd3rd2nd3rd5th
World Cup Athens 1st1st2nd5th5th
Grand Prix Marbella 1st4th4th2nd1st
2022 World Championships Sofia 1st1st1st1st3rd1st
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca 1st1st8th3rd1st
World Games 2022 2nd2nd1st11th (Q)
European Championships Tel Aviv 4th2nd1st2nd1st9th (Q)
World Cup Pesaro 1st1st1st1st2nd
World Cup Baku 1st1st3rd3rd5th
World Cup Sofia 2nd2nd2nd2nd6th
World Cup Athens 1st2nd1st1st14th (Q)
2021 World Championships Kitakyushu 6th2nd3rd9th (Q)16th (Q)
Grand Prix Marbella 4th7th3rd1st3rd
European Championships Varna 8th6th11th (Q)9th (Q)8th39th (Q)
World Cup Pesaro 8th9th (Q)19th (Q)6th5th
World Cup Tashkent 4th2nd11th (Q)4th2nd
World Cup Sofia 10th29th (Q)14th (Q)2nd3rd
International: Junior
YearEventAATeam Hoop/Rope Ball Clubs Ribbon
2019 Junior World Championships 2nd2nd8th2nd7th
2018 Junior European Championships 4th7th (Q)5th
National
YearEventAATeam Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2023 Italian National Championships 1st1st1st1st1st
2022 Italian National Championships 1st1st1st1st1st
2021 Italian National Championships 2nd2nd3rd1st3rd
2020 Italian National Championships 3rd4th2nd1st17th (Q)
2019 Italian National Championships 3rd3rd4th
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)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Son Yeon Jae</span> South Korean rhythmic gymnast (born 1994)

Son Yeon Jae KTM is a retired South Korean individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a former member of the South Korean national gymnastics team, based in Taereung, Seoul. Son is the 2014 Asian Games All-around Champion, the 2010 Asian Games All-around bronze medalist, three-time Asian Championships All-around Champion. She is the first and only South Korean individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships, FIG World Cup series, Universiade and the Asian Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linoy Ashram</span> Israeli rhythmic gymnast

Linoy Ashram is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around Champion, the 2018 World All-around silver medalist, two-time World All-around bronze medalist, the 2020 European All-around champion, and the 2019 European Games All-around silver medalist. She is the third Israeli athlete and first Israeli woman to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport, and the first Israeli rhythmic gymnast to win an Olympic medal. She became the first rhythmic gymnast from outside a post-Soviet republic to win a gold medal at an Olympics where former Soviet states participated. Ashram announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics at a press conference in Tel Aviv on 4 April 2022.

Alexandra Ana Maria Agiurgiuculese is a Romanian-Italian individual rhythmic gymnast who represents Italy. She is a World Championships silver and bronze medalist, and she competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Agiurgiuculese was the first Italian gymnast to win the Longines Prize for Elegance. At the national level, she is the 2019 Italian National all-around champion and three-time Italian National all-around silver medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicol Zelikman</span> Israeli rhythmic gymnast

Nicol Zelikman is a former Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a two-time medalist at the 2016 European Junior Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alina Harnasko</span> Belarusian rhythmic gymnast

Alina Aliaksandraŭna Harnasko is a Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnast and former junior rhythmic gymnastics group gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around bronze medalist, 2021 World Championships all-around silver medalist and ribbon gold medalist, 2020 European all-around silver medalist, and twice Grand Prix final all-around silver medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milena Baldassarri</span> Italian rhythmic gymnast

Milena Baldassarri is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast. She won the silver medal at the World Championship at the 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Individual all around.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships</span>

The 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 10 to 16 September 2018 at Arena Armeec. The top three countries in the group all-around, Russia, Italy, and Bulgaria won the first three spots for the 2020 Olympic Games. Russia was the most successful nation of the competition with seven of the nine gold medals, and Bulgaria and Italy each won a title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daria Trubnikova</span> Russian rhythmic gymnast

Daria Sergeyevna Trubnikova is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 Youth Olympic Games individual all-around champion, the 2018 European Junior Clubs and Team champion, the 2019 Grand Prix Final all-around gold medallist and the 2021 World Cup Baku all-around gold medallist. On the national level, she is the 2018 Russian Junior all-around bronze medalist. In January 2023, Trubnikova announced her retirement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talisa Torretti</span> Italian rhythmic gymnast

Talisa Torretti, born 25 January 2003 in Fabriano, Italy) is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 European Junior Ribbon bronze medalist. She is the 2018 Youth Olympic Games individual all-around bronze medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ekaterina Vedeneeva</span> Russian rhythmic gymnast

Ekaterina Olegovna Vedeneeva is a Slovenian individual rhythmic gymnast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evita Griskenas</span> American individual rhythmic gymnast

Evita Griskenas is an American individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing 12th in the qualification round for the individual all-around. She was the most decorated athlete at the 2019 Pan American Games with four gold medals and one bronze medal, and she won five medals at the 2023 Pan American Games. She swept the gold medals at the 2017 Pan American Championships and is also the 2022 Pan American all-around champion. At the 2023 Portimao World Challenge Cup, she became the first American to win an all-around silver medal on the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series. She is the 2022 national all-around champion, a four-time national all-around silver medalist, and the 2015 junior national all-around champion. She has qualified to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adi Asya Katz</span> Israeli rhythmic gymnast

Adi Asia Katz is a retired Israeli rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 European bronze medallist in Ribbon, and Team Bronze medallist. As a Junior, She was the 2019 Junior World silver medalist with Ribbon and bronze medalist with Clubs.

Viktoriia Maksimivna Onopriienko is a Ukrainian individual rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing tenth in the all-around final. She is the 2020 Grand Prix Final all-around champion and the 2022 World Games ribbon bronze medalist. She is the 2021 Ukrainian all-around champion. At the junior level, she is the 2018 European team silver medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stiliana Nikolova</span> Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast

Stiliana Nikolova is a Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 World all-around bronze medalist and hoop, clubs, and ribbon silver medalist, the 2023 World ball bronze medalist and team competition champion, and a two-time European all-around bronze medalist and champion in the team competition. She is also the 2020 European Junior ribbon champion and ball silver medalist. At the national level, she is the 2023 National Champion, 2022 Bulgarian National all-around silver medalist, and the 2019 and 2020 Bulgarian National Junior all-around champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daria Atamanov</span> Israeli rhythmic gymnast

Daria Atamanov is an Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 European All-Around Champion, and the 2023 World Championship All-Around bronze medalist. She is also the 2022 European Championship silver medalist in Hoop, Clubs, Ribbon, and Team bronze medalist. On a national level, she is the 2022 Israeli National All-around champion, and a two-time Israeli Junior National All-Around champion. Atamanov will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in the Women's rhythmic individual all-around on August 8-10, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takhmina Ikromova</span> Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast

Takhmina Ikromova is an Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast. She is an Asian Games champion individually and in the team event, and she is also a two-time all-around champion at the Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, in 2022 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darja Varfolomeev</span> German rhythmic gymnast

Darja Varfolomeev is a German rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2023 World all-around gold medalist and the 2022 World all-around silver medalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liliana Lewińska</span> Polish rhythmic gymnast

Liliana Lewińska is a Polish rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2023 Junior World clubs and ribbon champion, as well as the 2022 European hoop and clubs silver medalist and ribbon bronze medalist.

Milena Gorska is a Polish rhythmic gymnast, member of the national group.

Tara Dragas is an Italian rhythmic gymnast of Slovenian descent. She is the 2022 European ribbon junior silver medalist.

References

  1. 1 2 Piccardi, Gaia (2022-10-27). ""Comaneci chi?". Nel mondo di Sofia Raffaeli, campionessa di ritmica con 5 medaglie mondiali" ["Comaneci who?" In the world of Sofia Raffaeli, a rhythmic gymnastics champion with five world medals]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  2. "Cantaluppi lascia l'Italia. Tecchi: "Il progetto olimpico di Fabriano va avanti"" (in Italian).
  3. 1 2 "GINNASTICA RITMICA, SOFIA RAFFAELI ENTRA NEL CODICE DEI PUNTEGGI! INVENTATO UN NUOVO MOVIMENTO". eurosport.it/ (in Italian).
  4. "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Ranking 2021 Individual Competitions" (PDF). fig-gymnastics.com.
  5. "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Ranking 2022 Individual Competitions" (PDF). fig-gymnastics.com.
  6. "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Ranking 2023 Individual Competitions". fig-gymnastics.com.
  7. "Sofia Raffaeli entra a fare parte del Gruppo Sportivo delle Fiamme Oro della Polizia di Stato" (in Italian). 9 August 2021.
  8. "La "Donna del 2023"? Sofia Raffaeli è già la miglior ginnasta di sempre" (in Italian). 4 December 2023.
  9. "Mosca - Tanto azzurro sul Mondiale Junior di Ritmica: anche la formula di gara è Made in Italy!" (in Italian). 23 July 2019.
  10. "Folgaria – Campionato Assoluto: Milena Baldassarri cala il tris nelle finali. Sofia Raffaeli miglior ginnasta alle clavette" (in Italian). 1 November 2020.
  11. "Stunning in Sofia, Raffaeli rising to Tashkent Rhythmic World Cup challenge". 13 April 2021.
  12. "Tashkent - Sofia ha l'argento vivo! Due piazze d'onore a cerchio e nastro per la più giovane della tappa di Coppa del Mondo" (in Italian). 18 April 2021.
  13. "Kitakyushu - Raffaeli di bronzo. Sofia al debutto conquista la prima medaglia individuale italiana al cerchio. Baldassarri quinta e sesta in due finali" (in Italian). 27 October 2021.
  14. "Sofia Raffaeli scrive la storia: è la prima italiana a vincere l'oro all around a una World Cup" (in Italian). 19 March 2022.
  15. Rebecca Alessi (20 March 2022). "WORLD CUP PALAIO FALIRO, FINALI: SOFIA RAFFAELI BRILLA D'ORO E D'ARGENTO" (in Italian).
  16. "Sofia - Trionfo azzurro, tre argenti per Raffaeli e bronzo per Baldassarri nelle finali di World Cup" (in Italian). 10 April 2022.
  17. "Baku - Farfalle e Raffaeli ragazze d'oro, e insieme alla Baldassarri l'Italia supera la prova del 9" (in Italian). 24 April 2022.
  18. Rebecca Alessi (28 May 2022). "ASSOLUTI 2022: SOFIA RAFFAELI, NUOVA CAMPIONESSA ITALIANA ASSOLUTA" (in Italian).
  19. "Pesaro - L'Italia sfiora il filotto. Raffaeli e Farfalle, è un dominio azzurro. Nastro d'oro all'ucraina Onopriienko" (in Italian). 5 June 2022.
  20. "Pesaro - La ritmica italiana si laurea in filoSofia! E' la Coppa Raffaeli. Baldassarri d'argento per una doppietta storica" (in Italian). 4 June 2022.
  21. Owen Lloyd (19 June 2022). "Raffaeli and Kaleyn win two golds apiece on final day of European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships".
  22. "Birmingham – Clavette d'oro per Sofia Raffaeli ai World Games" (in Italian). 14 July 2022.
  23. "Cluj - Sofia Raffaeli è oro nella World Challenge Cup, brava Milena Baldassarri. Domani le finali" (in Italian). 27 August 2022.
  24. "Stellar in Sofia, Raffaeli romps to World All-Around title in Rhythmic Gymnastics". International Gymnastics Federation . 17 September 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  25. Jiwani, Rory (20 May 2023). "Boryana Kaleyn takes all-around title at 2023 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships". Olympics.com.
  26. "Bulgaria win individual and group all-around titles in Baku". 20 May 2023.
  27. "Double delight for Italian Raffaeli as 2023 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships ends". 21 May 2023.
  28. "Ginnastica ritmica, Campionato Assoluto 2023: Raffaeli trionfa a Folgaria e concede il bis". Sportface.it (in Italian). 2023-06-10.
  29. "Folgaria - FLASH NEWS: Raffaeli di un altro pianeta. Baldassarri, Dragas e Sella incantano nelle finali Assolute". Federginnastica.it (in Italian). 2023-06-10.
  30. "Kaleyn, Raffaeli, Italy and Brazil the toast of Cluj-Napoca Rhythmic World Challenge Cup". 17 July 2023.
  31. "Varfolomeev emerges as the toast of Milan as Italy and Israel share Group glory". 24 July 2023.
  32. "2023 Rhythmic World Cup rankings decided". 25 July 2023.
  33. "Valencia - Raffaeli, argento mondiale, ragazza d'oro: "E' la vittoria più bella che dedico a Fabriano". Milena Baldassarri fa 13!" (in Italian). 26 August 2023.
  34. "מינויים חדשים למאמני נבחרות ההתעמלות" (in Hebrew). 13 November 2023.
  35. "2022–2024 Code of Points Rhythmic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation . 25 April 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024.