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Sofia Raffaeli

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Sofia Raffaeli
File:Image of Sofia Raffaeli (Italia) alla Vitrifrigo Arena di Pesaro.jpg
Personal information
Nickname(s)Sofi, Atomic Ant, Vulcano
Country represented Italy
Born (2004-01-19) 19 January 2004 (age 20)
Chiaravalle, Marche; Italy
Height1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Weight37 kg (82 lb)
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2018–present
ClubFaber Ginnastica Fabriano
Head coach(es)Julieta Cantaluppi
Assistant coach(es)Kristina Ghiurova
ChoreographerBilyana Dyakova
Eponymous skillsThe Raffaeli: Side split pivot without help, trunk side at horizontal on relevé with free leg bent [1]
World ranking7 WC[2] (2021) 1 WC[3] (2022)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 5 1 2
World Games 1 2 0
European Championships 2 2 0
FIG World Cup 12 9 4
Grand Prix Final 1 0 2
Junior World Championships 0 3 0
Total 21 17 8
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Representing  Italy
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sofia All-Around
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sofia Hoop
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sofia Ball
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sofia Ribbon
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sofia Team
Silver medal – second place 2021 Kitakyushu Team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Kitakyushu Hoop
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Sofia Clubs
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Tel Aviv Hoop
Gold medal – first place 2022 Tel Aviv Clubs
Silver medal – second place 2022 Tel Aviv Ball
Silver medal – second place 2022 Tel Aviv Team
World Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Clubs
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham Hoop
Silver medal – second place 2022 Birmingham Ball
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Moscow Team
Silver medal – second place 2019 Moscow Rope
Silver medal – second place 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, as well as 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 medal and win a gold medal at the World Championships, European Championships, and World Games, and to win three all-around gold medals in the FIG World Cup circuit.

At the national level, she is the 2022 Italian National all-around champion, 2021 Italian National all-around silver medalist, and 2020 Italian National all-around bronze medalist. As of 2022, 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 Ganni Raffaeli is an architect. She has a younger brother, Pietro Raffaeli who does fencing. Raffaeli got involved in artistic gymnastics at the age of three, and switched to rhythmic gymnastics four years later.

In 2021, she joined the Sports Group of the Fiamme Oro.[4]

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.[5]

Senior

She won a bronze medal in All-Around finals at the 2020 Italian National Championships behind Milena Baldassarri and Alexandra Agiurgiuculese. And she also won a gold medal in clubs and a silver medal in ball.[6]

In the 2021 Season, Raffaeli made her senior international debut at the 2021 Sofia World Cup. She finished 10th 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.[7] On April 16–18, Raffaeli competed at the 2021 Tashkent World Cup where she finished 4th 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.[8] 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. She also managed to enter all four apparatus finals winning 1st in clubs, 2nd in hoop and 3rd 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, where 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.[9] Raffaeli also made it into the individual all-around final, finishing in 6th place behind Viktoriia Onoproenko. She also won a silver medal in the team competition, together with Milena Baldassarri, Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, and the Italian group.

In the 2022 season, Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Athens and won the gold medal in All-around, in front of Daria Atamanov, becoming the first (and only, to date) Italian individualist to win a gold medal in the All Around event of a FIG World Cup stage and qualified to three apparatus finals, winning two gold medals with ball and clubs, and a silver medal with hoop.[10][11] On April 8–10, Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Sofia where she finished 2nd All-around behind Boryana Kaleyn. She also won 3 silver medals with hoop, ball, clubs and she placed 6th in ribbon.[12] On April 22–24, Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Cup Baku where she won her second all-around title in her career ahead of Boryana Kaleyn and teammate Milena Baldassarri. She also won a gold medal with hoop, two bronze medals with ball and clubs and she placed 5th in ribbon.[13] On May 27–29, Raffaeli competed at the 2022 Italian National Championships where she won the gold medal in the general all-around competition and she also managed to win four gold medals in the speciality finals all in front of Milena Baldassarri.[14] On June 3–5, 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 3 gold medals in the hoop, ball and clubs final and a sliver medal with the ribbon behind Viktoriia Onopriienko.[15] Therefore she wins the trophy of the entire world cup circuit and she also wins 3 more trophies with hoop, ball and clubs.[16] From June 15–19, Raffaeli competed at the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel where she won 2 gold medals and 2 sliver medals in the hoop, clubs, ball and team final respectively, making her the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win a medal and the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal at the European Championships.[17] She even broke the record for the highest score ever for an individualist, achieving a score of 36.150 with hoop during qualifications. On July 12–13, Raffaeli competed at the World Games 2022 where she won the gold medal in the clubs final and two silver medals in the hoop and ball final, becoming the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win a medal and the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win a gold medal at the World Games.[18] On August 26-28, Raffaeli competed at the 2022 World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca where she won the gold medal in the all around competition, becoming the first Italian rhythmic gymnast to win an all-around gold medal at a World Challenge Cup. During qualifications, she once again broke the record for the highest score for an individualist, achieving a score of 36.200 with hoop. On top of that she won 2 gold medals in the hoop and ribbon final and a bronze medal with clubs.[19] From September 14-18, Raffaeli represented Italy at the World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she won 5 gold medals in the all-around, hoop, ball, ribbon and team competition and a bronze medal in the clubs final. Therefore she became the first and only Italian individual rhythmic gymnast to win a specialty gold medal, all-around medal and all-around gold medal at a World Championships.

Achievements

Routine music information

Year Apparatus Music title
2018 Hoop It's All Right by Ray Charles
Ball Main Theme (From "Pink Panther") by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Clubs Marajà by Vinicio Capossela
Ribbon The Penguins of Madagascar by Lorne Balfe
2019 Rope Far From Over by Frank Stallone, From "Staying Alive" Soundtrack
Ball Amara Terra Mia by Ermal Meta
Clubs Money by Alan Cumming
Ribbon The Penguins of Madagascar by Lorne Balfe
2020 Hoop Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy by Jennifer Thomas
Ball Oogie Boogie's Song by Danny Elfman
Clubs (first) Aha! by Imogen Heap
Clubs (second) Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ribbon Tango De Amor (The Addams Family Ost) by Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth
2021 Hoop 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
Clubs Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ribbon Tango De Amor (The Addams Family Ost) by Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth
2022 Hoop Vai vedrai by Cirque du Soleil
Ball Nemesis by Benjamin Clementine
Clubs Call 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

Competitive highlights

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

International: Senior
Year Event AA Team Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2022 Aeon Cup 1st 1st
World Championships Sofia 1st 1st 1st 1st 3rd 1st
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca 1st 1st 8th 3rd 1st
World Games 2022 2nd 2nd 1st 11th(Q)
European Championships Tel Aviv 4th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 9th(Q)
World Cup Pesaro 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd
World Cup Baku 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 5th
World Cup Sofia 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 6th
World Cup Athens 1st 2nd 1st 1st 14th(Q)
2021 World Championships Kitakyushu 6th 2nd 3rd 9th (Q) 16th (Q)
Grand Prix RG Marbella 2021 4th 7th 3rd 1st 3rd
European Championships Varna 8th 6th 11th (Q) 9th (Q) 8th 39th (Q)
World Cup Pesaro 8th 9th (Q) 19th (Q) 6th 5th
World Cup Tashkent 4th 2nd 11th (Q) 4th 2nd
World Cup Sofia 10th 29th (Q) 14th (Q) 2nd 3rd
International: Junior
Year Event AA Team Hoop/Rope Ball Clubs Ribbon
2019 Aeon Cup 1st 4th
2019 Junior World Championships 2nd 2nd 8th 2nd 7th
2018 Junior European Championships 4th 7th (Q) 5th
National
Year Event AA Team Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2022 Italian National Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
2021 Italian National Championships 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 3rd
2020 Italian National Championships 3rd 4th 2nd 1st 17th (Q)
2019 Italian National Championships 3rd 3rd 4th
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)

References

  1. ^ "GINNASTICA RITMICA, SOFIA RAFFAELI ENTRA NEL CODICE DEI PUNTEGGI! INVENTATO UN NUOVO MOVIMENTO". eurosport.it/ (in Italian).
  2. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Ranking 2021 Individual Competitions" (PDF). fig-gymnastics.com.
  3. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Ranking 2022 Individual Competitions". fig-gymnastics.com.
  4. ^ "Sofia Raffaeli entra a fare parte del Gruppo Sportivo delle Fiamme Oro della Polizia di Stato" (in Italian). 9 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Mosca - Tanto azzurro sul Mondiale Junior di Ritmica: anche la formula di gara è Made in Italy!" (in Italian). 23 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Folgaria – Campionato Assoluto: Milena Baldassarri cala il tris nelle finali. Sofia Raffaeli miglior ginnasta alle clavette" (in Italian). 1 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Stunning in Sofia, Raffaeli rising to Tashkent Rhythmic World Cup challenge". 13 April 2021.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Sofia Raffaeli scrive la storia: è la prima italiana a vincere l'oro all around a una World Cup" (in Italian). 19 March 2022.
  11. ^ Rebecca Alessi (20 March 2022). "WORLD CUP PALAIO FALIRO, FINALI: SOFIA RAFFAELI BRILLA D'ORO E D'ARGENTO" (in Italian).
  12. ^ "Sofia - Trionfo azzurro, tre argenti per Raffaeli e bronzo per Baldassarri nelle finali di World Cup" (in Italian). 10 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Baku - Farfalle e Raffaeli ragazze d'oro, e insieme alla Baldassarri l'Italia supera la prova del 9" (in Italian). 24 April 2022.
  14. ^ Rebecca Alessi (28 May 2022). "ASSOLUTI 2022: SOFIA RAFFAELI, NUOVA CAMPIONESSA ITALIANA ASSOLUTA" (in Italian).
  15. ^ "Pesaro - L'Italia sfiora il filotto. Raffaeli e Farfalle, è un dominio azzurro. Nastro d'oro all'ucraina Onopriienko" (in Italian). 5 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Pesaro - La ritmica italiana si laurea in filoSofia! E' la Coppa Raffaeli. Baldassarri d'argento per una doppietta storica" (in Italian). 4 June 2022.
  17. ^ Owen Lloyd (19 June 2022). "Raffaeli and Kaleyn win two golds apiece on final day of European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships".
  18. ^ "Birmingham – Clavette d'oro per Sofia Raffaeli ai World Games" (in Italian). 14 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Cluj - Sofia Raffaeli è oro nella World Challenge Cup, brava Milena Baldassarri. Domani le finali" (in Italian). 27 August 2022.
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