Sofia Raffaeli, all around rainbow gold and Olympic pass

Sofia Raffaeli gold

Sofia Raffaeli is the new rhythmic gymnastics world champion. The Fabriano Gymnastics phenom, raised and coached by Julieta Cantaluppi and Kristina Ghiurova, with a total of 133.250 takes the rainbow title in the Overall Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria, ahead of Germany’s Darja Varfolomeev, silver at 132.450, and Bulgaria’s Stiliana Nikolova, bronze with 128.800. These three gymnasts also detach their respective countries’ tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Fifth was the other Italian national Milena Baldassarri, an Air Force airman, with a personal best of 124.900, behind Ukraine’s Viktoiia Onopriienko, at the foot of the podium with 125.050. The volcano from Chiaravalle, who dedicates her success to her region, Marche, which was hit by the cloudburst, and to her two coaches, thus succeeds Russia’s Dina Averina, defending champion of Kitakyushu 2021. Today’s triumph, the one on all apparatus, adds to the collection of the State Police Golden Flames officer, bringing her personal palmares to five golds (All Around, Hoop, Ball, Ribbon and Team Ranking) and one bronze (Clubs).

For FGI, on the other hand, this is the sixth placing counting also Milena Baldassarri’s bronze in ball. A haul never achieved before, like the podium in the all-around, where no Italian had ever managed to climb until now. Sofia Raffaeli wins on her name day, in the city that bears her name, in her coaches’ second homeland. It was also a triumph for the entire Rhythmic Section led by DTN Emanuela Maccarani, for the Italian delegation involved in the 39th World Championships, led by deputy vice president Valter Peroni, and for the President of the Italian Gymnastics Federation Gherardo Tecchi, detained in Rome for commitments with CONI (and the visit of IOC President Thoma Bach), who was among the first to congratulate his athlete.