Paris 2024 Olympics, Italians to medal: Sofia Raffaeli
Born Jan. 19, 2004, in Ancona, Italy, Sofia Raffaeli è one of the top athletes of the entire Italian expedition to Paris 2024, given her impact in the world of rhythmic gymnastics at the European and world level. Already at a very young age she showed a great passion for sports, starting artistic gymnastics at just 4 years old and rhythmic gymnastics at 7 years old.
She currently competes for the Fiamme Oro, having started her training at Società Ginnastica Fabriano under the guidance of Julieta Cantaluppi and Kristina Ghiurova. In 2019, Sofia won her first international honors at the World Junior Championships in Moscow (Russia), winning silver on the ropes, clubs and in the team competition.
The year 2021 marked her senior debut with a bronze medal on hoop at the World Championships in Kitakyushu (Japan). This event è was particularly significant because the international jury recognized a new movement she invented, the "Raffaeli", which was integrated into the official scoring code. The following year, Sofia achieved consecration at the European Championships in Tel Aviv (Israel), winning four medals, and at the World Championships in Sofia (Bulgaria), where she won six medals, including a gold medal in the overall competition, securing her Olympic qualification.
In 2023, Sofia continued to shine, adding to her palmarès three silver medals at the World Championships in Valencia (Spain) in the general competition, hoop and ball categories. In addition, she demonstrated her consistency at the European level with excellent performances at the Championships in Baku (Azerbaijan) and Budapest (Hungary).
Silver in the 2024 European general competition confirmed her leading role in international rhythmic gymnastics, and now Sofia is preparing for a new challenge at the Paris Olympic Games, where she hopes to write more memorable pages of her career.
