Sofia Raffaeli
Raffaeli in 2022
Personal information
Nickname(s)Sofi, Atomic Ant, Vulcano
Country represented Italy
Born (2004-01-19) 19 January 2004
Chiaravalle, Marche; Italy
Height1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight39 kg (86 lb)
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2018–present
ClubFaber Ginnastica Fabriano
Head coach(es)Claudia Mancinelli
Assistant coach(es)Valeria Carnali
Former coach(es)Julieta Cantaluppi, Kristina Guiourova
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) 1 WC[4] (2023)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 5 4 3
World Games 1 2 0
European Championships 4 3 0
FIG World Cup 22 17 8
Grand Prix Final 3 1 2
Junior World Championships 0 3 0
Total 35 30 13
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Representing  Italy
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 SofiaAll-Around
Gold medal – first place2022 SofiaHoop
Gold medal – first place2022 SofiaBall
Gold medal – first place2022 SofiaRibbon
Gold medal – first place2022 SofiaTeam
Silver medal – second place2021 KitakyushuTeam
Silver medal – second place2023 ValenciaAll-around
Silver medal – second place2023 ValenciaHoop
Silver medal – second place2023 ValenciaBall
Bronze medal – third place2021 KitakyushuHoop
Bronze medal – third place2022 SofiaClubs
Bronze medal – third place2023 ValenciaTeam
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Tel AvivHoop
Gold medal – first place2022 Tel AvivClubs
Gold medal – first place2023 BakuBall
Gold medal – first place2023 BakuClubs
Silver medal – second place2022 Tel AvivBall
Silver medal – second place2022 Tel AvivTeam
Silver medal – second place2023 BakuAll-Around
World Games
Gold medal – first place2022 BirminghamClubs
Silver medal – second place2022 BirminghamHoop
Silver medal – second place2022 BirminghamBall
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place2019 MoscowTeam
Silver medal – second place2019 MoscowRope
Silver medal – second place2019 MoscowClubs

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 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 to win seven all-around gold medals in the FIG World Cup circuit.

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 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.[5]

At Gazzetta Sports Awards 2023 (Oscars of Sports), she was named as 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. [6]

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.[7]

Senior

2020

In 2020, Raffaeli officially made her senior debut at the 2020 Italian National Championships, where she won the bronze medal in All-Around behind Milena Baldassarri and Alexandra Agiurgiuculese. She also won a gold medal with clubs and a silver medal with ball.[8]

2021

In the 2021 Season, Raffaeli made her senior international debut at the 2021 FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series. 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.[9] On 16–18 April 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.[10] 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 (gold) should be Agiurgiuculese (bronze), due to her experience throughout the Olympic cycle. Sofia is the worlds best gymnast. 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.[11] 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.

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 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.[12][13] On 8–10 April 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.[14] On 22–24 April 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.[15] On 27–29 May 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.[16] 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 3 gold medals in the hoop, ball and clubs final and a silver medal with the ribbon behind Viktoriia Onopriienko.[17] Therefore she wins the trophy of the entire world cup circuit and she also wins 3 more trophies with hoop, ball and clubs.[18] From 15 to 19 June Raffaeli competed at the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel where she won 2 gold medals and 2 silver 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.[19] She even broke the record for the highest score ever for an individualist, achieving a score of 36.150 with hoop during qualifications. On 12–13 July 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.[20] On 26–28 August 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.[21] From 14 to 18 September 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.

2023

In the 2023 season, Raffaeli competed at the Grand Prix RG Marbella 2023 where she won a gold medal in the all around and ribbon final, and a silver medal in the clubs final. In the all around competition she once again broke the record for the highest score for an individualist with a score of 36.650 with hoop. 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 2nd 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 5 gold medals in the all-around, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon final. On 22 April Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Cup Baku where she finished 2nd All-around. From 18 to 21 May Raffaeli competed at the 2023 European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan where she won 2 gold medals and one silver medal in the clubs, ball and all around final respectively, making her the first, and only, Italian Individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal in the All Around final at the European Championships. [22] [23] On 10 June Raffaeli competed at the 2023 Italian National Championships where she won the gold medal, for the second time consecutively, in the all-around competition.[24] She also managed to win four gold medals in the apparatus finals. [25] On 14–16 July Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca where she 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. On 21-23 July Raffaeli competed at the 2023 World Cup Milan, where she won the gold medal in the hoop final and 2 silver medals in the All-around and clubs final. Thus, she also brings home the FIG world cup series all-around and hoop trophy for the second year in a row. From 23 to 27 August 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 and she also contributed massively to the Italian team bronze.

Routine music information

Year Apparatus Music title
2023 Hoop Psycho Suite by Bernard Hermann and The Murder by Danny Elfman
Ball Il Mondo by Jacopo Rossetto
Clubs Quand C’est by Stromae
Ribbon That’s life by Frank Sinatra
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
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
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
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
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

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
2023 World Championships Valencia2nd3rd2nd2nd15th (Q)4th
World Cup Milan2nd1st7th2nd8th
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca1st1st3rd3rd6th
European Championships Baku2nd4th4th1st1st29th (Q)
World Cup Baku2nd2nd7th6th14th (Q)
World Cup Tashkent1st1st1st1st1st
World Cup Sofia2nd3rd2nd3rd5th
World Cup Athens1st1st2nd5th5th
Grand Prix RG Marbella 20231st4th4th2nd1st
2022 World Championships Sofia1st1st1st1st3rd1st
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca1st1st8th3rd1st
World Games 20222nd2nd1st11th (Q)
European Championships Tel Aviv4th2nd1st2nd1st9th (Q)
World Cup Pesaro1st1st1st1st2nd
World Cup Baku1st1st3rd3rd5th
World Cup Sofia2nd2nd2nd2nd6th
World Cup Athens1st2nd1st1st14th (Q)
2021 World Championships Kitakyushu6th2nd3rd9th (Q)16th (Q)
Grand Prix RG Marbella 20214th7th3rd1st3rd
European Championships Varna8th6th11th (Q)9th (Q)8th39th (Q)
World Cup Pesaro8th9th (Q)19th (Q)6th5th
World Cup Tashkent4th2nd11th (Q)4th2nd
World Cup Sofia10th29th (Q)14th (Q)2nd3rd
International: Junior
Year Event AA Team Hoop/Rope Ball Clubs Ribbon
2019Junior World Championships2nd2nd8th2nd7th
2018Junior European Championships4th7th (Q)5th
National
Year Event AA Team Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2023Italian National Championships1st1st1st1st1st
2022Italian National Championships1st1st1st1st1st
2021Italian National Championships2nd2nd3rd1st3rd
2020Italian National Championships3rd4th2nd1st17th (Q)
2019Italian National Championships3rd3rd4th
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. ↑ "Rhythmic Gymnastics World Ranking 2023 Individual Competitions". fig-gymnastics.com.
  5. ↑ "Sofia Raffaeli entra a fare parte del Gruppo Sportivo delle Fiamme Oro della Polizia di Stato" (in Italian). 9 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "La "Donna del 2023"? Sofia Raffaeli è già la miglior ginnasta di sempre" (in Italian). 4 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mosca - Tanto azzurro sul Mondiale Junior di Ritmica: anche la formula di gara è Made in Italy!" (in Italian). 23 July 2019.
  8. ↑ "Folgaria – Campionato Assoluto: Milena Baldassarri cala il tris nelle finali. Sofia Raffaeli miglior ginnasta alle clavette" (in Italian). 1 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "Stunning in Sofia, Raffaeli rising to Tashkent Rhythmic World Cup challenge". 13 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "Sofia Raffaeli scrive la storia: è la prima italiana a vincere l'oro all around a una World Cup" (in Italian). 19 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Rebecca Alessi (20 March 2022). "WORLD CUP PALAIO FALIRO, FINALI: SOFIA RAFFAELI BRILLA D'ORO E D'ARGENTO" (in Italian).
  14. ↑ "Sofia - Trionfo azzurro, tre argenti per Raffaeli e bronzo per Baldassarri nelle finali di World Cup" (in Italian). 10 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Baku - Farfalle e Raffaeli ragazze d'oro, e insieme alla Baldassarri l'Italia supera la prova del 9" (in Italian). 24 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Rebecca Alessi (28 May 2022). "ASSOLUTI 2022: SOFIA RAFFAELI, NUOVA CAMPIONESSA ITALIANA ASSOLUTA" (in Italian).
  17. ↑ "Pesaro - L'Italia sfiora il filotto. Raffaeli e Farfalle, è un dominio azzurro. Nastro d'oro all'ucraina Onopriienko" (in Italian). 5 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Pesaro - La ritmica italiana si laurea in filoSofia! E' la Coppa Raffaeli. Baldassarri d'argento per una doppietta storica" (in Italian). 4 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Owen Lloyd (19 June 2022). "Raffaeli and Kaleyn win two golds apiece on final day of European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships".
  20. ↑ "Birmingham – Clavette d'oro per Sofia Raffaeli ai World Games" (in Italian). 14 July 2022.
  21. ↑ "Cluj - Sofia Raffaeli è oro nella World Challenge Cup, brava Milena Baldassarri. Domani le finali" (in Italian). 27 August 2022.
  22. ↑ "Double delight for Italian Raffaeli as 2023 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships ends". 21 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "Bulgaria win individual and group all-around titles in Baku". 20 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Ginnastica ritmica, Campionato Assoluto 2023: Raffaeli trionfa a Folgaria e concede il bis". Sportface.it (in Italian). 2023-06-10.
  25. ↑ "Folgaria - FLASH NEWS: Raffaeli di un altro pianeta. Baldassarri, Dragas e Sella incantano nelle finali Assolute". Federginnastica.it (in Italian). 2023-06-10.
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