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Milena Baldassarri

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Milena Baldassarri
Baldassarri during the Sofia World Cup in 2024
Personal information
Full nameMilena Baldassarri
Nickname(s)Millie
Country representedItaly
Born (2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 (age 22)
Ravenna, Italy
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
LevelSenior international elite
Years on national team2015–present
ClubFaber Ginnastica Fabriano
GymKori kori
Head coach(es)Claudia Mancinelli
Assistant coach(es)Valeria Carnali
Former coach(es)Julieta Cantaluppi, Kristina Guiourova
ChoreographerBilyana Dyakova
World ranking2 WC (2022 Season) [citation needed] 7 WCC (2019 Season) [1]
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
World Championships 1 2 3
European Championships 0 2 0
FIG World Cup 3 6 9
Mediterranean Games 0 0 1
Total 4 10 13
Representing  Italy
Rhythmic Gymnastics
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Sofia Team
Silver medal – second place 2018 Sofia Ribbon
Silver medal – second place 2021 Kitakyushu Team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Sofia Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Sofia Ball
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Valencia Team
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Tel Aviv Team
Silver medal – second place 2024 Budapest Team
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Tarragona All-around
Junior European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Holon Team

Milena Baldassarri (born 16 October 2001 in Ravenna, Italy) is an Italian individual rhythmic gymnast. She won silver in the ribbon final at the 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the individual all-around.[2] She is competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Women's rhythmic individual all-around, and has qualified for the final.

Baldassarri was a bronze medalist at the 2016 European Junior Championships. On the national level, she is a three-time (2018, 2020, 2021) Italian National all-around champion, four-time (2019, 2022-2024) Italian National all-around silver medalist, 2017 Italian National all-around bronze medalist, and 2016 Italian Junior National all-around champion.

Personal life

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Baldassarri's mother was a swimmer who competed internationally for the Soviet Union, and Baldassarri competed in swimming through age 7, at which point she tried other sports, including rhythmic gymnastics. She started practising rhythmic gymnastics in Ravenna. In addition to Italian, she speaks Russian.[3] Baldassarri chose to pursue rhythmic gymnastics because she enjoyed the performance aspect, and she has chosen themes of social issues such as suicide, body shaming, and violence against women for some of her exercises.[4]

Career

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Junior

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In 2014 she moved to Fabriano and started being trained by the Olympian Julieta Cantaluppi and her mother, Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast Kristina Guiourova.[3] In 2015 she was selected to be part of the Italian national junior group that competed at the 2015 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships in Minsk, Belarus. They placed 6th in the group all-around and 5th in the 5 balls final. At the 2016 European Championships, Baldassarri won the junior team bronze with Alexandra Agiurgiuculese.

Senior

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In 2017, Baldassarri made her senior international debut at the international tournament Città Pesaro, where she won the bronze medal in the all-around and silver in the ribbon final. She also won gold in the clubs final ahead of Russian Ekaterina Selezneva.[5] In May she competed at 2017 Sofia World Cup, her first world cup, where she took the 10th place in the all-around.[6] On 19–21 May, Baldassarri, along with her teammates Alexandra Agiurgiuculese and Alessia Russo, represented the individual seniors for Italy at the 2017 European Championships, where she qualified for the ribbon final. She finished in 7th place.[7]

On 5–7 August Baldassarri finished 8th in the all-around at the 2017 Minsk World Challenge Cup. She qualified for two apparatus finals and finished 7th in ribbon and 4th in ball. Her ball score was tied with third place (16.650), but the tie was broken in favour of her teammate Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, who received the bronze medal.

Together with Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, Baldassarri represented Italy at the 2017 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Pesaro, where she finished 9th in the all-around ahead of Bulgaria's Katrin Taseva; she also qualified for the ribbon final, where she finished in 6th place. She was awarded with the Alina Kabaeva Prize.[8]

2018

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In 2018, on 30 March - 1 April, Baldassarri began her series of World Cup events by competing at the 2018 Sofia World Cup. There she was 12th in the all-around, and she qualified for the hoop final, where she finished 5th. On 13–15 April Baldassarri competed at the 2018 Pesaro World Cup, finishing 9th in the all-around. She also qualified for the ribbon final. On 27–29 April she then competed in the event at the 2018 Baku World Cup, where she finished 8th in the all-around behind Japan's Kaho Minagawa and qualified for one event final. On 4–6 May she competed at the 2018 Guadalajara World Challenge Cup and had a new highest all-around placement when she finished fourth in the all-around behind Russia's Arina Averina.Baldassarri had an overall successful event, qualifying for all four apparatus finals and winning her first World Cup medals. She won silver in ball behind Linoy Ashram, and she also won a bronze in clubs. In both the ribbon and hoop finals, she finished 5th.

On 16–17 May Baldassarri competed at the 2018 Holon Grand Prix, finishing 7th in the all-around behind Salome Pazhava. She qualified for two apparatus finals, where she won her first Grand Prix gold medal in ribbon. She also won bronze in ball.

Baldassarri once again represented Italy with Alexandra Agiurgiuculese at the 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Sofia. She won the silver medal in the ribbon apparatus final, becoming the first individual Italian gymnast to ever win an apparatus silver medal in the World Championship.[9] Baldassarri said the medal came as a surprise and that she regarded it as "the reward for all the hard work, all the sacrifices we made during the months before".[3]

2019

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Baldassarri competed at the 2019 World Challenge Cup Minsk, where she won the bronze medal in the ribbon final.[10] Next, she performed at the 2019 World Challenge Cup Portimao where she won the silver medal in the all-around competition. She also won a gold medal in the ball and ribbon final, and a silver medal in the clubs final. At the 2019 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Baldassarri represented Italy together with Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, Alessia Russo and Sofia Maffeis. The Italian gymnasts placed 4th in the team competition. Baldassarri placed 4th in the ball final and 8th in the ribbon final. In the all-around final, she finished in 7th place and secured Italy an Olympic spot for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

2021

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In April, Mattel created a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll modeled on Baldassarri.[11]

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Baldassarri represented Italy along with Agiurgiuculese. Baldassarri qualified to the all-around final in 6th place, and she ended in the same placement during the final. She said she was very happy with her performance at the competition.[12] Her placement was a record for Italian rhythmic gymnasts.

Baldassarri was selected to represent Italy at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. She won a silver medal in the team competition together with Sofia Raffaeli, Alexandra Agiurgiuculese, and the Italian group.

2022

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In 2022, Baldassarri competed at the 2022 Sofia World Cup, where she won a bronze medal in the ball final. On 22-24 April, Baldassarri also competed at the 2022 World Cup Baku. She won the bronze medal in the all-around competition behind her teammate Sofia Raffaeli and Boryana Kaleyn from Bulgaria and won a silver medal with ball.

On 27-29 May Baldassarri competed at the 2022 Italian National Championships, where she won the silver medal in the all-around competition and four more silver medals in the apparatus finals. On 3-5 June Baldassarri competed at the 2022 World Cup Pesaro and won the silver medal in the all-around competition.

From 15 to 19 June Baldassarri competed at the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel. She won a silver medal in the team competition together with Sofia Raffaeli and the Italian group. In August, she performed at the 2022 World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca and won a bronze medal in the ball final. From 14 to 18 September, Baldassarri represented Italy at the World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where she won a bronze medal in the ball final and a gold medal in the team competition.

2023

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On March 18, Baldassarri competed at the 2023 World Cup Athens and took 13th place in the all-around. Two weeks later, she competed at the next World Cup in Sofia, where she finished 12th all-around. She qualified for two apparatus finals and finished 8th in ribbon and 7th in ball. On April 22, Baldassarri competed at her third World Cup of the season in Baku, where she took 30th place in the all-around.

Baldassarri competing clubs at the 2024 Sofia World Cup

From May 18-21, she competed at the 2023 European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan with one apparatus, ribbon. She qualified for the ribbon final and finished in 5th place.

On 9-11 June Baldassarri competed at the 2023 Italian National Championships. There she won the silver medal in the all-around competition. In the apparatus finals, she won three more silver medals and a bronze medal. [13] On July 14–16, Baldassarri competed at the 2023 World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca and won the silver medal in the ball final.

In August, she was selected for the World Championships in Valencia. In the qualification round, both she and fellow Italian Sofia Raffaeli placed high enough to each win a berth at the 2024 Summer Olympics for Italy. Baldassarri said they hoped to compete together at the Olympics.[14] In the all-around final, she placed 13th.[15]

2024

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Baldassarri began her season by competing at the 2024 World Cup Athens, where she finished 23rd all-around. She qualified in the clubs final and took 8th place. On 12-14 April, she competed at the 2024 World Cup Sofia and placed 18th in the all-around.

From May 23-26, Baldassarri competed at the 2024 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary, where she was selected to represent Italy with three apparatuses in the qualifying round: ball, clubs and ribbon. In the all-around final, she placed 6th, and she qualified for the clubs final and finished 5th.[16] She won a silver medal in the team competition together with Sofia Raffaeli and the Italian group.

On 8-9 June Baldassarri competed at the 2024 Italian National Championships. She won the silver medal in the all-around competition and went on to also win three bronze medals and another silver medal in the apparatus finals.[17] At the Milano World Cup, she finished in 16th place in the all-around.[18]

In August, Baldassarri competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where she qualified for the final in ninth place, she ultimately finished eighth in the final.

Achievements

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Detailed Olympic results

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Year Competition Description Location Music Apparatus Rank-Final Score-Final Rank-Qualifying Score-Qualifying
2020 Olympics Tokyo All-around 6th 99.625 6th 96.050
Mephisto's Lullaby by Yair Albeg Wein & Or Kribos Hoop 7th 25.100 6th 24.550
"L'immensità" by Mina Ball 5th 25.625 7th 25.700
Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish Clubs 6th 26.500 7th 25.650
Elegie: O doux printemps d'autrefois by Joshua Bell Ribbon 4th 22.400 14th 20.150
2024 Olympics Paris All-around 8 129.700 9 129.250
Hit The Road Jack (Epic Cover) by 2WEI Hoop 8 32.600 9 33.300
Formidable by Giordana Angi Ball 5 33.150 8 32.750
Don't tell mama by Natasha Richardson, Alan Cumming and Cabaret Ensemble (1998) Clubs 9 32.500 11 30.900
Can you hear the music by Ludwig Göransson and The game is afoot by Eternal Eclipse Ribbon 8 31.450 6 32.300

Competitive highlights

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(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
2024 Olympic Games 8th
World Cup Milan 16th 22th (Q) 14th (Q) 11th(Q) 18th(Q)
European Championships 6th 2nd OC 10th(Q) 5th 14th(Q)
European Cup Baku 7th 10th(Q) 10th(Q) 9th(Q) 9th(Q)
World Cup Sofia 18th 17th (Q) 17th (Q) 25th(Q) 11th(Q)
World Cup Athens 23rd 25th (Q) 40th (Q) 8th 21st (Q)
2023 World Championships Valencia 13th 3rd 10th (Q) 22th (Q) 11th (Q) 25th (Q)
World Cup Milan 15th 11th (Q) 9th (Q) 14th (Q) 34th (Q)
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca 6th 10th(Q) 2nd 18th(Q) 7th
European Championships Baku OC 4th OC OC OC 5th
World Cup Baku 30th 21st(Q) 40th(Q) 48th(Q) 11(th)
World Cup Sofia 12th 20th(Q) 7th 17th(Q) 8th
World Cup Athens 13th 17th(Q) 11th(Q) 19th(Q) 14th(Q)
2022 Aeon Cup 3rd 1st
World Championships Sofia 5th 1st 8th 3rd 15th(Q) 20th(Q)
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca 5th 12th(Q) 3rd 5th 4th
World Games 2022 9th(Q) 4th 6th 6th
European Championships Tel Aviv 7th 2nd 12th(Q) 7th 24th(Q) 10th(Q)
World Cup Pesaro 2nd 5th 7th 6th 6th
World Cup Baku 3rd 12th(Q) 2nd 4th 4th
World Cup Sofia 4th 4th 3rd 5th 4th
2021 World Championships Kitakyushu 9th 2nd 5th 6th 6th
Olympic Games 6th
World Challenge Cup Cluj-Napoca 2nd 4th 4th 4th 2nd
World Cup Baku 8th 13th(Q) 11th(Q) 5th 17th(Q)
World Cup Sofia 22nd 33rd (Q) 10th (Q) 19th(Q) 31st (Q)
2019 World Championships 7th 4th 9th(Q) 4th 21st (Q) 8th
World Cup Portimao 2nd 5th 1st 2nd 1st
World Cup Kazan 7th 24th(Q) 4th 6th 9th(Q)
World Cup Minsk 9th 4th 22nd(Q) 9th(Q) 3rd
European Championships 5th 4th 28th (Q) 6th 13th(Q) 7th
World Cup Guadalajara 8th 18th (Q) 4th 4th 22nd(Q)
World Cup Baku 9th 12th (Q) 13th (Q) 7th 14th (Q)
World Cup Sofia 12th 13th (Q) 9th (Q) 10th (Q) 23rd(Q)
World Cup Pesaro 11th 7th 5th 15th (Q) 19th (Q)
2018 World Championships 7th 3rd 6th 4th 4th 2nd
World Cup Kazan 6th 7th 8th 5th
World Cup Minsk 12th 16th (Q) 15th (Q) 11th (Q) 15th (Q)
Rhythmic gymnastics at the 2018 Mediterranean Games 3rd
European Championships 7th 9th(Q) 8th(Q) 5th(Q) 14th(Q)
World Cup Guadalajara 4th 5th 2nd 3rd 5th
World Cup Baku 8th 10th (Q) 9th (Q) 10th (Q) 6th
World Cup Pesaro 9th 9th (Q) 11th (Q) 26th (Q) 6th
World Cup Sofia 12th 5th 30th (Q) 13th (Q) 15th (Q)
2017 World Championships 9th 23rd(Q) 16th(Q) 12th(Q) 6th
World Cup Minsk 8th 9th (Q) 4th 10th (Q) 7th
European Championships 11th(Q) 33rd(Q) 7th
World Cup Sofia 10th 13th(Q) 9th (Q) 10th (Q) 16th (Q)
International: Junior
Year Event AA Team Rope Hoop Ball Clubs
2018 Junior European Championships 3rd 22nd (Q) 7th 6th 6th
2016 Junior World Cup Sofia 3rd 1st
National
Year Event AA Team Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon
2024 Italian National Championships 2nd 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd
2023 Italian National Championships 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd
2022 Italian National Championships 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd
2021 Italian National Championships 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd
2020 Italian National Championships 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st
2019 Italian National Championships 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd
2018 Italian National Championships 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st
2017 Italian National Championships 3rd 2nd 2nd 4th 1st
2016 Italian National Championships 3rd 3rd
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)

Routine music information

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Year Apparatus Music title
2024 Hoop Hit The Road Jack (Epic Cover) by 2WEI
Ball Formidable by Giordana Angi
Clubs Don't tell mama by Natasha Richardson, Alan Cumming and Cabaret Ensemble (1998)
Ribbon Can you hear the music by Ludwig Göransson and The game is afoot by Eternal Eclipse
2023 Hoop La casa azul by Marco Mengoni
Ball Not my Responsibility by Billie Eilish
Clubs Some Like It Hot by Club des Belugas
Ribbon L’enfer by Stromae
2022 Hoop (first) Ave Maria by Thomas Spencer Wortley
Hoop (second) The First Wave by Jon Björk, Over the Rainbow by Petra Magoni
Ball The Trapper and the Furrier by Regina Spektor
Clubs Mercenaries (Bridgerton Teaser Soundtrack) by Alloy Tracks
Ribbon I Put A Spell On You by Garou
2021 Hoop (first) The Weeping Mountains, War Cry by Inro Joo
Hoop (second) Mephisto's Lullaby by Yair Albeg Wein & Or Kribos
Ball L'immensità by Mina
Clubs Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish
Ribbon Elegie: O doux printemps d'autrefois by Joshua Bell
2020 Hoop The Weeping Mountains, War Cry by Inro Joo
Ball Youkali by Mario Frangoulis
Clubs Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish
Ribbon Vivaldi Storm by 2Cellos
2019 Hoop Dance With the Dragon by Dark Sarah ft. Jp Leppäluoto
Ball Non Andare Via by Petra Magoni
Clubs Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ribbon (first) Beetlejuice (Main Titles / End Titles) by Danny Elfman
Ribbon (second) Basic Instinct (The Games Are Over) by Jerry Goldsmith
2018 Hoop Zhulto by Desi Dobreva
Ball Après Moi by Regina Spektor
Clubs Carmen by Stromae
Ribbon Carol Of The Bells by Tommee Profit
2017 Hoop I will survive by Igudesman & Joo
Ball Guarda che luna by Petra Magoni
Clubs Retrolonga by Electrocutango
Ribbon Paris sera toujours paris by Zaz
2016 Rope Danza Ritual Del Fuego by Paco De Lucía
Hoop I will survive by Igudesman & Joo
Ball Guarda che luna by Petra Magoni
Clubs Monde Inversé by Cirque Du Soleil

References

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  1. ^ "FIG World standings for rhythmic gymnastics". International Federation of Gymnastics. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Rhythmic Gymnastics BALDASSARRI Milena". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  3. ^ a b c Poggi, Alessandro (22 September 2020). "Milena Baldassarri: "I'm telling a story, like in a theatre"". olympics.com.
  4. ^ Pizzimenti, Chiara (2024-01-15). "Milena Baldassarri, la ginnasta dell'eleganza: «Ogni esercizio racconta una storia e trasmette un messaggio»" [Milena Baldassarri, the gymnast of elegance: "Every exercise tells a story and conveys a message"]. Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  5. ^ "Pesaro – Clavette d'oro e Nastro d'argento per Milena Baldassarri! Italbaby 6 mitica!". federginnastica.it. April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  6. ^ Ilaria Brugnotti (May 6, 2017). "World Cup Sofia: Baldassarri decima! Agiurgiuculese in finale a palla e nastro". ginnasticaritmicaitaliana.it. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  7. ^ "Results By Apparatus" (PDF). ueg.org. May 21, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  8. ^ "Farfalle prevent Russian sweep of World titles … again!". ueg.org. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  9. ^ "Ginnastica ritmica, Mondiali: Baldassarri è argento al nastro. Italia di bronzo". gazzetta.it. September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  10. ^ https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=50675
  11. ^ "Barbie Celebrates Gymnast Milena Baldassarri". Licensing Magazine. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  12. ^ "Milena Baldassarri Ravenna, sesto posto alle Olimpiadi di Tokyo 2020 - Cronaca - ilrestodelcarlino.it". August 7, 2021.
  13. ^ "Folgaria - FLASH NEWS: Raffaeli di un altro pianeta. Baldassarri, Dragas e Sella incantano nelle finali Assolute". Federginnastica.it (in Italian). 2023-06-11.
  14. ^ Fava, Gisella; Giardina, Benedetto (24 August 2023). "Milena Baldassarri, quota Olimpica per l'Italia a Parigi 2024 e qualificazione in finale all-around | Mondiale di ginnastica ritmica Valencia 2023" [Milena Baldassarri, Olympic berth for Italy in Paris 2024 and qualification in the final all-around - World Rhythmic Gymnastics Valencia 2023]. olympics.com (in Italian).
  15. ^ "Results for 40th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Valencia". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  16. ^ "Results for 40th Senior European Championships Budapest". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  17. ^ "Ginnastica ritmica, Assoluti Folgaria 2024: Sofia Raffaeli concede il tris nel Concorso Generale". Sportface.it (in Italian). 2024-06-08.
  18. ^ "FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Milan" (PDF). Italian Gymnastics Federation. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
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