Alba Petisco

Alba Petisco de San Fulgencio (born 1 February 2003) is a Spanish artistic gymnast. She represented Spain at the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2018 Youth Olympics where she was part of the Mixed NOC team who won gold in the mixed multi-discipline team competition. She won a bronze medal with the Spanish team at the 2022 Mediterranean Games. Additionally, she is the 2020 and 2022 Spanish all-around champion.

Early life

Petisco was born in Sant Joan Despí, Catalonia, Spain, on 1 February 2003 but was raised in Villarino de los Aires. She began training in gymnastics when she was 5 years old.

Junior career

2016–17

Petisco made her international debut at the Elite Gym Massilia in November 2016. She finished 53rd in the all-around in the open division. Later that month, she competed at the Turnkunst International where she helped Spain finish fifth as a team, and individually, she finished 21st in the all-around.

In 2017, Petisco competed at the Top 12 Championships in France where her team finished in 8th place, and individually, Petisco finished 25th in the all-around. She next competed at the Spanish Cup where she placed 36th in the all-around. At the Spanish Championships, Petisco finished 14th in the all-around.

2018

2018 was a breakout year for Petisco. She helped her club finish fourth at the 1st Spanish League. In February, she competed at the Mallorca Cup where she finished seventh in her division. Then at the 2nd Spanish League, she had the highest all-around score of the competition and led her club to the silver medal. She competed at the Youth Olympic Qualifier where she placed 17th and qualified a spot at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics for Spain. Petisco next competed at the Spanish Championships where she placed second in the all-around, behind Alba Asencio, as well as second on uneven bars and balance beam. She next represented Spain at the European Championships. During qualifications, she helped Spain finish 11th as a team, and individually, she placed 36th in the all-around.

In October, Petisco represented Spain at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. She qualified for the all-around final and was the third reserve for the vault final. Her mixed multi-discipline team, which was named after gymnastics legend Simone Biles, won the gold medal. In the all-around final, she placed 11th.

Senior career

2019

Petisco became age-eligible for senior international competition in 2019. At the 1st Spanish League, she helped her club win the bronze medal, and she also won bronze in the all-around. She made her senior international debut at the DTB Team Challenge where she helped Spain finish eighth as a team and individually she placed 14th in the all-around. Then at the 2nd Spanish League, she won the bronze medal in the all-around, and her club finished fifth. She competed at the European Championships but failed to qualify for any event finals. She then won silver in the all-around behind Cintia Rodriguez at the 3rd Spanish League. Petisco competed at the Flanders International Team Challenge in Ghent, Belgium, where she helped Spain finish 6th, and individually, she finished 13th in the all-around. At the Spanish Championships, Petisco finished 6th in the all-around but won silver on floor exercise behind Ana Pérez. In September, Petisco competed at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup where she qualified to the uneven bars final. During the final, she finished in fifth place. Petisco next competed at the 2nd Heerenveen Friendly where she helped Spain finish second behind the Netherlands, and individually, she placed 13th in the all-around.

At the World Championships in Stuttgart, Petisco, alongside teammates Cintia Rodríguez, Roxana Popa, Ana Pérez, and Marina González, finished 12th as a team during qualifications. Although they did not qualify for the team final, they qualified a team to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, giving Spain its first team berth at the Olympic Games since 2004.

2020

Petisco won the all-around at the 1st Spanish League, and her club finished fifth. She also won the all-around at the 2nd Spanish League and helped her club win the team competition. She competed at the American Cup, replacing teammate Roxana Popa, and finished in 12th place. Petisco was scheduled to compete at the Stuttgart World Cup taking place in March; however the event was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

In December, Petisco competed at the Spanish Championships where she placed first in the all-around with a score of 52.100, ahead of Ana Pérez.

2021

Petisco competed at the FIT Challenge where she helped the Spanish team place fifth. In June 2021, she was selected to the Spanish women's artistic gymnastics team for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Laura Bechdejú, Marina González and Roxana Popa. The team finished 12th in qualifications and did not reach the final. After the Olympics, she competed at the 2nd Spanish League, finishing fourth in the all-around and third with her team. Then at the 3rd Spanish League, her club finished fourth. She then finished second in the all-around at the Spanish Championships behind Roxana Popa. She won the all-around at the Spanish League Final and led her club to winning.

2022

Petisco started her season at the Cottbus World Cup, where she won the gold medal on floor exercise, and took the bronze on vault behind Tjaša Kysselef and Ofir Netzer. She won the all-around at the 1st Spanish League and helped her club win. Then at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, she helped the Spanish team finish fifth, and she finished sixth in the uneven bars final. She then won the all-around at the 2nd Spanish League and won the bronze medal with her club.

Petisco finished eighth on the uneven bars at the Koper World Challenge Cup. In June, she competed at the Mediterranean Games, where the Spanish team took the bronze medal behind Italy and France. Individually, Petisco finished fifth in the floor final. At the European Championships in Munich, Petisco helped Spain qualify to the team final, where they placed eighth. She also qualified for the balance beam final, finishing sixth with a score of 12.400.

2023

Petisco finished sixth with her club at the 2nd Spanish League. At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she helped the Spanish team win the bronze medal behind Italy and South Korea. Individually, she finished eighth in the all-around and seventh in the floor exercise final. Then at the European Championships, she helped the Spanish team finish eighth. She also qualified for the all-around final where she finished eleventh with a total score of 51.099. At the Tel Aviv World Challenge Cup, she took bronze on floor exercise.

Competitive history

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Petisco, Alba
2003 births
Living people
Spanish female artistic gymnasts
Gymnasts at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics
Gymnasts from Barcelona
Youth Olympic gold medalists for Spain
Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic gymnasts for Spain
Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Spain
Mediterranean Games medalists in gymnastics
Gymnasts at the 2022 Mediterranean Games
21st-century Spanish women