Ana Gayán (born 22 May 2000) is a former Spanish

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coordi ...

who competed with the national group of Spain.

Personal life

Gayán took up the sport at age seven at Club Pucol in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. She then switched to rhythmic gymnastics because she did not like ballet. Her idols are the girls of the Spanish group that won Olympic silver in 2016 and

Alina Maksymenko Alina Oleksandrivna Maksymenko ( ua, Аліна Олександрівна Максименко, born 10 July 1991) is a retired individual rhythmic gymnast. Career In 2008, Maksymenko participated as a member of the Ukrainian Group at the ...

. Gayán's ambition was to compete at the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. She was named the 2017 Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year in

El Puig El Puig (), officially El Puig de Santa Maria since 2012 (also known as El Puig d'Enesa or El Puig de Cebolla), is a village situated 15 km north of the city of Valencia in the comarca of Horta Nord, Spain. Its name means "hill" in Valencian) ...

. She's currently studying dentistry.

Career

Gayán started at Club Puzol in Valencia, to later move on to Club Margaix. In 2010 Ana participated in her first

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

, in the ''alevin'' category with ball. Since then, she has participated in a National Base Group Championship, four Spanish Individual Championships and three Spanish Group Championships. In February 2014, she was called for the first time by the Royal Spanish Gymnastics Federation, attending several controls and concentrations held at the CAR in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

during the year.

Junior

In September 2014, Gayán was awarded a scholarship by the Royal Spanish Gymnastics Federation to be part of the national junior group, going on to train under the command of Ana María Pelaz at the CAR in Madrid. During the season, Gayán attended several exhibitions, like the Spanish Ensemble Championship in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

and the tribute to Sara Bayón in

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...

. In February 2015, the junior team debuted in competition at the

Miss Valentine Miss Valentine is an international gymnastics tournament in Tartu, Estonia. The event was first held in 1995 and, as of 2020, has been hosted annually. The event hosts rhythmic gymnastics and aesthetic group gymnastics competitions. FIG World Cup ...

International Tournament held in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, where they achieved 4th position in the All-Around and 7th in the apparatus final with 5 balls. At the end of March, the junior team competed in the International Tournament in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, where they again achieved 4th place in the All-Around in addition to winning the bronze medal in the apparatus final. At the beginning of May, they participated the European Championship in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, where they finished in 9th in the All-Around. The junior team was formed this year by Ana, Victoria Cuadrillero,

Clara Esquerdo Clara Esquerdo (born 8 May 2000) is a Spanish former rhythmic gymnast who competed with the national group of Spain. Personal life Esquerdo took up gymnastics in 2010, her idols are the girls of the Spanish group that won Olympic silver in 201 ...

Alba Polo Alba Polo (born 17 May 2001) is a Spaniards, Spanish former Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast who competed with the national group of Spain. Personal life Alba took up gymnastics when she was 7 at the Club Vallecas, her idols are the girls ...

, Lía Rovira and Alba Sárrias. On July 23, 2016, Gayán made two exhibitions with the junior Spanish ensemble at the 20th Anniversary Gala of the gold medal in Atlanta '96, held in Badajoz. Subsequently, in September the ensemble made exhibitions during the Week European Sports Conference held at the

Plaza de Colón Plaza de Colón (''Columbus Square'', in English) is located in the encounter of Chamberí, Centro and Salamanca districts of Madrid, Spain. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cris ...

and at the Glamor Sport Summit in Madrid, and in October, at the open days of the CAR in Madrid and at the Ciudad de

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...

International Tournament.

Senior

In 2017 she became a starter gymnast of the senior Spanish group under the orders of Anna Baranova and Sara Bayón. On March 25, she made her debut as a team starter at the

Thiais Thiais () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name Thiais comes from Medieval Latin ''Theodasium'' or ''Theodaxium'', meaning "estate of Theodasius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. The A ...

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

. In this competition the team was 8th overall and 4th in the final of 3 balls and 2 ropes. In April they competed in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

events in

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

18th in the All-Around,

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

9th place in the All-Around and 6th in the balls and ropes final, and

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

7th in the All-Around, 7th in the 5 hoops final and 5th in the ropes and balls final. On May 14, Cuadrillero got her first official international medal, by winning bronze in the 5 hoops final at the

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

World Cup. In All-Around, the team was 4th, the same position it achieved in the final of 3 balls and 2 ropes. The team in that competition was made up of Ana,

Mónica Alonso Mónica Alonso (born 19 May 1998) is a Spanish former rhythmic gymnast who was a member of Spain’s national group. In 2012 she was the national junior champion. Personal life Alonso was born in the Madrid town of Alcalá de Henares, she ha ...

, Victoria Cuadrillero, Clara Esquerdo, Lía Rovira and

Sara Salarrullana Sara Salarrullana (born 5 October 2001) is a former Spanish rhythmic gymnast who competed with the national group of Spain. Career Salarrullana took up rhythmic gymnastics at the Barajas Club in Madrid. Junior She entered the national juni ...

. From the

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

World Cup the Spanish team was made up of Ana, Mónica Alonso, Victoria Cuadrillero, Clara Esquerdo, Alba Polo and Lía Rovira. In the All-Around they finished in 6th and in the final of the mixed exercise of ropes and balls they finished in 8th. From August 11 to 13 they participated in the last World Cup before the World Championships, held in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. There, the team got the 5th position in the All-Around and the 8th position in the two apparatus finals. In September the members of the group disputed the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. In the mixed exercise they scored 16.150, and 14.500 with 5 hoops after two apparatus drops, which meant that they placed 15th overall and that they could not qualify for any apparatus final. In March 2018 the team began the season in the City of

Desio Desio ( lmo, label= Brianzoeu, Des) is a town and in the Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy. History In 1277 it was the location of the battle between the Visconti and della Torre families for the rule of Milan. On 24 February 1924, Desio rece ...

Trophy, playing a bilateral meet with Italy in which they won silver. A foot injury to Clara Esquerdo in mid-March meant that the team was unable to participate in the Thiais Grand Prix and Esquerdo was unable to compete in the

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, where the group was 10th in the All-Around. In April, they returned to competition at the World Cup in Pesaro, where the team placed 6th overall, 8th in hoops and 7th in mixed finals, while in May, at the World Cup in Guadalajara, they ranked 10th place overall and 6th in the final of 3 balls and 2 ropes. At the beginning of June, they participated in the European Championship in Guadalajara, the first European Championship held in Spain since 2002. They took 5th place in the All-Around and 6th in both the hoops and mixed finals. At the end of August, he competed in the World Cup in

, where she finished 6th overall, 7th in hoops and 6th in mixed. A week later, at the World Cup event in Kazan, they placed 10th in the All-Around and 7th with 5 hoops. In mid-September the group participated the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in Sofia. In the 5 hoops exercise they obtained a score of 14.450 after several apparatus drops, while in the mixed routines they achieved a score of 19.150, which placed them in 20th place overall. In the 3 balls and 2 ropes final they took 8th place with 19,800. The team was formed in this championship by Gayán, Mónica Alonso, Victoria Cuadrillero, Clara Esquerdo, Alba Polo and Sara Salarrullana. At the beginning of March 2019, the team began the season at the Diputación de Málaga International Tournament in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

, achieving bronze. After an exhibition in

Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...

, they participated in the Grand Prix de Thiais, obtaining 10th place overall and 6th in 3 hoops and 4 clubs. In April they achieved 10th and 12th place overall at the

events in Pesaro and Baku respectively. In May, at the World Cup in Guadalajara, they were 4th in the All-Around, 7th with 5 balls and 4th in the mixed routine. After several preparatory competitions, in September they disputed the

in Baku, being able to obtain only 17th place in the All-Around and not achieving the Olympic place. The team was formed in this championship by Ana, Victoria Cuadrillero, Clara Esquerdo, Alba Polo, Emma Reyes and Sara Salarrullana. In September 2020, after the previous team didn't meet the expectations set on them, including not qualifying for the 2020 Olympics before, Alejandra Quereda announced a control to create a new group. Of the members of the national group that has been in force since 2017, only Ana Gayán remained. She missed the 2021 European Championships because of a fracture of the fibula, where Spain finished 9th missing the last ticket for Tokyo that went to Ukraine. In October Ana participated in the

along with Ines Bergua,

Valeria Márquez Valeria Márquez (born 21 April 2004) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast. She's the bronze All-Around and 5 hoops medalist at the 2022 World Championships. Career Junior Márquez was part of the Spanish junior group that competed at both the 2 ...

Mireia Martínez Mireia Martínez (born 21 April 2005) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast. She's the bronze All-Around and 5 hoops medalist at the 2022 World Championships. Personal life She took up the sport at age four in La Pobla de Vallbona, she came to this s ...

, Uma Mendez and Patricia Pérez, In 2021 Ana participated in the World Championships along Inés Bergua, Valeria Marquéz, Patricia Pérez, Uma Mendez and Mireia Martínez, finishing 12th in the All-Around and 5th in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs' final. After having suffered from injuries in the start of 2022, on July 8 it was announce that Ana has voluntarily decided to end her sports career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gayán, Ana 2000 births Living people Spanish rhythmic gymnasts Sportspeople from Valencia 21st-century Spanish women