Carolina Rodríguez Ballesteros (born 24 May 1986 in
León) is a retired
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
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 co ...
. She is a veteran of the sport who started her senior career in the early 2000s. She competed in three
Olympic cycles: at the 2004 Athens where she was member of the Spanish group, at the 2012 London competing as an individual gymnast where she finished 14th in all-around qualifications and at the 2016 Rio competing again as an individual, finishing in 8th in the
rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final.
Career
Early Years
Rodríguez began
rhythmic gymnastics at the age of seven. She says, “Since the first time I saw this sport I fell in love with it.” She competes for the Ritmo club. She has three coaches who are Nina Vitrichenko, Ruth Fernández Menéndez, and Nuria Castaño Fernández. Rodríguez trains for 25 hours per week and she dreams of becoming an Olympic medalist.
In 2001 during the World Championships in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, she became the Junior National Vice-Champion. At the
Spanish Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships
The Spanish Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship is the most important national rhythmic gymnastics competition in Spain. It is organized annually since 1975 by the Royal Spanish Federation of Gymnastics and today, since 2010, it is called the Spanish ...
, she became National Champion three times in individual performances. She was fourth at the 1999 European Championships in the Junior Group. Finally, she was first at the International Tournament of
Portimao 1999 also as part of the Junior Group.
In 2009, she won her first
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 ...
medal, a bronze in ball 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 ...
and won bronze medal in all-around at the
2009 Mediterranean Games
The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games ( it, XVI Giochi del Mediterraneo) and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the Inter ...
in
Pescara
Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...
. At the 2009 European Championships, she won the public vote.
Breakthrough 2013 - present
In 2013, Rodriguez had her breakthrough season, she won the
2013 Mediterranean Games
The 2013 Mediterranean Games ( tr, 2013 Akdeniz Oyunları), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games ( tr, XVII Akdeniz Oyunları) and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 i ...
in Mersin beating Greek gymnast
Varvara Filiou
Varvara Filiou (Greek: Βαρβάρα Φίλιου; born December 29, 1994, in Attiki, Greece) is a retired Greek individual rhythmic gymnast and coach. She is an eight-time (2008-2016) Greek National All-around Champion. She is one of Greece's m ...
(silver) and France's
Kseniya Moustafaeva (bronze). In 2014 season, Rodriguez achieved her highest placement in the World Cup series at the
2014 Lisboa World Cup finishing 4th in all-around. She qualified to 3 event finals and won a bronze in clubs. On 30 May – 1 June, Rodriguez competed at the
2014 Minsk World Cup and finished 14th in all-around. On 10–15 June, Rodriguez competed at the
2014 European Championships and finished 10th in all-around. at a press conference, Rodriguez announce her plans to continue competing until the
2016 Olympic Games
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, Brazil. On 8–10 August, Rodríguez competed at the
2014 Sofia World Cup finishing 11th in all-around finals. On 22–28 September, Rodriguez placed a career high at the
2014 World Championships finishing 10th in the all-around finals with a total of 68.448 points and qualified to an event final (in ribbon) for the first time at Worlds. In 2015, Rodriguez competed at the
2015 Holon Grand Prix finishing 13th in all-around. Rodriguez finished 15th in all-around at the
2015 Berlin Grand Prix. On 15–21 June, Rodriguez competed at the inaugural
2015 European Games where she finished 13th in the all-around. In July, Rodriguez won the all-around gold at the Izmir International Tournament ahead of
Jana Berezko-Marggrander
Jana Berezko-Marggrander (russian: Яна Березко-Маргграндер, born 17 October 1995 in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast, Russia) is a German retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2010 Youth Olympic all-around bronze medalist. ...
. In August, Rodriguez finished 14th in the all-around at the
2015 Sofia World Cup. On 9–13 September, Rodriguez competed at the
2015 World Championships in
Stuttgart and finished 9th in the All-around finals with a total of 70.248 points.
On 12–13 March, Rodriguez competed at the MTM Tournament in
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
finishing 4th in the all-around with a total of 70.750 points,
[.] in the apparatus finals; she won a silver in ball. On 17–19 June, Rodriguez competed at the
2016 European Championships where she finished in 9th place with a total of 72.049 points. On 1–3 July, Ashirbayeva competed at the
2016 Berlin World Cup finishing 8th in the all-around with a total of 70.250 points and qualified to all 4 apparatus finals.
On 19–20 August, Rodriguez competed at the
2016 Summer Olympics held in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, Brazil. She qualified to the
rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final where she finished in 8th place. She announced her retirement from her competitive sports after the Olympic Games.
Routine music information
Notes
References
*http://spanishrg.tripod.com/ind-caroro.htm
*http://www.clubliceocordoba.es/web/index.php/temporadas-anteriores-noticias/141-carolina-rodriguez-bronce-en-pelota-35-copa-del-mundo-torneo-internacional-de-gimnasia-ritmica-de-corbeil
*http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/schedule/gymnastics/day13.html
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Carolina
1986 births
Living people
Spanish rhythmic gymnasts
Olympic gymnasts of Spain
Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics
European Games competitors for Spain
Gymnasts at the 2015 European Games
Mediterranean Games medalists in gymnastics
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain
Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Spain
Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games
Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games