Clara Esquerdo (born 8 May 2000) is a Spanish former

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 ...

who competed with the national group of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Personal life

Esquerdo took up gymnastics in 2010, her idols are the girls of the Spanish group that won Olympic silver in 2016 and Alina Maksymenko, her 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 ...

. Outside the gym her hobby is going out with friends and family while she studies

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

. She speaks

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Esquerdo started at the Club Muntanyenc Sant Cugat (current Club Sant Cugat Esportiu) under the orders of the former Spanish gymnast Esther Escolar. In 2011 she participated as a junior in her first Spanish Team Championship, in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. By 2012, already in the children's category, she was awarded a scholarship by the Catalan Gymnastics Federation to be part of the Catalan team in the Sant Cugat's CAR, going on to train under Iratxe Aurrekoetxea and Toni Zankova. That year she participated with free hands and ball in the Spanish Team Championship, held again in Valladolid.

Junior

In 2013 she participated in the Individual Spanish Championship held in Valladolid, and in 2014 she entered the national team. In the 2014 Spanish Championship, held in Granada, she won the bronze medal in the junior honor category after Paula Gómez (gold) and Alba Sárrias (silver). That year Clara was selected along with Alba Sárrias, Alicia Fernández and Paula Gómez to represent Spain at the European Championship held in Baku in the junior category with hoop and clubs, they finished 22nd in the team category. In September 2014 she 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 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 ...

. During the season she 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 at 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,

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

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 in 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 Clara, Victoria Cuadrillero, Ana Gayán,

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, Esquerdo 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 Cri ...

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 Tarr ...

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 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 2 ...

9th place in the All-Around and 6th in the balls and ropes final, and Baku 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 Clara, Mónica Alonso, Victoria Cuadrillero, Ana Gayán, Lía Rovira and Sara Salarrullana. From the Guadalajara World Cup the Spanish team was made up of Clara, Mónica Alonso, Victoria Cuadrillero, Ana Gayán,

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 an ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. 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 Pesaro

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 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 h ...

. 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 in 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 Esquerdo, Mónica Alonso, Victoria Cuadrillero, Ana Gayán, 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 reg ...

, 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 Esquerdo, Victoria Cuadrillero, Ana Gayán, Alba Polo, Emma Reyes and Sara Salarrullana. On June 1, 2020, the Royal Spanish Federation of Gymnastics announced through its website the decision by the gymnast to retire. Esquerdo said goodbye to the team and the fans through her social networks on June 9.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esquerdo, Clara 2000 births Living people Spanish rhythmic gymnasts Sportspeople from Barcelona 21st-century Spanish women