Lidiia Iakovleva (born 28 August 2003) is a Russian-born Australian rhythmic gymnast who represented

Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics Australia competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia is one of only five cou ...

. She represented Australia at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and won a bronze medal in the mixed multi-discipline team event. She won a silver medal in the team event at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Early life

Lidiia Iakovleva was born in

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

, and she began rhythmic gymnastics when she was five years old. She moved with her family to Australia when she was seven years old. She is coached by her mother, Iuliia Iakovleva, at Aspire Gymnastics Academy in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Career

Junior

Iakovleva competed at the 2016 Pacific Rim Championships and won the bronze medal in clubs behind Lili Mizuno and Zhao Yating. She won the all-around at the Junior Australian Championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018. At the

2018 Youth Olympic Games The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international multi-sport event, sports, cultural, and edu ...

, she finished twenty-third in the all-around qualification round and won the bronze medal in the mixed multi-discipline team event.

Senior

Iakovleva became eligible for senior competition in 2019. She finished fifty-ninth in the all-around at the 2019 Pesaro World Cup. Then at the World Challenge Cup 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 ...

, she finished forty-seventh in the all-around. She was selected to compete at the 2019 World Championships in

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 ...

. The Australian team finished thirtieth, and she finished sixty-fifth in the all-around during the qualification round. Iakovleva won the gold medal in the all-around at the 2021 Australian Championships. Then at the 2021 Oceania Championships in

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...

, she won the gold medal in the all-around and received the continental quota spot for the 2020 Olympic Games. 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 finished twenty-third in the qualification round for the individual all-around. Her total score of 78.775 was a personal best. In 2022, Iakovleva was awarded with a Tier 3 scholarship for the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program. She was selected to represent Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iakovleva, Lidiia 2003 births Living people Australian rhythmic gymnasts People from Petrozavodsk Sportspeople from Brisbane Gymnasts at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Russian emigrants to Australia Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Australia Gymnasts at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Sportswomen from Queensland