Mélanie Johanna de Jesus dos Santos (born 5 March 2000)
is a French
artistic gymnast
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...
. She is the
2019 European all-around champion, a two time European champion on the
floor exercise
In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
(
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
), and the
2021 European champion on the
balance beam
The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
. She is also the 2018 European silver medalist with the French team, the 2019 European silver medalist on the balance beam, and the
2017 European bronze medalist in the all-around. She represented
France at the 2020 Summer Olympics
France 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. French athletes have appeared in ever ...
where she placed sixth with the team and on the uneven bars and eleventh in the all-around. She is the 2017, 2018, and 2019 French all-around champion, and she won the
Longines Prize for Elegance
The Longines Prize for Elegance is an award given by Longines to a male and female currently at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The winners receive a trophy, a cheque, and a Longines watc ...
in 2019.
Personal life
De Jesus dos Santos was born in
Schœlcher, Martinique. Her father is Portuguese and her mother is Martinican. She has two half-sisters who live in Portugal with their father. She began gymnastics at age five at a club in
La Trinité. She moved to
Saint-Etienne in mainland France in 2013 to join the
French national team and to train with Eric and Monique Hagard. She speaks French, English and
Martinican Creole
Antillean Creole (Antillean French Creole, Kreyol, Kwéyòl, Patois) is a French-based creole that is primarily spoken in the Lesser Antilles. Its grammar and vocabulary include elements of Carib, English, and African languages.
Antillean Creol ...
.
Junior career
At the 2015 French Championships, de Jesus dos Santos placed second in the all-around behind
Lorette Charpy
Lorette Eugenie Adrienne Margue Charpy (born December 3, 2001) is a French artistic gymnast. She was part of the team that won silver at the 2018 European Championships and individually she is the 2019 European Games all-around silver medalist a ...
. She also finished fifth on the
uneven bars
The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
and floor exercise. She helped the French team finish fourth at the 2015 FIT Challenge, and she also placed fourth in the all-around. During the qualification round of the
2015 European Youth Olympic Festival, she
tore her ACL while performing a double twisting
Yurchenko Yurchenko is a Ukrainian patronymic surname that comes from the name Yuriy. It may refer to:
* David Yurchenko (born 1986), Russian-Armenian footballer
* Denys Yurchenko (born 1978), Ukrainian pole vaulter
* Ihor Yurchenko (born 1960), Soviet a ...
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
. Due to the injury, she was unable to compete for several months.
Senior career
2016
De Jesus dos Santos returned to competition in June at the French National Championships in
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
, placing fourth in the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise.
She was not selected for France's 2016 Olympic team. In July, she helped France win a dual meet against Romania, and she won the all-around gold medal. At the Joaquim Blume Memorial in November, she won the silver medal in the all-around behind Belgium's
Nina Derwael
Nina Derwael ( or ; born 26 March 2000) is a Belgian artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (2018, 2019), and a two-time European champion (2017, 2018) on the uneven bars. She is the 2019 European Games ...
. She ended her season at the Élite Gym Massilia where she won the balance beam gold medal, the team silver medal, and the all-around bronze medal, and placed fourth on the uneven bars.
2017
In March, de Jesus dos Santos competed in the
American Cup
The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...
, where she won the bronze medal behind
Ragan Smith
Ragan Elizabeth Smith (born August 8, 2000) is an American collegiate gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US National Team (2014–2019). She is the 2017 United States national all-around champion and was an alternate for the 2016 Olymp ...
and
Asuka Teramoto
is a Japanese gymnast.
Teramoto was born in Komaki, Aichi. Her first major international senior competition was the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. In the team all-around finals, she contributed on vaulting, uneven ...
. She became the second French gymnast to medal at the American Cup after
Elvire Teza
Elvire Teza (born March 29, 1981) is a retired French gymnast who competed at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. She was the French National Champion in gymnastics in 1997, 1999 and 2000.
Career
Born on the island of Reunion, Teza trained in Marseille ...
won the gold medal in 1997. She then competed at the
City of Jesolo Trophy The City of Jesolo Trophy is an annual women's gymnastics competition held in Jesolo, Italy. There are competitions for the senior division and junior division. The United States won the senior team competition every year from 2010 to 2017. where she placed fourth with the team and on the balance beam, eighth on the uneven bars, and ninth in the all-around.
At the
2017 European Championships in
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, de Jesus dos Santos qualified for two finals: the all-around and uneven bars. She finished third in the all-around behind
Ellie Downie
Elissa Rebecca "Ellie" Downie (born 20 July 1999) is a retired artistic gymnast who has represented Great Britain. She is the all-around 2017 European gymnastics champion, the first gymnast to win a major all-around title for Great Britain.
T ...
of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Zsófia Kovács of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. She was the first French gymnast to win an all-around medal at the European Championships since
Marine Debauve in 2005.
De Jesus dos Santos became the French all-around champion, beating reigning champion
Marine Boyer
Marine Clémence Boyer (, born 22 May 2000) is a French female artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 Mediterranean Games champion, the 2016 European silver medalist and the 2018 European bronze medalist on the balance beam. She is also the 2018 Eu ...
by 1.400 points with a total score of 55.450. She also won a silver medal on the balance beam. She then won the silver medal on the uneven bars at the
Paris World Challenge Cup. At the
2017 World Championships in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, she finished fifth in the all-around. After the World Championships, she competed at the Élite Gym Massilia where she won gold medals with the team and on the uneven bars. She also won the silver medal in the all-around behind
Angelina Simakova
Angelina Alekseevna Simakova (russian: Ангелина Алексеевна Симакова, born 26 August 2002) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She resides in Obninsk, Russia, and is coached by Irina Kolobova. She is the 2019 Russian ...
and placed fourth on the floor exercise. Her final competition of the season was the Toyota International where she won the uneven bars gold medal and the balance beam silver medal behind
Sanne Wevers
Sanne Wevers (born 17 September 1991) is a Dutch artistic gymnast. She is the 2016 Olympic and 2018 European champion on the balance beam and was the first Dutch female gymnast to become an Olympic champion on an individual event. She is also ...
.
2018
At the
Doha World Cup, de Jesus dos Santos won the bronze medal on the uneven bars and the gold medal on the balance beam. She then won the bronze medal in the all-around at the Tokyo World Cup behind
Mai Murakami and
Trinity Thomas
Trinity Lemyra Thomas (born April 7, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a four-time National Team member (2016–20). She was a member of the gold-medal winning team at the 2018 Pan American Gymnastics Championships, where she also won si ...
. In May, she received three gold medals at the French Championships in the all-around, uneven bars, and floor exercise. She defended her all-around title at the French Championships and also won gold medals on the uneven bars and the floor exercise. She also won the all-around gold medal at the Sainté Gym Cup and helped France win over Germany and Switzerland.
In August, de Jesus dos Santos competed at the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
alongside
Juliette Bossu
Juliette Bossu is a French retired gymnast.
In 2015 Bossu competed in the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Tbilisi. Bossu a two time gold medalist at the 2016 and 2017 French Gymnastics Championships appeared at four national ch ...
,
Lorette Charpy
Lorette Eugenie Adrienne Margue Charpy (born December 3, 2001) is a French artistic gymnast. She was part of the team that won silver at the 2018 European Championships and individually she is the 2019 European Games all-around silver medalist a ...
,
Marine Boyer
Marine Clémence Boyer (, born 22 May 2000) is a French female artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 Mediterranean Games champion, the 2016 European silver medalist and the 2018 European bronze medalist on the balance beam. She is also the 2018 Eu ...
,
Coline Devillard
Coline Devillard (born 9 October 2000) is a French artistic gymnast. Devillard is the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2017 and 2023 European champion, and the 2019 European silver medalist on vault. She was the first French female gymnast to w ...
, and they finished first in the qualification round. The French team won the silver medal in the team final, behind Russia. De Jesus dos Santos qualified for two event finals, finishing in sixth place on balance beam and winning gold on floor exercise. She became the third French gymnast to win the
floor exercise title at the European Championships after
Ludivine Furnon in 2000 and
Isabelle Séverino in 2005.
At the Paris World Challenge Cup, de Jesus dos Santos won the gold medal on floor exercise. She was selected to compete at 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, ...
alongside Juliette Bossu, Lorette Charpy, Marine Boyer, and
Louise Vanhille. The team qualified into the team final for the first time at a major international competition since the
2008 Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. The team ultimately finished fifth in the team final, their best finish at the
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held in 1903, exclusively for male gymnas ...
since 1997. Individually, de Jesus dos Santos qualified for the all-around and floor exercise finals and finished sixth in both. After the World Championships, she competed at the Swiss Cup on a mixed team with
Julien Gobaux
Julien Jean-Marc Gilbert Gobaux (born 11 December 1990) is a French male artistic gymnast and a member of the national team. He participated at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanjing, China, and qualified for the 2016 Summer O ...
, and they finished ninth.
2019
De Jesus dos Santos competed at the EnBW DTB-Pokal Team Challenge in Stuttgart where France placed fourth in the team final. She was selected to compete at the
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
alongside
Marine Boyer
Marine Clémence Boyer (, born 22 May 2000) is a French female artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 Mediterranean Games champion, the 2016 European silver medalist and the 2018 European bronze medalist on the balance beam. She is also the 2018 Eu ...
,
Lorette Charpy
Lorette Eugenie Adrienne Margue Charpy (born December 3, 2001) is a French artistic gymnast. She was part of the team that won silver at the 2018 European Championships and individually she is the 2019 European Games all-around silver medalist a ...
, and
Coline Devillard
Coline Devillard (born 9 October 2000) is a French artistic gymnast. Devillard is the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2017 and 2023 European champion, and the 2019 European silver medalist on vault. She was the first French female gymnast to w ...
. She won the all-around gold medal ahead of the 2017 European Champion
Ellie Downie
Elissa Rebecca "Ellie" Downie (born 20 July 1999) is a retired artistic gymnast who has represented Great Britain. She is the all-around 2017 European gymnastics champion, the first gymnast to win a major all-around title for Great Britain.
T ...
. In the event finals, she successfully defended her floor exercise title, won silver on balance beam behind
Alice Kinsella
Alice Nicole Kinsella (born 13 March 2001) is an Irish-English artistic gymnast and member of the British national gymnastics team. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event, and was par ...
of Great Britain, and finished seventh on uneven bars. This made her the most decorated female gymnast of the championships, tied with
Angelina Melnikova
Angelina Romanovna Melnikova ( rus, Ангели́на Рома́новна Ме́льникова, , ɐnɡʲɪˈlʲinə ˈmʲelʲnʲɪkəvə; born 18 July 2000) is a Russian artistic gymnast. With eleven Olympic and World medals, she is the jo ...
of Russia. She was the first French gymnast to ever win three medals at a single European Championships.
In June, de Jesus dos Santos won her third consecutive French all-around title, and she won the uneven bars and floor exercise titles. On 3 September, she was named to the team to compete at 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
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
alongside
Lorette Charpy
Lorette Eugenie Adrienne Margue Charpy (born December 3, 2001) is a French artistic gymnast. She was part of the team that won silver at the 2018 European Championships and individually she is the 2019 European Games all-around silver medalist a ...
,
Marine Boyer
Marine Clémence Boyer (, born 22 May 2000) is a French female artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 Mediterranean Games champion, the 2016 European silver medalist and the 2018 European bronze medalist on the balance beam. She is also the 2018 Eu ...
,
Coline Devillard
Coline Devillard (born 9 October 2000) is a French artistic gymnast. Devillard is the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2017 and 2023 European champion, and the 2019 European silver medalist on vault. She was the first French female gymnast to w ...
, and
Aline Friess. Later that month she competed at the
Paris Challenge Cup where she won gold on uneven bars and placed seventh on balance beam. Then during the
qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
round at the World Championships, she led the French team to qualify to the team final in fourth place behind the United States, China, and Russia. Individually, she qualified to the all-around final in third place behind
Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
and
Sunisa Lee
Sunisa "Suni" Lee (born Sunisa Phabsomphou; March 9, 2003) is a Hmong American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Champi ...
of the United States, the balance beam final in sixth place, and the floor exercise final in fifth place. In the team final, de Jesus dos Santos contributed an all-around score of 55.498 to help France finish in fifth place. This result
qualified France for a team spot at the 2020 Olympic Games. In the all-around final, she fell off the uneven bars twice and finished all the way down in twentieth place. In event finals, she still finished off the podium, placing fifth on beam and fifth again on floor. She was awarded the
Longines Prize for Elegance
The Longines Prize for Elegance is an award given by Longines to a male and female currently at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The winners receive a trophy, a cheque, and a Longines watc ...
alongside American
Sam Mikulak
Samuel Anthony Mikulak (born October 13, 1992) is a retired American artistic gymnast. He is a six-time U.S. national all-around champion (2013–2016, 2018–2019), the 2018 World bronze medalist on high bar, and a three-time Olympian (2012, 2 ...
.
2020–21
In February, it was announced that de Jesus dos Santos would represent France at the
2020 Tokyo World Cup. However, the event was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
. She did not compete in any international competitions in 2020.
De Jesus dos Santos competed at the
2021 European Championships in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. During the qualification round, she only competed on the uneven bars, where she fell, and the balance beam, where she qualified to the event final. During the event finals, she won gold on the balance beam, becoming the first French
European Champion on the apparatus. Then at the FIT Challenge, she helped France win the team gold medal, and she won the all-around gold medal and the uneven bars silver medal behind
Nina Derwael
Nina Derwael ( or ; born 26 March 2000) is a Belgian artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (2018, 2019), and a two-time European champion (2017, 2018) on the uneven bars. She is the 2019 European Games ...
.
On 14 June, de Jesus dos Santos was selected to represent
France at the 2020 Summer Olympics
France 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. French athletes have appeared in ever ...
alongside
Marine Boyer
Marine Clémence Boyer (, born 22 May 2000) is a French female artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 Mediterranean Games champion, the 2016 European silver medalist and the 2018 European bronze medalist on the balance beam. She is also the 2018 Eu ...
,
Aline Friess, and
Carolann Héduit. At the Olympics, de Jesus dos Santos helped France qualify to
the team final where they finished sixth. She also placed eleventh in
the all-around final with a total score of 53.698. De Jesus dos Santos was initially the first reserve for
the uneven bars final but was called up to compete in the final after
Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
withdrew. She finished sixth in the final with a score of 14.033.
Following the Olympics, de Jesus dos Santos joined the cast of Biles' ''
Gold Over America Tour''.
2022
In April, de Jesus dos Santos moved to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
to train at the
World Champions Centre, the same gym as
Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
, under coaches
Cecile and
Laurent Landi. In October de Jesus dos Santos was named to the team to compete at 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 Liverpool alongside
Marine Boyer
Marine Clémence Boyer (, born 22 May 2000) is a French female artistic gymnast. She is the 2018 Mediterranean Games champion, the 2016 European silver medalist and the 2018 European bronze medalist on the balance beam. She is also the 2018 Eu ...
,
Coline Devillard
Coline Devillard (born 9 October 2000) is a French artistic gymnast. Devillard is the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2017 and 2023 European champion, and the 2019 European silver medalist on vault. She was the first French female gymnast to w ...
,
Aline Friess, and
Carolann Héduit.
Competitive History
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus dos santos, Melanie de
2000 births
Living people
French female artistic gymnasts
European champions in gymnastics
Martiniquais sportswomen
French people of Portuguese descent
Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Olympic gymnasts of France