Rut Castillo Galindo (born 16 September 1990) is a Mexican individual

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 ...

. She represented

Mexico at the 2020 Summer Olympics Mexico 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. It was the nation's twenty-fourth appe ...

and became the first Mexican rhythmic gymnast to compete at an Olympic Games. She is the 2021 Pan American all-around champion. At the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

, she won the silver medal in hoop and the bronze medals in the all-around and

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

. She is an eight-time

Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...

champion. She has also competed at nine

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, ...

(

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Castillo was born on 16 September 1990 in

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 ...

. She began rhythmic gymnastics when she was six years old. Her brother,

Job Castillo Job Castillo Galindo (born 1 November 1992) is a Mexican badminton player. He competed at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. He was the bronze medalist at the 2015 Pan American Games in the men's doubles event with his partner Lino Muñ ...

, plays badminton internationally for Mexico, and her sister, Sara Castillo, is a badminton coach.

Career

2005–2009

At the 2005 Pan American Championships, Castillo won the bronze medal in the team event. Then at the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30. Host city *Main host city **Cartagena de Indias *Subsites: **Barranquilla, Colombia ( ...

, she won the gold medal in the team event. Individually, she won the silver medals in the all-around and the

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

, both behind

Cynthia Valdez Cynthia Yazmín Valdez Pérez (born December 11, 1987) is an individual Mexican rhythmic gymnast born in Guadalajara who has won 10 Pan American Games medals—two gold, four silver and four bronze medals. Career She won a bronze medal i ...

, and the bronze medal in the

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

. Then at the

, she won the bronze medal in the all-around behind Lisa Wang and Valdez. In the event finals, she won the silver medal in the hoop behind

Alexandra Orlando Alexandra Michel Orlando (born January 19, 1987) is a retired Canadian rhythmic gymnast. She represented Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games. Biography Orlando was born in Toronto, Ontario and attend ...

, and she won the bronze medal in clubs behind Orlando and Wang. She competed at her first

, finished 60th in the all-around during the qualification round. She also competed in the group event, replacing one of the Mexican gymnasts who got injured at the last minute. At her second World Championships in

, she placed 63rd in the all-around and helped the Mexican team in 28th.

2010

Castillo won the all-around gold medal at the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

. She also won the gold medal in the

Ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...

, and she won the silver medals in the ball, hoop, and rope. Then at the 2010 World Championships, she finished 38th in the all-around, and Mexico finished 18th in the team competition. In December 2010, she won three medals at the 2010 Pan American Championships, team gold, hoop gold, and rope silver. However, she tested positive for

Sibutramine Sibutramine, formerly sold under the brand name Meridia among others, is an appetite suppressant which has been discontinued in many countries. It works as a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor similar to a tricyclic antidepressant. Un ...

, and in March 2011, she received a six-month suspension and was stripped of her medals.

2011–2014

Castillo returned to competition at the 2011 World Championships where she finished 71st in the all-around and 17th with the Mexican team. Then at the 2013 World Championships, she finished 44th in the all-around. She began the 2014 season at the

Pan American Championships A Pan American Championship is a top level international sports competition between athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs in the Americas. Typically these championships are recurring, the most ...

where she won the team bronze medal. Then at the 2014 World Championships, she finished 50th in the all-around and 17th in the team competition. At the

2014 Central American and Caribbean Games The 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games were held November 14–30, 2014 in Veracruz, Mexico.Sport page

, she won gold medals in the ball and hoop and the silver medals in the all-around and hoop, both behind
Cynthia Valdez Cynthia Yazmín Valdez Pérez (born December 11, 1987) is an individual Mexican rhythmic gymnast born in Guadalajara who has won 10 Pan American Games medals—two gold, four silver and four bronze medals. Career She won a bronze medal i ...
.

2015–2017
Castillo was selected to represent Mexico at the 2015 Pan American Games where she finished seventh in the all-around and qualified for all four event finals. She finished fifth in the ball final, fourth in the clubs final, and sixth in the hoop final and the ribbon final. Then at the 2015 World Championships, she finished 57th in the individual all-around and 19th with the Mexican team. This result was not high enough for Castillo to qualify a spot for the 2016 Olympic Games. She then represented Mexico at the 2017 Summer Universiade and finished ninth in the all-around final. She also qualified for
the hoop ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
and the clubs finals where she finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

2018–2019
Castillo began the 2018 season at
Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...
where she won her second all-around title. She also won the gold medal in the clubs and ribbon, and she won the silver medal in the hoop behind teammate Marina Malpica. The gold medal that she won in the clubs final was Mexico's 100th gold medal at the
Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...
. She then competed at the 2018 World Championships where she finished 31st in the all-around and 18th with the Mexican team. Then at the 2018 Pan American Championships in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, she helped the Mexican team win the silver medal behind the United States, and she won the bronze medal in the ball behind Americans
Laura Zeng Laura Yihan Zeng (; ''Zeng Yi-Han''; born October 14, 1999) is an Americans, American former individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, United States at the 2016 and United St ...
and
Nastasya Generalova Nastasya Generalova (born January 19, 2000, in Beverly Hills, California) is an American individual rhythmic gymnast. Personal life Generalova's mother, Olga Generalova, immigrated to the United States from Russia, and her father is African-A ...
. She represented Mexico at the 2019 Pan American Games, finishing tenth in the all-around and seventh in the ribbon final. She then competed 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 ...
and finished 50th in the all-around and 25th with the Mexican team.

2021
At the 2021 Pan American Championships 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 b ...
, Castillo helped the Mexican team win the silver medal behind Brazil. She then won the gold medal in the all-around ahead of
Bárbara Domingos Bárbara de Kassia Godoy Domingos (born ) is a Brazilian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 South American Games All-around Champion. She is the first Brazilian rhythmic gymnast to qualify for All-around final at the World Championship ...
and
Natália Gaudio Natália Azevedo Gaudio (born 18 December 1992) is a Brazilian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 South American Games all-around gold medalist, and the 2019 Pan American Games all-around bronze medalist. Personal life Gaudio speaks ...
and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games. She became the first Mexican rhythmic gymnast to qualify for an 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 ...
, Castillo finished 22nd in the qualification round for the individual all-around.

Personal life
Castillo is openly lesbian. She was one of the two openly LGBTQ+ athletes representing
Mexico at the 2020 Summer Olympics Mexico 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. It was the nation's twenty-fourth appe ...
, and she was the only openly LGBTQ+ rhythmic gymnast at the 2020 Olympics.

References

External links
* * * https://living.alot.com/entertainment/meet-the-lgbtq-athletes-competing-at-the-olympics--19225 {{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Rut 1990 births Living people Mexican rhythmic gymnasts Doping cases in gymnastics Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in gymnastics Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Mexico Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Gymnasts at the 2007 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2015 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics LGBT gymnasts Mexican lesbian sportswomen Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Olympic gymnasts for Mexico 21st-century Mexican women Sportspeople from Guadalajara, Jalisco Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Pan American Championships