Alexandra Michel Orlando (born January 19, 1987) is a retired

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 represented Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.

Biography

Orlando was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and attended

Havergal College Havergal College is an independent day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitaria ...

. She trained at the Ritmika RG Club under Mimi Masleva, a native of Bulgaria. Orlando won every rhythmic gymnastics event at the Canadian National Championships in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Orlando swept the individual event finals at the Elite Canada rhythmic gymnastics competition in 2007 and also won the all around crown. At the world championships in September, she finished ninth in the all-around competition and qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing. She however only placed 18th in Beijing. She won all six rhythmic gymnastics events included as part of the

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

program at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

.Sportal (2006)
Gymnastics: Six gold for Orlando
Retrieved March 26, 2006. She joined Graham Smith ( 1978,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

), Susie O'Neill (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

) and

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...

( 2002,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

) as the only competitors to win six gold medals at a single

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. Orlando currently studies commerce at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. She is the subject of the book ''Alexandra Orlando: In Pursuit Of Victory'' (Toronto: BookLand Press, 2006) by Martin Avery. Orlando is of Italian descent; her father is Sicilian and mother Salerno. She stated in an interview, "I went last summer for vacations for two weeks. I have many Italian relatives, my family is from the South. My mother is from Salerno, and my father is Sicilian. They all live there still, just my family lives in Canada."

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orlando, Alexandra 1987 births Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian rhythmic gymnasts Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Gymnasts at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Gymnasts at the 2003 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2007 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic gymnasts of Canada Gymnasts from Toronto Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics Havergal College alumni Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 20th-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian women