África Blesa
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África Blesa (born 14 December 1958) is a Spanish former
rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...
. She was part of the first national rhythmic gymnastics team in Spain and participated in the
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 Madrid in 1975.


Personal life

África was born in 1958 in
Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly ) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea in the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko (, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a population of approxim ...
,
Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea () was a set of Insular Region (Equatorial Guinea), insular and Río Muni, continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 a ...
, where her father worked on a fruit and agricultural farm. In 1968 she moved to
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with his family. At the Maragall Institute she began to practice educational gymnastics, participating in school championships. He later became interested in rhythmic gymnastics, which he began practicing in 1971. She then moved to Madrid and in 1973 participated as a student in the first course of rhythmic gymnastics coaches and judges, taught by the Italian Egle Abruzzini and the Hungarian Madame Abad.


Career

Blesa was part of the first national rhythmic gymnastics team in Spain, created by the Royal Spanish Gymnastics Federation in 1974. The team's selector was the Bulgarian Ivanka Tchakarova, who had the help of Carmen Algora as a coach. At first they trained in the gym of the National Sports Delegation, where there was no carpet, and later they went to the Moscardó Gymnasium in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. They also held several concentrations before the competitions, such as the ones they had in
Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...
or in
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and
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. In 1974 he participated in the Spain-Italy meeting in Madrid, her first international competition. At the end of April 1975, she participated in the 1st Spanish Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship, held in Madrid. In the same she won the silver medal, behind
Begoña Blasco Begoña Blasco (born 30 April 1960) is a former Spanish rhythmic gymnast. She won the bronze medal with ribbon at the World Championships in Madrid in 1975. That same year she became the first national champion of Spain. Career Blasco was par ...
and tied with María Jésus Alegre In the apparatus finals she won silver with hoop, gold with clubs and ribbon. In May 1975 she participated with Blasco and Alegre in the
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tournament and the Stoudenska Tribouna Cup in Sofia. On November 24, 1975, at the
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 Madrid, she was 9th in the All-Around and 4th with ribbon. The other Spanish representatives in the World Cup were Begoña Blasco, Africa Blesa and the Spanish group. Although the start of the competition was initially scheduled for November 20, it had to be delayed due to the death of
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
. In an unofficial European Championships held in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in April 1976 attended by the individual team, she was 9th. In May she went back with the rest of the individuals to the Stoudenska Tribouna Cup in Sofia, where she finished 16th. In the II Spanish Championship, again in Madrid that year, she won the bronze medal in the All-Around, gold with hoop, silver with rope and ribbon, and bronze with ball. That year she participated with her teammates in an exhibition at the opening of the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...
in
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1976. In May 1977 she returned to the Stoudenska Tribouna Cup in Sofia, where she was 7th in All-Around. In December 1977 she was 4th in the All-Around at nationals in Gijón, winning bronze with hoop, 5th with ball and 4th with rope. In 1977 she began to study Physical Education at INEF in Madrid, graduating in 1982. In 1984, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted her a travel bag to move to the prestigious dance company
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024) 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ...
in
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.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blesa, Africa 1958 births 20th-century Spanish sportswomen Gymnasts from Madrid Living people Spanish rhythmic gymnasts Sportspeople from Malabo Technical University of Madrid alumni