Salma Solaun | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Country represented | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain | March 2, 2005|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Level | International Elite | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Beti-Ritmica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach(es) | Alejandra Quereda, Ana María Pelaz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former coach(es) | Marga Armas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Salma Solaun (born March 2 2005) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast[1] who competed at the 2019 Junior World Rhythmic Gymnastic championships, where she won a bronze medal.[2] She also won a silver medal at the 2022 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final.
Solaun took up gymnastics at age three because she was restless, so her parents signed her up for a rhythmic gymnastics class. She also tried swimming and skating, but in the end she chose rhythmic gymnastics. Salma now says that "rhythmic gymnastics is part of my life. I could not see myself without it". Her dream is to compete at the Olympic Games, like her idols Almudena Cid and Ganna Rizatdinova.[3]
In 2018 Solaun was integrated in the national team while competing for Beti Aurrera.[4] She then started taking part in international tournaments representing Spain.[5] In June 2019, after winning the junior Spanish championships,[6] Salma was selected for the Junior World Championships in Moscow, Russia,[7] where she made the ribbon final in the end winning an historical bronze, the first individual medal for Spain since 1993.[8]
In 2020 Solaun was included in the senior national team, she won medals in competitions, such as the Moscow Grand Prix in February.[9] In 2021 she was among the contenders to represent Spain at the 2021 World Championship,[10] she made the team but an injury to her left knee prevented her from competing and was replaced by her teammate Teresa Gorospe.[11] She underwent surgery on the problem in November 2021 and was away from the sport for five months.[12] In 2022 Solaun decided to switch to the group making her debut in 2022 at the World Cup in Sofia, they were 5th in the All-Around and 5 hoops and 6th with 3 ribbons + 2 balls.[13] [14] In Baku they were 12th in the All-Around and therefore didn't qualify for event finals.[15] A month later in Pamplona they won bronze in the All-Around and silver with 5 hoops.[16][17] In Portimão they won 3 silver medals.[18] They won All-Around bronze and 5 hoops and silver with 3 ribbons + 2 balls in Cluj-Napoca.[19] Salma took part, with Ana Arnau, Inés Bergua, Valeria Márquez, Mireia Martínez and Patricia Pérez in the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, winning silver in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final,[20] and the World Championshipsin Sofia[21] where the Spanish group won three bronze medals: All-Around (earning them a spot for the 2024 Olympics), 5 hoops, and team.[22][23][24][25]