Vanessa Ferrari

Vanessa Ferrari (born 10 November 1990) is a retired Italian artistic gymnast. She was the 2006 World All-Around Champion and competed for Italy at the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal on floor exercise in 2020. In doing so, Ferrari became the first Italian to win an individual Olympic medal in Women's Artistic Gymnastics, and the first medallist for the Italian women's team since the 1928 Summer Olympics. She is a five-time World medallist and eight-time European medallist, and is currently the most decorated Italian gymnast of all time.

Personal life

Vanessa Ferrari was born on 10 November 1990 in Orzinuovi, Brescia. Her mother, Galya Nikolova, is Bulgarian, and her father, Giovanni, is Italian. In 2006, she received the Golden Collar for sporting merit from the Italian National Olympic Committee.

Junior career

2004–2005

Ferrari first rose to prominence as a 13-year-old at the 2004 Junior European Championships where she won the silver medal in the all-around competition with a score of 36.525 behind Steliana Nistor of Romania. She also won two bronze medals with the Italian team and on the balance beam with a score of 9.175.

Still in the junior ranks for 2005, Ferrari turned in more fine performances at the European Youth Olympics in Italy and the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain, winning the all around gold medal at both competitions as well. She also won vault, beam and floor at the latter as well as the silver medal on the uneven bars.