The Most Famous

GYMNASTS from Spain

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This page contains a list of the greatest Spanish Gymnasts. The pantheon dataset contains 370 Gymnasts, 4 of which were born in Spain. This makes Spain the birth place of the 17th most number of Gymnasts behind Netherlands, and France.

Top 9

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Spanish Gymnasts of all time. This list of famous Spanish Gymnasts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Almudena Cid

1. Almudena Cid (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 34.33, Almudena Cid is the most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Almudena Cid Tostado (born 15 June 1980 in Vitoria, País Vasco, Spain) is a former Spanish individual rhythmic gymnast who competed on the Spanish national team. She is the only rhythmic gymnast who has competed in four Olympic finals. She became the first Spanish gymnast in history to have competed in two Olympic finals, Atlanta and Sydney, and she is the only rhythmic gymnast to make the finals at four consecutive Olympic Games: Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. She also won the gold medal in the XVth Mediterranean Games Almería 2005 and she has been awarded many other national and international recognitions; among others, the gold medal in the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 2009, which is a Spanish civil Order of Merit intended to recognise yearly activities in the fields of sport and physical education. In June 2001, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique announced that Almudena's "body-apparatus relationship" with the ball was approved by the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee. As the code describes the Cid Tostado element:Starting position: on one knee, leg forward, ball held with the foot. large roll of the ball on both legs. Originality 0.10 (§ 2.6.5.)After a career lasting 21 years, she retired from rhythmic gymnastics on 23 August 2008. Currently, she is working as a sports commentator for rhythmic gymnastics competitions. Since 2014, she has also been writing Olympia, a children's collection of stories in which she talks about her sporting life.

Photo of Gervasio Deferr

2. Gervasio Deferr (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 31.88, Gervasio Deferr is the 2nd most famous Spanish Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Gervasio Deferr Ángel (born 7 November 1980) is a retired gymnast from Spain who competed at three Olympic Games. He became the Olympic champion in men's vault at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney (scored 9.712) and repeated the feat at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens (scoring 9.737 average — vault 1 scored 9.687; vault 2 scored 9.787). Each of his ankles show a tattoo with the logo of one of these two Olympic Games. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he won the silver medal on the floor exercise with a score of 15.775. Deferr started in gymnastics at the age of five. He considered floor exercise as his favorite event and has had some success in major competitions. He finished in second place with the silver medal on floor at the 1999 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships with a score of 9.750 points, which he repeated eight years later with another silver medal at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, as well as many medals in the same apparatus in the Gymnastics World Cup, between them: World Cup 2000 in Ljubljana, Slovenia — 9.688 points (silver), or World Cup 2001 in Paris, France — 9.625 points (gold). He also finished second at the 2002 World Championships on floor exercise but the medal was taken away after he tested positive for marijuana. In January 2011, Deferr announced his retirement. A curious aspect of Deferr's personality is his stating that he considers sleeping a hobby. He also has an iguana as a pet and likes Japanese and Korean cultures. He even appeared on the Japanese game show Sasuke (Ninja Warrior in the United States), but failed to complete the first stage, being unable to make it over the 15 foot wall.

Photo of Carolina Pascual

3. Carolina Pascual (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 30.30, Carolina Pascual is the 3rd most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Carolina Pascual Gracia (born 17 June 1976 in Orihuela, Alicante) is a former Spanish Individual Rhythmic Gymnast. She is the 1992 Olympics silver medalist and the 1993 European all-around bronze medalist.

Photo of Estela Giménez

4. Estela Giménez (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 29.04, Estela Giménez is the 4th most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Estela Giménez Cid (born 29 March 1979 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish former rhythmic gymnast who won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the group all-around event. The team was formed by Giménez, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Lorena Guréndez, Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania Lamarca. She won the world championship twice in the three balls/two ribbons discipline. She was featured on the cover of the Your Shape game for Wii. She was the host of Insert Coin on AXN Spain from 2008 to 2012.

Photo of Tania Lamarca

5. Tania Lamarca (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 27.59, Tania Lamarca is the 5th most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Tania Lamarca Celada (born 30 April 1980 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) is a former Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic medallist. She won a gold medal with the Spanish group at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The team was formed by Tania, Estela Giménez, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Lorena Guréndez and Estíbaliz Martínez. Also she was two times world champion in 3 balls/2 ribbons. In 1994, she was the Spanish individual junior champion with Club Aurrera. In 1995, she became part of the Spain national gymnastics team in the team competitions. Since then, all the medals she obtained in official competitions were obtained as a member of the Spain's team. Her first important competition was the European Championship in Prague, in which she was proclaimed sub-champion of Europe in 3 balls and 2 ribbons, besides taking another two bronze medals in the general competition and in the final of 5 rings. That same year she was proclaimed world champion in the modality of 3 balls and 2 ribbons in the World Championship in Vienna. In addition to this gold medal, she won two silver medals in the general competition and in the final of 5 hoops. In 1996, she won his second world title in the final of 3 balls and 2 ribbons at the World Championship in Budapest, where he also won the silver medal in the general competition. That year she achieved the greatest success of her sports career by becoming Olympic champion in the rhythmic gymnastics team modality in the Atlanta Olympic Games, together with her teammates Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Estela Giménez, Lorena Guréndez and Estíbaliz Martínez. After this achievement, the group was baptized by the media as the Golden Girls. In 1997, she was runner-up in Europe in 5 balls and bronze in 3 balls and 2 ribbons in the European Championship in Patras. After her retirement, she obtained the title of National Rhythmic Gymnastics Coach, being a coach at school level in Vitoria, Zaragoza and Escarrilla, as well as teaching sports such as snowboarding for 5 years at the Aramón Formigal station, where she also worked as an administrator. In 2008, she published his autobiography, Tears for a Medal, written with the journalist Cristina Gallo. In 2013, the documentary Las Niñas de Oro (The Golden Girls), directed by Carlos Beltrán, was released on YouTube. It tells the story of the Olympic champion team in Atlanta through interviews with the gymnasts themselves, and in 2016 she attended the 20th Anniversary Gala of the gold medal in Atlanta '96 in Badajoz with the rest of the team. She has received several awards, including the Olympic Order from the Spanish Olympic Committee (1996), the Gold Plaque of the Royal Order of Sports Merit (1996), the Baron de Güell Cup at the National Sports Awards (1997), and the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit (2015). In 2020, she lives in Escarrilla, teaches annually at the Tania Lamarca Rhythmic Gymnastics Campus, gives numerous lectures on the knowledge and values that her sports experience has brought her, and is a member of the Sport & Play sports coaching team. In 2016, she was a candidate for the presidency of the Alava Gymnastics Federation, and for 2017 she presented her sportswear line.

Photo of Lorena Guréndez

6. Lorena Guréndez (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 26.00, Lorena Guréndez is the 6th most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Lorena Guréndez García (born 7 May 1981 in Vitoria) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic Champion. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and won a gold medal with the Spanish group. The team was formed by Lorena, Estela Giménez, Marta Baldó, Nuria Cabanillas, Estíbaliz Martínez and Tania Lamarca. Also, she was twice world champion: one in 3 balls/2 ribbons and other in 3 ribbons/2 hoops. In 1995, she was the Spanish junior champion, individually and in teams with the Oskitxo Club. In 1996, she became part of the Spanish national rhythmic gymnastics team in the ensemble modality. Since then, all medals obtained in official competitions were obtained as a member of the Spanish ensemble. In 1996, she won her first world title in the final of three balls and two ribbons at the World Championship in Budapest, where she also won silver in the general competition. 1997, she was runner-up in Europe in 5 balls and bronze in 3 balls and 2 ribbons in the European Championship in Patras. In 1998, she won her second world title at the World Championship in Seville, this time in 3 ribbons and 2 rings, as well as winning silver in the general competition. In the European Championship of Budapest held in 1999 he was bronze medal in the competition of 3 ribbons and 2 rings. 2000, she participated in her second Olympic Games, finishing in tenth position in the team competition in Sydney 2000. In 2013, the documentary Las Niñas de Oro (The Golden Girls) premiered on YouTube. It tells the story of the Olympic champion team in Atlanta through interviews with the gymnasts themselves, and in 2016, she attended the 20th Anniversary Gala of the Gold Medal in Atlanta '96 in Badajoz with the rest of the team. She has received several awards, including the Olympic Order from the Spanish Olympic Committee (1996), the Gold Plaque of the Royal Order of Sports Merit (1996), the Baron de Güell Cup at the National Sports Awards (1997), and the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit (2015). She is married to the artistic gymnast José Luis Fernández. Lorena is the youngest Spanish athlete to win an Olympic medal, doing so at the age of 15 years and 87 days.

Photo of Néstor Abad

7. Néstor Abad (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 0.00, Néstor Abad is the 7th most famous Spanish Gymnast.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Néstor Abad Sanjuan (born 29 March 1993) is a Spanish male artistic gymnast. He represented Spain at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Olympics Games. Additionally he competed at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010 where he won three medals.

Photo of Marina González

8. Marina González (b. 2002)

With an HPI of 0.00, Marina González is the 8th most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Marina González Lara (born 15 December 2002) is a Spanish artistic gymnast and social media personality. She represented Spain at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She won the gold medal on the floor exercise at the 2019 Szombathely World Challenge Cup. She competed at the 2019 World Championships and helped Spain qualify as a full team for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Photo of Alba Petisco

9. Alba Petisco (b. 2003)

With an HPI of 0.00, Alba Petisco is the 9th most famous Spanish Gymnast.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Alba Petisco de San Fulgencio (born 1 February 2003) is a Spanish artistic gymnast. She represented Spain at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games as well as the 2018 Youth Olympics where she was part of the Mixed NOC team who won gold in the mixed multi-discipline team competition. She won a bronze medal with the Spanish team at the 2022 Mediterranean Games. Additionally, she is the 2020 and 2022 Spanish all-around champion.

People

Pantheon has 9 people classified as Spanish gymnasts born between 1976 and 2003. Of these 9, 9 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Spanish gymnasts include Almudena Cid, Gervasio Deferr, and Carolina Pascual. As of April 2024, 5 new Spanish gymnasts have been added to Pantheon including Carolina Pascual, Estela Giménez, and Néstor Abad.

Living Spanish Gymnasts

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Newly Added Spanish Gymnasts (2024)

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