Ana Pérez Campos (born 14 December 1997)[1] is a Spanish artistic gymnast. She won all-around and team bronze medals at the 2018 Mediterranean Games. She represented Spain at 2016 and 2024 Olympic Games. She is a five-time Spanish national all-around champion (2015, 2017-2019, 2023) and a two-time World all-around finalist (2017, 2018).
Career
Pérez followed her brother into gymnastics at the Hytasa Gymnastics Club when she was five years old. Between 2004 and 2008, she fractured her arm five times and had surgery three times.[2] In 2014, she received a scholarship to train at the High Performance Center in Madrid.[3]
2014
Pérez began the season at the Spanish Cup, finishing sixth in the all-around.[4] She made her international debut at the European Championships and contributed a vault score of 13.833 toward Spain's sixth-place finish.[5] At the Novara Cup, she helped the Spanish team win the silver medal behind Italy.[6] She competed at the World Championships where the Spanish team finished 16th in the qualification round.[7]
2015
Pérez won the bronze medal on the balance beam at the 2015 Cottbus World Cup.[8] She then qualified for the all-around final at the European Championships and finished 14th.[9] At the FIT Challenge, she helped the Spanish team finish sixth.[10] Then at the European Games, she helped the Spanish team place 12th.[11] At the Spanish Championships, she won her first national all-around title.[12] She then competed with the Spanish team at a friendly meet where they lost to France.[13] At the Novara Cup, the Spanish team finished fourth against Romania, Italy, and Belgium.[14] She then competed at the World Championships, and the Spanish team placed 17th.[15] She finished the season at the Mexican Open and placed sixth in the all-around.[16]
2016
Pérez began the season at the Belgium Friendly and placed fifth in the all-around.[17] She then competed at the Olympic Test Event and placed 18th in the all-around with a total score of 54.199.[18] She helped Spain defeat Romania at a friendly meet and had the highest all-around score of the competition.[19] She then won the all-around gold medal by nearly three points at the Spanish Cup.[20] At the European Championships, the Spanish team finished 10th in the qualification round.[21] She finished third in the all-around at the Spanish Championships.[22]
Spain had to choose between Pérez and Claudia Colom for their one Olympic spot, and ultimately, Pérez was chosen for the Olympic Games.[23][24] At the Olympic Games, she finished 36th in the all-around during the qualification round with a total score of 54.299, less than one point out of qualifying for the all-around final.[25]
2017
Pérez began the season at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge and competed on all four events to help the Spanish team win the bronze medal.[26] At the Spanish Cup, she won the all-around silver medal behind Nora Fernández.[27] She finished fourth in the all-around at the London World Cup.[28] She then qualified for the all-around final at the European Championships and placed 13th.[29] At the FIT Challenge, she finished fourth in the all-around and helped Spain place fourth in the team final.[30] She then won her second national all-around title.[31]
At the Dutch Invitational, Pérez won silver medals in the all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam and a bronze medal on floor exercise.[32] Then at the Paris World Challenge Cup, she finished sixth on the floor exercise.[33] She then competed at the World Championships and qualified for the all-around final where she finished 20th.[34]
2018
Pérez had surgery on her left wrist at the beginning of the year.[35] She returned to competition at the Mediterranean Games and won bronze with the Spanish team. She also won the all-around bronze medal behind Lara Mori and Louise Vanhille.[36] In the event final, she finished fifth on the uneven bars and fourth on the balance beam.[37] Then at the Spanish Championships, she won her third all-around title.[38] At the European Championships, she helped Spain qualify for the team final where they finished seventh.[39] She finished fourth on uneven bars and fifth on floor exercise at the Paris World Challenge Cup.[40] At the World Championships, she qualified for the all-around final and finished 23rd.[41] In December, she had surgery in her right wrist.[2]
2019
Pérez returned to competition at the FIT Challenge and helped the Spanish team finish fifth.[42] She then successfully defended her national all-around title.[43] She helped Spain win the silver medal at the 2nd Heerenveen Friendly behind the Netherlands.[44] At the 2019 World Championships, she competed with teammates Cintia Rodríguez, Roxana Popa, Marina González, and Alba Petisco. They finished twelfth as a team during qualifications, and although they did not qualify for the team final, they qualified a team to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, giving Spain its first team berth at the Olympic Games since 2004.[45][46]
At the start of 2021, Pérez severely injured both of her ankles and had two surgeries.[50][51] She missed two years of competition and considered retirement.[2][52][53]
Pérez returned to competition at the 2023 2nd Spanish League, competing only on bars and contributing to her team's third-place finish.[54] She returned on all four events at the City of Jesolo Trophy and helped Spain win the bronze medal. She also qualified for the uneven bars final and finished fourth.[55] Then at the European Championships, she competed on three events and helped the Spanish team place eighth.[56] At the Tel Aviv World Challenge Cup, she won the silver medal on the balance beam.[57] She had the highest all-around total at the Spanish League Final, helping her club finish third.[58] Then at the Spanish Championships, she won her fifth national all-around title.[53]
Pérez helped Spain finish second at the 2023 RomGym Trophy behind Romania. In the event finals, she won the gold medal on the balance beam and the silver medal on the uneven bars.[59] She then competed at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp. She helped Spain finish 16th in qualifications; although Spain did not qualify a full team to the 2024 Olympic Games, Pérez earned an individual berth as the highest placing eligible gymnast on balance beam.[60]
