Alessia Maurelli (born 22 August 1996) is an Italian group rhythmic gymnast who captains it from 2016. She is a two-time (2020, 2024) Olympic Group All-around bronze medalist, a three-time (2014, 2018, 2021) World Group All-around silver medalist and five-time European (2014, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024) Group All-around silver medalist.
A member of the national squad since 2014, Maurelli ascended to prominence on the international scene at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she and fellow rhythmic gymnasts Sofia Lodi, Camilla Patriarca, Marta Pagnini, and Martina Centofanti attained a total score of 35.549 on the combination of hoops, ribbons, and clubs for the fourth spot in the final, slipping her team off the podium (and the second place) by nearly two tenths of a point.[1][2][3]
Career
She started practicing rhythmic gymnastics at age 9 in Associazione Ginnastica Estense O. Putinati.
2016 Olympic Cycle
In January 2014 she was recognized by Emanuela Maccarani, who invited her to be part of the National Rhythmic Gymnastics team of Italy.[4] She then moved to Desio and made her international debut at the 2014 European Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, where she and her team took silver medal in Group All-around competition. They also won bronze medal in Group All-around and 3 + 2 Final at the 2014 World Cup Sofia. On September 21–28, she competed at the 2014 World Championships, her first one, which took place in Izmir, Turkey. Her team took silver medal in Group All-around, less than 0.2 point away from gold, was won by Bulgaria. In finals, they placed 5th with 10 Clubs and 4th with 3 Balls + 2 Ribbons.
At the 2017 World Championships in Pesaro, Italy she became World champion in 5 Hoops, missing the podium with the Italian group in the Group All-around competition, finishing in 4th place, just 0.025 points behind Japan.[8]
In 2019, they won bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs final. They finished 5th in Group All-around and 6th in 5 Balls final.
In 2021, the first official post-pandemic competition was World Cup Baku, about 18 months after the last competition, where they won three silver medals (Group All-around, 5 Balls, 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs). Subsequently, at the World Cup in Pesaro, they won 2 gold medals in both apparatus finals. In particular, the score obtained in the 5 Balls final, 46.950, is the highest score ever recorded in the history of rhythmic gymnastics up to that moment.[9] At the European Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, she and her teammates won silver in the Group All-around behind the Russian team, earning the title of European vice-champion again. They also won bronze medal in 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs final.[10][11] She took part in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan that year, together with her teammates Martina Centofanti, Agnese Duranti, Martina Santandrea and Daniela Mogurean. They won a bronze medal, in Women's rhythmic Group All-around.[12]
On December 17, she announced on her Instagram profile that she retires from competitive sport at the age of 28.[14]
Personal life
Alessia is originally from Venaria Reale but born in Rivoli. She moved with her family at the age of 5 to Santa Maria Maddalena, a hamlet in the municipality of Occhiobello, Polesine. Since 2015, she has competed as a member of the Centro Sportivo Aeronautica Militare. In 2022, she published her debut novel, Vola come una Farfalla (Fly Like a Butterfly)[15], followed in 2023 by its sequel, Graffia come una Tigre (Scratch Like a Tiger)[16].
Since 2022 she has been dating an actor Massimo Bertelloni, who proposed to her on August 10, after the awarding ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Group All-around final in Paris.
The Ecstasy of Gold' by Ennio Morricone, Czech National Symphony Orchestra
3 Ribbons + 2 Balls
4th
32.000
6th
31.150
Achievements
Oldest Italian gymnast in the history of rhythmic gymnastics to participate (and to win a medal) in an edition of the Olympic Games (27 years, 11 months and 19 days).
