Vanessa Ferrari

Vanessa Ferrari, born on 10 November 1990, is a retired Italian artistic gymnast. She achieved great success in her sport, becoming the 2006 World All-Around Champion. Over the years, she represented Italy in several Summer Olympics, including those in [/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympics], [/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics], [/wiki/2016_Summer_Olympics], and [/wiki/2020_Summer_Olympics].

One of her most notable accomplishments came in 2020 when she won a silver medal on floor exercise. This achievement made her the first Italian to earn an individual Olympic medal in Women's Artistic Gymnastics. It was also a historic moment for the Italian women's team, as it was their first medal since the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Throughout her career, Ferrari collected many medals, including five from World Championships and eight from European Championships. Today, she holds the record as 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 a special award called the Golden Collar for sporting merit from the Italian National Olympic Committee.

Junior career

2004–2005

Vanessa Ferrari began gaining attention when she was 13 years old at the 2004 Junior European Championships. There, she won a silver medal in the all-around competition, scoring 36.525 points, finishing behind Steliana Nistor from Romania. She also helped the Italian team win two bronze medals and earned another bronze medal on the balance beam with a score of 9.175.

In 2005, still competing as a junior, Ferrari continued to shine. She won gold medals in the all-around at the European Youth Olympics in Italy and the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain. At the Mediterranean Games, she also won gold medals on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, as well as a silver medal on the uneven bars.

Senior career

2006–2008

In April, Vanessa Ferrari competed at the 2006 European Championships in Volos, Greece. She helped the Italian team win gold. In October, she competed at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, and won the all-around final.

In April 2007, she competed at the European Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands, winning the all-around final. In September, at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, she won a bronze medal in the all-around final.

Ferrari competed at the 2008 European Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France, helping the Italian team finish fourth.

Beijing Olympics

In August, Ferrari competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. In the all around final, she placed eleventh.

2009–2011

In April 2009, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Milan, Italy. In June, she had surgery and likely missed the 2009 World Championships.

In October 2010, Ferrari competed at the World Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In April 2011, she competed at the European Championships in Berlin, Germany. In October 2011, she competed at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan but was injured and could not compete in the floor final.

2012

In January, Ferrari competed at the London Prepares series in London, United Kingdom, helping the Italian team qualify for the Olympics. In May, she competed at the European Championships in Brussels, Belgium, winning first on floor.

London Olympics

At the end of July, Ferrari competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. In the team final, she helped the Italian team finish seventh. In the all around final, she placed eighth. In the floor final, she tied for third place.

2013–2015

In June 2013, Ferrari competed at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin, winning several medals. At the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won a silver medal on floor exercise.

In 2014, Ferrari competed at several events, including the European Championships where she won gold on floor exercise. At the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China, she helped Italy finish fifth in the team final.

In 2015, she competed in the first two Italian Serie A competitions. In October, she competed at the Novara Cup, where Italy finished second in the team final.

2016

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Ferrari qualified for the individual all-around and floor finals. She finished sixteenth in the all-around final and fourth in the floor final.

In September, she had surgery on her Achilles' tendons but planned to continue training.

2017–2018

Ferrari spent most of 2017 recovering from tendon pain. She competed at the final Italian Serie A in September. During the 2017 World Championships in Montreal, she tore her Achilles' tendon during the floor exercise final.

Ferrari spent 2018 recovering from her injury and announced she would try to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.

2019–2020

Ferrari returned to competition in February 2019 at the Melbourne World Cup, winning gold on floor exercise. She competed at several World Cups, winning medals on floor exercise.

In late January, she was listed on a roster for the 2020 Melbourne World Cup. In March, she competed at the Baku World Cup but event finals were cancelled due to the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Azerbaijan.

2021

Ferrari returned to the all-around at the 3rd Italian Serie A of 2021. In April, she was selected to represent Italy at the European Championships in Basel. She won the bronze medal on floor exercise.

Ferrari competed at the Doha World Cup, earning her spot to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, her fourth Olympic Games. Weeks before the Games, Giorgia Villa was injured and Ferrari replaced her on the team.

Ferrari represented Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The team placed fourth in the team finals. Ferrari qualified first for the floor exercise final and won the silver medal.

2024

Ferrari planned to return to competition in 2024 but suffered a calf injury. On 9 October 2024, she announced her retirement from the sport. In December, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oscar of Brescia Sport.

Ferrari was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2026.

Eponymous skill

Vanessa Ferrari has one special move named after her in the gymnastics rules book.

Competitive history

Floor music