Milena Baldassarri secured Italy’s second national place for rhythmic gymnastics for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The athlete who hails from Ravenna finished the Individual All-Around qualifier at the World Championships in Valencia, Spain, in 15th place with a score of 94.250. After yesterday’s 32.800 in hoop and 30.700 in ball, today came 30.750 in clubs and 29.150 in ribbon.

This result proved invaluable for claiming one of the Olympic cards reserved for the top 14 athletes. Ahead of her, indeed, three had already obtained their quotas for Paris 2024. Among them was also Italy’s Sofia Raffaeli, who had bagged a nation place last year thanks to her triumph in the overall individual competition in Sofia (Bulgaria).

Baldassarri (photo Simone Ferraro/FGI) made her Olympic debut three years ago in Tokyo, where she managed to make it as high as sixth place in the Individual All-Around. Now she wants to replicate the feat in Paris, where she could become the third Italian gymnast to participate in two editions of the Games, following on from Giulia Staccioli and Irene Germini.