Vanessa Ferrari

Vanessa Ferrari
Ferrari in 2013
Personal information
Nickname(s)The Butterfly
The Cannibal
The Lioness
Country represented Italy
Born (1990-11-10) November 10, 1990 (age 33)
Orzinuovi, Brescia
HometownGenivolta, Cremona
Height146 cm (4 ft 9 in)
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior international elite
Years on national team2002–Present (ITA)
ClubBrixia Brescia
Centro Sportivo Esercito
Head coach(es)Enrico Casella
MusicNessun dorma (2006–2009; 2016)
Así se baila el tango (2010)
Triangle Tango (2011–2012)
Angel and Devil (2012)
Tangled Up (2013–2014)
Con te partirò (2021)
Eponymous skillsFloor Exercise
Medal record
Representing  Italy
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
World Championships 1 1 3
European Championships 4 2 2
Mediterranean Games 8 1 1
Total 13 5 6
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Floor Exercise
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aarhus All-Around
Silver medal – second place 2013 Antwerp Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Aarhus Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Aarhus Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Stuttgart All-Around
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Volos Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Amsterdam All-Around
Gold medal – first place 2007 Amsterdam Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 2014 Sofia Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2006 Volos Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2009 Milan Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Brussels Team
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Basel Floor Exercise
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2005 Almería Team
Gold medal – first place 2005 Almería All-Around
Gold medal – first place 2005 Almería Vault
Gold medal – first place 2005 Almería Balance Beam
Gold medal – first place 2005 Almería Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 2013 Mersin Team
Gold medal – first place 2013 Mersin All-Around
Gold medal – first place 2013 Mersin Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2005 Almería Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Mersin Balance Beam
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
All-Around World Cup 1 0 2
Apparatus World Cup 2 2 2
World Challenge Cup 3 0 1
Total 6 2 5

Vanessa Ferrari (born 10 November 1990) is an Italian artistic gymnast. She was the 2006 World All-Around Champion and competed for Italy at the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal on floor exercise in 2020. In doing so, Ferrari became the first Italian to win an individual Olympic medal in Women's Artistic Gymnastics, and the first medallist for the Italian women's team since the 1928 Summer Olympics. She is a five-time World medallist and eight-time European medallist, and is currently the most decorated Italian gymnast of all time.

Personal information

Ferrari was born on 10 November 1990 in Orzinuovi. Her mother, Galya Nikolova, is Bulgarian, and her father, Giovanni, is Italian. In 2006, she received the Golden Collar for sporting merit from the Italian National Olympic Committee.

Junior career

2004

Ferrari first rose to prominence as a 13-year-old at the 2004 Junior European Championships where she won the silver medal in the all around competition with a score of 36.525. She also won two bronze medals with the Italian team and on the balance beam with a score of 9.175.

2005

Still in the junior ranks for 2005, Ferrari turned in more fine performances at the European Youth Olympics in Italy and the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain, winning the all around gold medal at both competitions as well. She also won vault, beam and floor at the latter as well as the silver medal on the uneven bars.

Senior career

2006

In April, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Volos, Greece. She led the Italian team to win gold with an all around score of 60.750. In event finals, she placed seventh on uneven bars, scoring 14.300, seventh on balance beam, scoring 14.875, and second on floor, scoring 15.450.

In October, Ferrari competed at the World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. She won the all around final with a score of 61.025. In event finals, she placed third on uneven bars, scoring 15.775, sixth on balance beam, scoring 14.675, and third on floor, scoring 15.450.

2007

In April, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She won the all around final with a score of 61.075. In event finals, she placed sixth on uneven bars scoring 14.375, eighth on balance beam scoring 13.550, and first on floor scoring 15.400.

In September, Ferrari competed at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. She contributed scores of 15.100 on vault and 14.775 on uneven bars toward the Italian team's fourth-place finish. Individually, she won the bronze medal in the all around final with a score of 60.550. In event finals, she placed eighth on uneven bars scoring 14.700 and sixth on floor scoring 15.050.

2008

In April, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, France. She contributed an all around score of 59.400 toward the Italian team's fourth-place finish.

Ferrari at the 2008 Mediterraneo Gym Cup

Beijing Olympics

In August, Ferrari competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. In qualifications, she contributed an all around score of 58.300 to the Italian team's tenth-place finish. Individually she qualified to the all around final in twenty-first place. In the all around final, she placed eleventh with a score of 59.450.

2009–2011

In April 2009, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Milan, Italy. She placed ninth in the all around final with a score of 55.175 and second in the floor final with a score of 14.675. In June Ferrari underwent a bursectomy to remove excess fluid from behind her Achilles tendon and would likely miss the 2009 World Championships.

Towards the end of April 2010, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She contributed an all around score of 55.525 toward the Italian team's fifth-place finish. In event finals, she placed seventh on uneven bars scoring 14.150 and fourth on floor scoring 13.850.

In October 2010, Ferrari competed at the World Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She contributed scores of 13.966 on vault, 14.066 on uneven bars, and 14.333 on floor toward the Italian team's eighth-place finish. Individually, she placed eleventh in the all around final with a score of 56.165 and sixth in the floor final with a score of 14.600.

Ferrari performing on floor at the 2011 World Cup in Paris, France.

In April 2011, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Berlin, Germany. She placed sixth in the all around final with a score of 55.475 and eighth in the uneven bars final with a score of 12.850.

In October 2011, Ferrari competed at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She contributed an all around score of 56.198 toward the Italian team's ninth-place finish. Individually, she placed twelfth in the all around final with a score of 55.532. She also qualified in sixth place with a score of 14.466 to the floor final but was injured and could not compete.

2012

In January, Ferrari competed at the London Prepares series in London, United Kingdom. She contributed an all around score of 56.532 toward the Italian team's first-place finish, which meant that they would qualify a full team to the Olympics. In event finals, she placed fourth on floor scoring 14.400.

In May, Ferrari competed at the European Championships in Brussels, Belgium. She contributed scores of 14.266 on vault, 14.466 on uneven bars, and 14.400 on floor toward the Italian team's third-place finish. In event finals, she placed first on floor scoring 14.400.

London Olympics

At the end of July, Ferrari competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom with Erika Fasana, Giorgia Campana, Elisabetta Preziosa and Carlotta Ferlito. In qualifications, she qualified to the all around final in seventh place with a score of 57.932 and the floor final in third place with a score of 14.900. In the team final, she contributed an all around score of 56.865 toward the Italian team's seventh-place finish. In the all around final, Ferrari placed eighth with a score of 57.999. In the floor final, she tied for third place with Aliya Mustafina. Both gymnasts scored 14.900 but Mustafina was awarded the bronze medal after tie breaking procedures prioritized execution score.

2013–2015

In June 2013 Ferrari, with Elisabetta Preziosa, Giulia Leni, Giorgia Campana and Chiara Gandolfi, competed at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin. She contributed toward the Italian team's first-place finish; in event finals, she placed first on all-around scoring 56.132, first on floor scoring 13.900 and third on balance beam scoring 14.166. Ferrari is the most decorated Italian athlete at the Mediterranean Games with eight gold medals.

Ferrari on the uneven bars in 2013.

At the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Ferrari finished sixth in the all-around and fourth on balance beam. On floor exercise, she scored 14.633 to win the silver medal. She used an instrumental version of Caro Emerald's Tangled Up as her floor exercise music.

Ferrari began 2014 competing at the first Italian Serie A where she helped Brixia win the team gold. In March she competed at the American Cup where she finished in fifth place. In April she competed at the Tokyo World Cup where she finished in first place. At the European Championships in May, Ferrari won the gold medal on floor exercise. At the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China, Ferrari helped Italy finish fifth in the team final. Individually, Ferrari finished sixth in the all-around and fifth on floor exercise. After World Championships, Ferrari continued competing at the World Cup circuit. She next competed at the Stuttgart World Cup where she finished fourth despite having the flu. She finished the year off at the Glasgow World Cup where she finished sixth.

In 2015 Ferrari competed at the first two Italian Serie A competitions. In March she competed at the 2015 AT&T American Cup where she finished sixth. In April she competed at the 2015 European Championships where she qualified to the all-around final in tenth place. However, she opted to withdraw from the final and allow teammate Martina Rizzelli to compete, due to the fact she was still overcoming mononucleosis. In October Ferrari competed at the Novara Cup where Italy finished second in the team final and Ferrari finished eleventh in the all-around. Later that month Ferrari competed at the 2015 World Championships. She helped Italy qualify to the team finals and individually she qualified to the all-around final but withdrew, which allowed teammate Tea Ugrin to compete.

2016

Ferrari in 2016

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Ferrari qualified for the individual all-around and floor finals. She finished in sixteenth place in the all-around final and fourth in the floor final, just missing the podium in the latter, as she had at the 2012 Olympics.

In September, she had surgery on her Achilles' tendons, but said she plans to continue training for more competition after a six-month rehabilitation.

2017–2018

Ferrari spent the majority of 2017 recovering from tendon pain. She competed at the final Italian Serie A in September where she scored second highest on floor for the senior field and was named to the team to compete at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal. During qualifications Ferrari finished 25th on beam but qualified to the floor exercise final in seventh place. During the final Ferrari tore her Achilles tendon while performing a whip to full twisting double back. Ferrari was one of many gymnasts who were injured while warming up or competing at the 2017 World Championships, following Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, Larisa Iordache of Romania, Ragan Smith of the United States, and Kohei Uchimura of Japan.

Ferrari spent 2018 recovering from her injury sustained at the 2017 World Championships. She announced that she would try to qualify for the 2020 Olympics through the apparatus world cup circuit.

2019

Ferrari returned to competition in February 2019 at the Melbourne World Cup. She only competed on balance beam and floor exercise; she qualified to the floor final in first place. She later won gold on floor exercise, finishing over a point ahead of second-place finisher Paula Mejias of Puerto Rico. At the Baku World Cup Ferrari qualified to the floor exercise final in third place, behind compatriot Lara Mori and American Jade Carey. In the final she once again finished third behind Carey and Mori. Directly after the Baku World Cup, Ferrari traveled to Doha for the Doha World Cup where she qualified to the floor exercise final in seventh place. In finals she once again won bronze behind Carey and Mori.

2020

In late January Ferrari was listed on a nominative roster that was released for the Melbourne World Cup, taking place on February 20–22. She qualified in second place to the floor exercise event finals behind Jade Carey. During event finals she once again placed second behind Carey. In March she competed at the Baku World Cup and finished second on floor exercise behind Lara Mori during qualifications and advanced to the event final. However event finals were canceled due to the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Azerbaijan.

2021

Ferrari made her return to the all-around at the 3rd Italian Serie A of 2021, over four years after her last all-around performance at the 2016 Olympic Games. She placed first in the all-around and helped Brixia place first as a team. In April Ferrari was selected to represent Italy at the European Championships in Basel alongside Alice D'Amato, Martina Maggio, and Giorgia Villa. During qualifications she finished seventh in the all-around and fourth on floor exercise, qualifying to both finals. Ferrari later withdrew from the all-around final as a precaution. On the last day of event finals she won the bronze medal on floor exercise, behind Jessica Gadirova of Great Britain and Angelina Melnikova of Russia, performing the exercise on the notes of "Bella ciao" and dedicating the medal to the Liberation Day of Italy. This medal came 7 years after her last medal in European Championships, and 15 years after her first one.

Ferrari awarded by Sergio Mattarella at Quirinale in 2021.

Ferrari competed at the Doha World Cup where she placed first in the all-around. As a result, she earned her nominative berth to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, her fourth Olympic Games. Weeks before the start of the Games, Giorgia Villa was injured and Ferrari was chosen to replace her on the four-person Italian team.

Ferrari represented Italy at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan alongside Asia D'Amato, Alice D'Amato, and Martina Maggio. The four qualified for the team finals and placed fourth with a total score of 163.638. Ferrari herself qualified in first place to the floor exercise final with a score of 14.166. She placed second in the final behind gold medalist Jade Carey of the US and ahead of bronze medalists Mai Murakami of Japan and Angelina Melnikova of Russia (under the Russian Olympic Committee) with a score of 14.200.

In competing at her fourth Olympic Games, Ferrari became the fourth female artistic gymnast to become a four-time Olympian following four-time Olympian Olga Tass (1948–1960), eight-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina (1992–2020), and five-time Olympian Daniele Hypólito (2000–2016).

Achievements

Ferrari on the balance beam in 2013.
Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2004 European Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2005 European Youth Olympics Festival 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Mediterranean Games 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Senior
2006
European Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 7 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Arthur Gander Memorial 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2007 Paris World Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 8 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships 4 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 6
2008
European Championships 4 5
Olympic Games 11
2009
European Championships 9 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2010
European Championships 5 7 4
World Championships 8 11 6
Arthur Gander Memorial 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Swiss Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2011 Paris World Cup 4
European Championships 6 8
World Championships 12 WD
2012 London Test Event 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Italian National Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4
Romanian International Friendly 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Olympic Games 7 8 4
Stuttgart World Cup 5
Glasgow World Cup 4
2013 American Cup 5
La Roche-sur-Yon World Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
City of Jesolo Trophy 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Mediterranean Games 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Germany-Italy Friendly Meet 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships 6 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Stuttgart World Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Glasgow World Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2014 American Cup 5
Tokyo World Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships 5 5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Novara Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Golden League 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships 5 6 5
Stuttgart World Cup 4
Glasgow World Cup 6
2015 American Cup 6
European Championships WD
Novara Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 11
World Championships 7 WD
2016 4th Italian Serie A 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Anadia World Challenge Cup 5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Italian Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4
Olympic Games 16 4
2017 4th Italian Serie A 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships 8
2018 did not compete
2019 Melbourne World Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Baku World Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Doha World Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2020 Melbourne World Cup 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Baku World Cup
2021 1st Italian Serie A 1st place, gold medalist(s)
3rd Italian Serie A 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
European Championships WD 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Doha World Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Olympic Games 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
  1. ^ Ferrari qualified to the FX final in second place; however event finals were cancelled

Eponymous skill

Ferrari has one eponymous skill listed in the Code of Points.

Apparatus Name Description Difficulty Added to the Code
Floor exercise Ferrari Tour jeté to ring position with additional 1/2 turn (180°) D 2012 Olympic Games
  1. ^ Valid for the 2022-2024 Code of Points

This page was last updated at 2024-03-28 16:30 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari