Sofia Raffaeli triumphs in Baku: all-round gold in the World Cup

Sofia Raffaeli conquers theall round gold in the second stage of the World Cup which is being disputed in Baku (Azerbaijan). After the gray-tinged performance in the first stage in Bulgaria, the gymnast born in Chiaravalle immediately redeemed herself by dedicating this success to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella for his constant closeness to the world of sport.

The Italian was second at the halfway point of the competition, after the tests with the hoop and the ball, and then she put on a show with the clubs and the ribbon and, therefore, in the ranking on the four apparatus she totalled a score of 113.400 thus surpassing the Ukrainian Taisiia Onofriichuk who concluded her performances in second place (113.250), with yesterday's podium being completed by the Bulgarian Stiliana Nikolova (113.150).

"I am very happy, especially to have finished a race without errors - Raffaeli declared - After having won only one final in Sofia, for me this is a nice revenge. Now we start again from here and today I hope to do even better, adding some elements that I did not perform in qualifying, precisely to avoid risks. For now I am very satisfied with the work we are carrying out. To whom do I dedicate this victory? In addition to Fabriano, the Fiamme Oro and my federation, I would like to dedicate this result to President Mattarella, who has always been very close to us athletes and to whom I wish a speedy recovery".

At the end of the race, Raffaeli's coach Claudia Mancinelli also spoke: "Let's stay focused. This gold certainly spurs us on even more. Sofia ran a very intelligent race, managing the pressure of expectations well and controlling the exercises. Today we hope to give a nice Easter to our many fans who will be glued to the TV".

Italy's amazing day didn't stop there with the Farfalle who in the team events obtained the fourth best score with hoops and balls arriving just a hair's breadth from the all around podium and reaching the second final of the Cup. In this way the FGI made a clean sweep and today will be the only federation together with Bulgaria, to participate in all the final eight of the World Cup in Baku. In the singles, defending the blue colors will also be the new Friulian policewoman Tara Dragas in the clubs and ribbon finals.

From 12pm, La7d cameras will connect with Baku to broadcast the final races of this second stage.