Laura Traets

Laura Jean Pierre Traets (Bulgarian: Лаура Жан Пиер Траатс, born 13 December 1998)^[2] is a Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion in the group all-around. She is the 2018 World and 2021 European champion in 5 balls and the 2018 European champion in 3 balls + 2 ropes. She is a two-time (2018, 2019) World group all-around bronze medalist and the 2017 World group all-around silver medalist. On the junior level, she is the 2013 European group all-around bronze medalist.

Laura Traets
Full name	Laura Jean Pierre Traets
Alternative name(s)	Laura Traats
Nickname(s)	Lauri
Country represented	Bulgaria
Born	(1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 (age 25) Sofia, Bulgaria
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Years on national team	2011-2021
Club	Levski-Triadica
Gym	Rakovski
Head coach(es)	Vesela Dimitrova
Choreographer	Margarita Budinova
Medal record Group Rhythmic Gymnastics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 1 2 3 European Games 0 2 1 European Championships 2 1 2 FIG World Cup 24 19 7 Total 28 24 13 Representing  Bulgaria Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Group All-around World Championships 2018 Sofia 5 Hoops 2017 Pesaro Group All-around 2019 Baku 5 Balls 2017 Pesaro 3 Balls + 2 Ropes 2018 Sofia Group All-around 2019 Baku Group All-around European Games 2019 Minsk Group All-around 2019 Minsk 5 Balls 2019 Minsk 3 Hoops and 4 Clubs European Championships 2018 Guadalajara 3 Balls + 2 Ropes 2021 Varna 5 Balls 2021 Varna 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs 2018 Guadalajara Team 2018 Guadalajara Group All-around Junior European Championships 2013 Vienna Group All-around

Career

Traets started rhythmic gymnastics at the age of four in Levski Triaditza Sports Club.^[1]

2013

Traets competed with the Bulgarian junior group at the European Championships in Vienna. The group won the all-around bronze medal behind the Russian and Belarusian groups. They then placed fifth in the five hoops final.^[3]

2017

Traets began competing with Bulgaria's main senior group in 2017. At the Pesaro World Cup, Traets won the gold medal in the group all-around and the silver medal in the 5 hoops final.^[4][5] The Bulgarian group won another group all-around gold medal at the Baku World Cup and a silver medal in 3 balls + 2 ropes and a bronze medal in 5 hoops.^[6] Then at the Sofia World Cup, they won another group all-around gold and silver medals in both apparatus finals behind Ukraine.^[7] She competed at the 2017 World Championships alongside Elena Bineva, Madlen Radukanova, Simona Dyankova and Teodora Aleksandrova. They won the silver medal in the group all-around behind Russia and the bronze medal in the 3 balls + 2 ropes final behind Russia and Japan. They also placed fourth in the 5 hoops final.^[8][9]

2018

At the Sofia World Cup, Traets and the Bulgarian group won gold in the group all-around and in 5 hoops and bronze in 3 balls + 2 ropes.^[10] Then at the Baku World Cup they won gold in both apparatus finals but lost the group all-around to Italy.^[11] They won another group all-around gold medal at the Guadalajara World Challenge Cup in addition to winning gold in 3 balls + 2 ropes and silver in 5 hoops.^[12] She then competed at the European Championships alongside Elena Bineva, Madlen Radukanova, Simona Dyankova, and Stefani Kiryakova. They won the bronze medal in the group all-around behind Russia and Italy and placed fourth in the 5 hoops final. In the 3 balls + 2 ropes final, they won the gold medal, and they won a team bronze medal with the individual juniors.^[13] Then at the Kazan World Challenge Cup, they won the group all-around bronze medal behind Italy and Russia, and they won silver in 5 hoops behind Russia.^[14] The same group competed at the World Championships in Sofia where they won the group all-around bronze medal behind Russia and Italy and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games.^[15] They then won the gold medal in the 5 hoops final and placed sixth in 3 balls + 2 ropes.^[16]

2019

Traets competed with Stefani Kiryakova, Madlen Radukanova, Simona Dyankova, and Erika Zafirova during the 2019 season. The group won the gold medal in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final and the silver medal in the group all-around at the Pesaro World Cup.^[17] Then at the Sofia World Cup, they won the group all-around gold medal.^[18] She represented Bulgaria at the 2019 European Games where the Bulgarian group won silver in the group all-around by only 0.050 behind Belarus. They also won the silver medal in the 5 balls final, this time behind Russia. In the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final, they won the bronze medal behind Belarus and Ukraine.^[19] She then competed at the World Championships in Baku where the Bulgarian group won the bronze medal in the group all-around behind Russia and Japan.^[20] They then won the silver medal behind Japan in the 5 balls final, and they placed fifth in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final.^[21]

2021

Traets and the Bulgarian team began their year at the Sofia World Cup, where the team won gold in the group all-around and in both apparatus finals.^[22] They once again swept the gold medals at the Baku World Cup.^[23] She then competed at the European Championships in Varna, Bulgaria. The Bulgarian team of the senior group, Boryana Kaleyn, and Katrin Taseva finished in fourth place.^[24] The Bulgarian group finished fifth in the all-around, but they won gold in the 5 balls final and won silver in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final behind Israel.^[25][26][27]

Traets was selected to represent Bulgaria at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside Simona Dyankova, Stefani Kiryakova, Madlen Radukanova, and Erika Zafirova. In the qualification round, the group qualified in first place after receiving the highest scores for both of their routines.^[28][29] In the group all-around final, they once again received the highest scores for both routines and won the gold medal with a total score of 92.100, 1.400 points ahead of Russia. This marked the first time a non-Russian team won the Olympic gold medal in the group all-around since Spain won in 1996, and it was the first time Bulgaria won the Olympic group all-around competition.^[30][31]

The Bulgarian group withdrew from the World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, four days before the start of the competition, because Traets was injured.^[32] It was later revealed that Traets had a cervical discal hernia for several years that was now causing severe pain in her right arm.^[33] She traveled to Switzerland for surgery in December.^[34]

Personal life

Traets' father is from the Netherlands, and until adulthood, she held both Bulgarian and Dutch citizenships.^[35]

On July 7, she announced on her Instagram profile that she got engaged to her boyfriend, Martin Stefanov.

Detailed Olympic results

Year	Competition Description	Location	Music	Apparatus	Rank	Score-Final	Rank	Score-Qualifying
2020	Olympics	Tokyo		All-around	1st	92.100	1st	91.800
			Water, Cosmos, Earth by Elica Todorova, Stoyan Yankoulov, Miroslav Ivanov	5 Balls	1st	47.550	1st	47.500
			Spartacus, ballet in 3 acts, op.8 by Aram Khachaturian, Bolshoi Theatre	3 Hoops + 4 Clubs	1st	44.550	1st	44.300

References

1. "Traets Laura". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
2. "Laura Traets". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
3. "Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Vienna 2013 Results Book" (PDF). European Gymnastics. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
4. "FIG RG World Cup Pesaro All Around Group" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
5. "FIG RG World Cup Pesaro Group Apparatus Finals" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
6. "FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup AGF Trophy Results Book" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. pp. 73, 76. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
7. "FIG RG World Cup Sofia Results Book" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. pp. 22, 29. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
8. "With World Group All-around title, Russia extends its reign in Pesaro". International Gymnastics Federation. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
9. ""Farfalle" soar to Group gold on final day of Rhythmic Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
10. "Soldatova, Bulgaria take plaudits in Sofia opener". International Gymnastics Federation. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
11. "Sergeeva, Bulgaria shine as World Cup concludes in Baku". International Gymnastics Federation. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
12. "Ashram and Bulgaria earn All-around golds in Guadalajara". International Gymnastics Federation. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
13. "34th European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships Results Book" (PDF). European Gymnastics. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
14. "Soldatova, Italian group claim Kazan World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
15. "Russia claims Rhythmic Group All-around title". International Gymnastics Federation. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
16. "36th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Results Book" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
17. "Averinas complete second Pesaro clean sweep". International Gymnastics Federation. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
18. "Ashram and Soldatova shine in Sofia". International Gymnastics Federation. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
19. "Minsk 2019 Results Book Rhythmic Gymnastics" (PDF). European Gymnastics. Minsk 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
20. "37th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Baku (AZE), 16-22 September 2019 Group All-Around Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
21. "37th FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Baku (AZE), 16-22 September 2019 Group Event Finals" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
22. "Boryana Kaleyn, Bulgarian Group bloom for six golds at Sofia Rhythmic World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
23. "Ashram, Bulgarian Rhythmic Group prevail in Baku". International Gymnastics Federation. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
24. "37th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics Team Results" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
25. "37th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics Group All-Around Results" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
26. "37th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics 5 Balls Results" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
27. "37th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics 3 Hoops + 4 Clubs Results" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
28. "Rhythmic Gymnastics — Group All-Around — Qualification — Results" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
29. "Bulgaria tops ROC in Rhythmic Group qualification". International Gymnastics Federation. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
30. "Russian rhythmic dynasty topples, Bulgaria wins gold". Taipei Times. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
31. "Bulgaria upsets ROC for first Olympic Rhythmic Group gold". International Gymnastics Federation. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
32. Berkeley, Geoff (26 October 2021). "Olympic champions Bulgaria withdraw on eve of Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships due to Traets injury". Inside the Games. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
33. "Лаура Траатс за контузията: Може би това е част от цената на олимпийското злато" [Laura Traats on the injury: Maybe it's part of the price of Olympic gold]. BTV Sports (in Bulgarian). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
34. "Thanks to a wave of solidarity, Laura Traets is still smiling". International Gymnastics Federation. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
35. Tasev, Dimitar (3 October 2016). "Да откажеш холандски паспорт заради българския ансамбъл (ВИДЕО)" [To refuse a Dutch passport because of the Bulgarian group (VIDEO)]. BTV. Retrieved 22 July 2021.

External links

• Laura Traets at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Laura Traets on Instagram