Lena Bickel

Lena Bickel (born 22 December 2004) is a Swiss artistic gymnast. She competed at the 2023 World Championships and qualified as an individual to the 2024 Olympic Games, where she represented Switzerland. She is the 2023 Swiss all-around champion.

Lena Bickel
Country represented	Switzerland
Born	(2004-12-22) 22 December 2004 (age 19) Mendrisio, Switzerland
Residence	Ticino
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2021–present (SUI)
Club	SFG Morbio Inferiore

Early life

Bickel was born on 22 December 2004 in Mendrisio. She began gymnastics when she was four years old.^[1]

Career

Junior

At the 2017 Swiss Junior Championships, Bickel finished 14th in the all-around. She made her international debut at the Swiss Cup Juniors, and she helped the Swiss team win the bronze medal behind Germany and Belgium.^[2] Then at the 2017 Tournoi International, she finished 26th in the all-around.^[3]

Bickel won the vault and uneven bars titles at the 2018 Swiss Junior Championships, and she finished fifth in the all-around.^[4] Then at the Pieve di Soligo Friendly, she competed with the Swiss team that finished fifth.^[5] At the 2018 European Championships, Bickel helped the Swiss team finish 14th.^[6] She won the gold medal on the uneven bars at the 2018 Tournoi International and placed sixth in the all-around.^[7]

Bickel won the all-around silver medal at the 2019 Swiss Junior Championships, and she won the vault title.^[8] Then at the Swiss Turnfest, she finished fourth in the all-around.^[9] At the Sainté Gym Cup, she competed with the Swiss team that placed fifth.^[10] She then competed at the 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival. She qualified for the all-around final where she finished 20th, and she finished fifth in the uneven bars final.^[11][12]

Senior

Bickel became age-eligible for senior international competitions in 2020, but she did not compete that year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. She made her senior international debut at the 2021 Swiss Cup. She competed with Noe Seifert, and they finished in fourth place.^[13]

2022

At the Swiss Championships, Bickel won the silver medal in the all-around and the gold medal on the uneven bars.^[14] Then at the Austrian team challenge, she helped the Swiss team win the bronze medal.^[15] In July, she tore a ligament in her right foot.^[1] She returned to competition in November at the Arthur Gander Memorial and won the all-around silver medal behind Alice D’Amato.^[16] She then competed at the Swiss Cup with Noe Seifert, and they finished ninth.^[17]

2023

Bickel completed at the Magglingen Friendly and won the all-around gold medal by nearly two points ahead of teammate Caterina Cereghetti.^[18] She competed with the Swiss team at the European Championships, and they finished 17th.^[19] She was the first reserve for the floor exercise final.^[20] At the Swiss Championships, she won the all-around title by over a full point. In the event finals, she won gold on the floor exercise and silver on uneven bars and balance beam.^[21] She competed with the Swiss team that finished fourth at the Heidelberg Friendly.^[22] She then competed at the World Championships in Antwerp and finished 39th in the all-around during the qualification round.^[23] Although she did not qualify for the all-around final, she qualified as an individual to the 2024 Olympic Games by finishing ninth out of the gymnast whose countries did not qualify a full team.^[24][25]

2024

At the 2024 Olympic Games Bickel finished thirty-ninth during qualifications and did not advance to any finals.^[1]

Personal life

Bickel speaks Italian, French, German, and English. Her hobbies include skiing and swimming.^[26]

Competitive history

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2017	Swiss Junior Championships		14
	Swiss Cup Juniors		7
	Tournoi International		26
2018	Swiss Junior Championships		5			6
	Pieve di Soligo Friendly	5	15
	European Championships	14
	Tournoi International		6
2019	Swiss Junior Championships				4
	Swiss Turnfest		4
	Sainté Gym Cup	5	13
	European Youth Olympic Festival	11	20		5
Senior
2021	Swiss Cup	4
2022	Swiss Championships
	Austrian Team Challenge
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup	9
2023	Magglingen Friendly
	European Championships	17					R1
	Swiss Championships
	Heidelberg Friendly	4	8
	World Championships		39
2024
	Olympic Games		39

References

1. "Bickel Lena". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
2. Hopkins, Lauren (4 November 2017). "2017 Swiss Cup Juniors Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
3. Hopkins, Lauren (13 November 2017). "2017 Tournoi International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
4. Hopkins, Lauren (20 June 2018). "2018 Swiss Junior Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
5. Hopkins, Lauren (17 July 2018). "2018 Pieve di Soligo Friendly Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
6. "Artistic Gymnastics Women's Junior QC For AF, TF & AA Results" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
7. Hopkins, Lauren (17 November 2018). "2018 Tournoi International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
8. Hopkins, Lauren (8 June 2019). "2019 Swiss Junior Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
9. Hopkins, Lauren (16 June 2019). "2019 Swiss Turnfest Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
10. Hopkins, Lauren (8 July 2019). "2019 Sainté Gym Cup Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
11. "European Youth Olympic Festival 2019 Women Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Final" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
12. "European Youth Olympic Festival 2019 Women Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
13. Browne, Ken (7 November 2021). "Angelina Melnikova and Nikita Nagornyy lead Russian Federation to Swiss Cup win in Zurich". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
14. "Lena Bickel conquista l'oro a Montreux" [Lena Bickel wins gold in Montreux]. RSI (in Italian). 26 June 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
15. Hopkins, Lauren (3 July 2022). "2022 Austrian Team Challenge Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
16. Crumlish, John (27 November 2022). "U.S. duo wins Swiss Cup; Italy's D'Amato and Ukraine's Kovtun take Arthur Gander Memorial". International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
17. "Fatta, Moldauer victorious at Swiss Cup". USA Gymnastics. 27 November 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
18. Hopkins, Lauren (19 March 2023). "2023 Magglingen Friendly Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
19. "10th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships Women Artistic Gymnastics Teams" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
20. "10th European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships Women Artistic Gymnastics Qualification Results by Apparatus" (PDF). European Gymnastics. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
21. Castelletti, Fulvio (4 September 2023). "Lena Bickel, un titolo nazionale che lancia i Mondiali di Anversa" [Lena Bickel, a national title that launches the Antwerp World Championships]. Corriere Del Ticino (in Italian). Retrieved 18 October 2023.
22. Hopkins, Lauren (9 September 2023). "2023 Heidelberg Friendly Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
23. "Bickel hat das Olympia-Ticket in der Tasche" [Bickel has the Olympic ticket in her pocket]. SRF (in German). 2 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
24. "Rendez-vous Paris 2024: See who qualified to the women's team competition!". International Gymnastics Federation. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
25. "Gymnastique: Lena Bickel obtient un ticket olympique" [Gymnastics: Lena Bickel obtains an Olympic ticket]. RTS Sport (in French). 2 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
26. "Lena Bickel" (PDF). Swiss Gymnastics Federation (in Italian). 5 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.

External links

• Lena Bickel at the International Gymnastics Federation