Lorea Elso

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Lorea Elso
Personal information
Full nameMaría Flor Elso Torralba
Country represented Spain
Born (1973-06-08) 8 June 1973 (age 50)
Pamplona, Spain
DisciplineRhythmic Gymnastics
LevelInternational Elite
Years on national team1988-1992
ClubS.C.D.R. Anaitasuna
Head coach(es)Ana Roncero, Emilia Boneva
ChoreographerGeorgi Neykov
Retiredyes
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
European Championships 0 1 2
World Championships 1 2 3
FIG World Cup 0 0 3
Total 1 3 7
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Representing  Spain
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Sarajevo All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Sarajevo 12 Clubs
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Sarajevo 3 Hoops + 3 Ribbons
Gold medal – first place 1991 Athens All-Around
Silver medal – second place 1991 Athens 6 Ribbons
Silver medal – second place 1991 Athens 3 Balls + 3 Ropes
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Gothenburg All-Around
Silver medal – second place 1990 Gothenburg 12 Clubs
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Gothenburg 3 Balls + 3 Ropes

María Flor Elso Torralba (born 8 June 1973), known as Lorea Elso, is a former Spanish rhythmic gymnast. She was World champion in 1991 and two-time European champion in 1992. The generation of gymnasts that she was part of is known by the nickname "Primeras Chicas de Oro".[1] Elso is tied with Teresa Fuster, Marta Baldó and Estela Giménez for the Spanish rhythmic gymnast with the most medals in World Championships, with a total of 8.

Biography[edit]

Elso started rhythmic gymnastics when she was 9 years old at the Ivanka Chakarova Club in Pamplona. In 1988, after this club disbanded, she joined the Anaitasuna Recreational Sports Cultural Society in the same city.

In 1988, she was invited by Emilia Boneva to join the national rhythmic gymnastics team of Spain as part of the group, which she would be a member of until 1992. During that time, she would train about 8 hours a day at the Moscardó Gymnasium in Madrid under the direction of Boneva herself along with that of Ana Roncero, who since 1982 had been national group coach and head coach. She would also live with all the members of the team in a house in La Moraleja.[2]

At the beginning of 1989, she won three silver medals in the DTB-Pokal Karlsruhe tournament. Shortly after, she and the other members of the group (Beatriz Barral, Bito Fuster, Arancha Marty, Mari Carmen Moreno and Vanesa Muñiz, with Marta Aberturas and Nuria Arias as the substitutes) won three bronze medals at the World Championships in Sarajevo. They reached the podium both in the all-around and in the two finals, 12 clubs and 3 ropes and 3 ribbons.[3]

In 1990, the European Championships in Gotheburg took place, where she won a bronze medal in the all-around, as well as a silver in the 12 clubs final and another bronze in the 3 ropes and 3 ribbons final.[4][5] At the World Cup Final, held that year in Brussels, the group (made up of Elso, Beatriz Barral, Bito Fuster, Montse Martín, Arancha Marty and Vanesa Muñiz, with Marta Aberturas and Gemma Royo as the substitutes) won all three bronze medals.[6] At the Wacoal Cup tournament in Tokyo, held in November, they won overall silver.[7]

In 1991, Lorea was named captain of the national team.

In 1991, the two exercises for groups were 6 ribbons for the single-apparatus exercise and 3 balls and 3 ropes for the mixed-apparatus one. Their ribbon exercise used "Tango Jalousie", composed by Jacob Gade, for the music, while their mixed-apparatus one used the song "Campanas" by Víctor Bombi.[8] To choreograph the dance steps of the 6 ribbons exercise, they had the help of Javier "Poty" Castillo, then a dancer with the National Ballet, although the team's usual choreographer was the Bulgarian Georgi Neykov.[9] Before the World Championships, they won gold at the Karlsruhe tournament (ahead of the USSR and Bulgaria) and three bronzes at the Gymnastic Masters in Stuttgart.[10]

On 12 October 1991, the Spanish team (consisting of Elso, Débora Alonso, Isabel Gómez Pérez, Bito Fuster, Montse Martín and Gemma Royo, with Marta Aberturas and Cristina Chapuli as the substitutes) won gold in the all-around at the World Championships in Athens. This medal was described by the media as historic, since it was the first time that Spain had won the World Championship in rhythmic gymnastics.[11] The next day, they would also win silver in both of the two apparatus finals.[12][13][14] After this achievement, at the end of 1991 they would tour in Switzerland.[15][16][17][18]

In 1992 they won silver in a tournament in Karlsruhe, and later they were invited to give an exhibition at one in Corbeil-Essonnes. In June, with new exercises, they participated in the European Championships in Stuttgart, where they shared the gold medal in the all-around with the Russian team, in addition to winning another gold in the 3 balls and 3 ropes final and bronze in 6 ribbons.[19][20][21] Elso did not compete in the 1992 Olympic Games because rhythmic gymnastics was an individual-only sport at the Olympics at that time, although she participated with the rest of her teammates in the opening ceremony, leading the parade of participating nations.

Shortly after, they won gold at both the Asvo Cup in Austria and the Alfred Vogel Cup in the Netherlands, where they also won silver in 6 ribbons and gold in 3 balls and 3 ropes. Gómez and Fuster were injured before the World Championships in Brussels, which took place in November 1992. They were kept on the team as substitutes, but in the competing lineup were replaced by Alicia Martín, Cristina Martínez and Bárbara Plaza. In this competition, the team won silver in the all-around, with their score just one tenth of a point away from allowing them to retain the world title they had won the previous year. In addition, on November 22 they won bronze in the 6 ribbons final and were 8th with 3 balls and 3 ropes.[22] After this, Lorea would retire from competition, as would the rest of the group that had been world champion in Athens the previous year.[23]

She was awarded the Sports Award of the Government of Navarra for the best Navarrese athlete of the year in 1989 and 1991.

After her retirement, she obtained the title of National Trainer and graduate from Complutense University with a degree in information sciences. She works in the audiovisual sector, where she has worked in film production companies and exhibitors. She currently works in Madrid at the film distributor Golem.

On 25 May 2017, she was the master of ceremonies at the presentation of the book Pinceladas de Rítmica at the Consejo Superior de Deportes headquarters. The book is a history of rhythmic gymnastics written by her former teammate Montse Martín and Manel Martín.[24] On December 16, 2017, Elso met with other former gymnasts from the national team to pay tribute to former national team coach Ana Roncero.[25]

In September 2018, she traveled with several former gymnasts from the Spanish team to the World Championships in Sofia to meet again with the former national team coach Emilia Boneva, and a tribute dinner was also organized in Boneva's honor.[26] After Boneva's death on 20 September 2019, Lorea and other former national gymnasts gathered to pay tribute to her during the Euskalgym held on 16 November 2019. The event took place before 8,500 attendees at the Bilbao Exhibition Center de Baracaldo and was followed by a dinner in Boneva's honor.[27]

Legacy and influence[edit]

The national rhythmic gymnastics group of 1991 won the first world title for Spanish rhythmic gymnastics at the World Championships in Athens. It was the first time a rhythmic gymnastics team from a Western country had prevailed over those from Eastern European countries.[28][29][30] Reviews of this milestone appear in books such as Gimnasia rítmica deportiva: aspectos y evolución (1995) by Aurora Fernández del Valle,[2] Enredando en la memoria (2015) by Paloma del Río, and Pinceladas de rítmica (2017) by Montse and Manel Martín.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Martin, Montse and Manel. Pinceladas de rítmica. p. 126. ISBN 978-84-17023-48-5.
  2. ^ a b Fernández del Valle, Aurora (1995). Gimnasia rítmica deportiva: aspectos y evolución. ISBN 978-84-85977-60-4.
  3. ^ "14.World Championships in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (27. September-1. October 1989)". r-gymnast.bplaced.net. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  4. ^ "Historical silver for the Spanish team in the European rhythmic gymnastics competition". abc.es.
  5. ^ "Spain is setting the pace" (PDF). hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com.
  6. ^ "7.European Championships in Goteborg, Sweden (1.-4. November 1990)". r-gymnast.bplaced.net. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  7. ^ "The sport year". hemeroteca.abcdesevilla.es.
  8. ^ "RG music list". 2019-11-09. Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  9. ^ "Pozuelo IN - Poty: "Mi vida cambió cuando España queda campeona del mundo por primera vez en la historia en gimnasia rítmica"". 2019-09-05. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  10. ^ "2.Gymnastic Masters in Stuttgart, Germany (7.-8. September 1991)". r-gymnast.bplaced.net. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  11. ^ "29 años del oro en el Mundial de 1991 de gimnasia ..." COE TV (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  12. ^ "Historical gold in rhythmic gymnastics". hemeroteca.elmundodeportivo.es.
  13. ^ "The Spanish team makes history by winning the Athens Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup". hemeroteca.abc.es.
  14. ^ "Spain world champion in rhythmic gymnastics in groups". hemeroteca.abc.es.
  15. ^ "España cerró su actuación con otras dos medallas de plata". lavanguardia.com. 14 October 1991. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Two more silver for the group". mundodeportivo.com. 14 October 1991. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  17. ^ "The gold that couldn't be (Part 1/2)". mundodeportivo.com. 16 October 1991. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  18. ^ "The gold that couldn't be (Part 2/2)". mundodeportivo.com. 16 October 1991. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  19. ^ "8.European Championships in Stuttgart, Germany (4.-7. June 1992)". r-gymnast.bplaced.net. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  20. ^ "Spain won gold at the rhythmic gymnastics European Championships". www.abc.es. 26 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Spain won gold and bronze at the European Championships". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com.
  22. ^ "16.World Championships in Brussels, Belgium (13.-15. November 1992)". r-gymnast.bplaced.net. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  23. ^ "Emilia Boneva: "With Carmen Acedo and Carolina Pascual we would have swept"". hemeroteca.abc.es.
  24. ^ rfegimnasia.es, ed. (25 May 2017). "Presentación del libro "Pinceladas de Rítmica" en el CSD". Retrieved 26 May 2017.[dead link]
  25. ^ "Homenaje a Ana Roncero". Facebook. 16 December 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  26. ^ CENA HOMENAJE A EMILIA BONEVA | Seguimos en Bulgaria.Cena homenaje a Emilia Boneva por parte de las gimnastas que pudieron viajar a Bulgaria la semana pasada: Gemma Royo, Lorea Elso,... | By Montse Martin ArtFacebook, retrieved 2024-03-02
  27. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  28. ^ "Edición del Monday 14 October 1991, Página 56 - Hemeroteca - MundoDeportivo.com". hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  29. ^ "ABC MADRID 13-10-1991 página 99 - Archivo ABC". abc. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
  30. ^ "ABC MADRID 13-10-1991 página 10 - Archivo ABC". abc. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2024-03-02.
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