Take A Stroll Down Olympic Bronze Medalist Rhythmic Gymnast Marta Pagnini’s Journey

Namita Nayyar (WF Team)

8 years ago

Marta-Pagnini1

Marta Pagnini was born in Florence on 21st January 1991. She is a gymnast and Italian captain of National Rhythmic Gymnastics Italy and Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Rhythmic gymnasts perform short routines using different hand apparatus – balls, clubs, hoop and ribbon – on an area measuring 13m by 13m. They are awarded marks for difficulty, artistry and execution. Rhythmic gymnastics made its Olympic debut at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. The team event was introduced 12 years later in Atlanta, with Spain taking gold. Rhythmic gymnastics is one of two Olympic sports contested only by women. The other is synchronised swimming.

She grew up in Etruria Prato, historical society that has trained in gymnastics, among others, Jury Chechi , former Olympic gold medal at Atlanta in 1996. In 2011 she won the World Championship gold in the team competition at the World Championships in Montpellier and two silvers, always in teams.

She participated in the Olympics in London 2012, where she won the bronze medal with the Italian national team. On 11 April 2014 she was conferred the honor of Knight of Merit of the Italian Republic for the bronze medal won in London in 2012.

She was part of the 2010 and 2011 Italian Group that competed at the World Championships that won the Group All-around gold medal. Her teammates also won a pair of bronze medals at the 2012 World Cup Final in 5 Balls and 3 Ribbons + 2 Hoops. She has won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the group all-around event together with other Group Members (Elisa Blanchi, Romina Laurito, Elisa Santoni, Anzhelika Savrayuk, Andreea Stefanescu).

Marta Pagnini an Italian rhythmic gymnast and winner of gold at World Championship 2011 & Olympic bronze medalist 2012. She is in conversation with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: You started doing gymnastics at an early age and grew up in Etruria Prato, the historical society that has trained in gymnastics like Jury Chechi , former Olympic gold medalist. You reached the pinnacle of success in rhythmic gymnastics when you in 2011 won the World Championship gold in the team competition at the World Championships in Montpellier. What factors you consider were responsible that made you achieve that?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: Before starting gymnastic I have been attending a ballet school. But, after two years, weary of this, I moved on gymnastics. At the beginning I considered gymnastic to be only fun, but afterwards, I became aware of having the ability to go further I became very keen on this wonderful sport which has became nearly a job!

Certainly there are lots of difficulties, together with the injuries and hard moments, that had made me stronger as an athlete but also as a girl, giving me the force to never give up, even when all seemed to go in the wrong way! My family has played a fundamental role in it, because it has always pushed me to go on and gave me the determination, that has always marked me and Olga, my trainer, I’ll never stop to thank her.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: You with your team, you all have innovated your own mesmerizing style of rhythmic gymnastics. Elaborate on your winning rhythmic gymnastics team concept ?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: The choice of the music is a fundamental element during the creation of our exercises, we check a lot of songs before we find the good one, we never leave the choice to the case. All the other nations envy us, our trainer which is by now considered a rhythmic gymastic colossum and she has always been true to herself, year after year. With our collaboration she always creates beautiful exercises (routines) that leave everyone breathless with astonishment.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine you shall like to share?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: Our training is in various disciplines, it includes athletic training – running, hoppings, speed jerks, together with stretching in order to increase both the spans and the splits. Another important aspect is the ballet with a specific choreographer and the repetition of the routines – that is the main part of the training – and at the end muscle-strengthening activities (abdominals, adductors, gluteal and dorsal muscles etc.)

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: The rhythmic gymnastic is a sport in which aesthetic is very important, so it is essential to keep a good physical form. Our diet is not different from the one a normal person could have. So our diet includes healthy food and we have to avoid abuses and junk food and so on. Our weight is controlled every day and so we have to keep it constant. Obviously, we very often allow ourselves to eat a sweet, too: gymnasts are famous to be particularly greedy.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair. Do you take some kind of skin treatment to keep it young and glowing and secondly, what do you do to your hair to make it look so stunning?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: Skin and hair care is very important for me. In our case for example hair is very stressed, because we always have it tied back during the whole day and for many days and the risk to damage it is very easy. To bound the damages I try to let my hair down as long as I can when I am not in gym and I often let my hair have a specific hair mask .

Also the skin, because of the sweat and the contact with the board, it is exposed to dust and dirt. For this reason it is important to clean it every morning and every evening and take a little scrub not less then twice a week by using pharmaceutical products.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding rhythmic gymnastics girls who all are your fans, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in field of rhythmic gymnastics ?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: The advice that I feel to give to the young gymnasts is to never give up in front of the difficulties. The thing that often stops the young gymnasts along their way is the hardness of difficult moments and if you don’t have the right determination to react against a defeat you risk missing the train and to be frustrated for the whole of your life.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: How did you feel before and after winning bronze medal at Olympics in London 2012 ?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: Taking part in the Olympic games is for sure the dream of each athlete. For this reason when I realised that I would have crowned it , I felt the happiest person in the World! Of course, after the first euphoria I felt the very great weight of the responsibility, but this feeling didn’t cause me the stress but also being proud and that the great will to do.

Once I had won the so coveted medal I felt the desire to thank all the people that have stayed by me also because my motto says that happiness is not a real one if you can’t share it!

Ms. Namita Nayyar: On 11 April 2014, you were conferred the honor of “Knight of Merit of the Italian Republic”. Tell us your feelings, experience and the responsibilities on receiving this honor?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: Becoming an Italian Republic (cavaliere) was one of the most beautiful experience that this sport presented to me, for sure a unique honour and another reward from the Italian State after the “collare d’oro”, it was a great joy. It’s right that who practices sport with a so big devotion could be appreciated on a national level.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: Who has been your greatest influencer and motivator in your success in the field of your career in competitive rhythmic gymnastics ?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: I can’t mention any one person whom I have to thank to for his or her support in my sportive career…there have been different people that, at the right time, gave me the force and encouragement to go on. At the beginning, sure as hell, were my grandparents that every day, patiently, took me to the gym and gave me important advice for my personal life.

My parents too have always found the right way to teach me how to face the positive and negative situations that I met on the way. At the end, but not as last, my trainer and my closest friends.

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Ms. Namita Nayyar: Tell us about the events that led you to win in 2011 when you won the gold in the team competition at the rhythmic gymnastics World Championships in Montpellier?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: Montpellier’s medal arrived in a period of sportive and personal rebirth…after a negative period of more than two years, during which I underwent two knee operations and several injuries and I had almost lost every hope to succeed in becoming part of the regular team. But after this bad period I committed myself completely and working constantly, I have reached this goal with my team and above all thank to Emanuela Maccarani who has always believed in me and who has given me her confidence, so precious.

Ms. Namita Nayyar: What you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?

Ms. Marta Pagnini: I hope that womenfitness.net will become more and more a landmark for those people who love sport and believe that it is a tool of communication and personal development.

So I invite the website followers to follow the exploits of our team, entirely female =)

Women Fitness Team thanks Marta Pagnini for giving her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and made this interview happen.

In order to view the Italian version of the interview click here

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