Student

English, French, German, Italian

RG Langgasse Bern: Switzerland

Aneliya Stancheva, BUL

Her younger sister Sophia Carlotta Chiariello has represented Switzerland in rhythmic gymnastics at junior level, including at the 2022 European Junior Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel. (SportsDeskOnline, 30 Aug 2022; bernerzeitung.ch, 19 Jun 2022; Swiss Rhythmic Gymnastics Facebook page, 01 Sep 2021)

In April 2022 she sustained a foot fracture. (bernerzeitung.ch, 19 Jun 2022; tvlbern.ch, 19 Jun 2022)

She took up rhythmic gymnastics at age five and began competing in 2012. "I was totally amazed that I was able to win my first competition right away. That motivated me to train more."

"I was attending kindergarten when the teacher advised my mother to let me practise a sport and play some instruments because I liked music. So at age five I started playing the violin. For the sport side, my mother, who used to teach ballet for rhythmic gymnasts, showed me a video and she asked me, 'Do you like it?' I said, 'Yes!'. So when I was five I started with rhythmic gymnastics, but at that time everything was just a game."

To compete at the Olympic Games. (sporthilfe.ch, 03 Dec 2020)

She trains at the regional performance centre in Biel, Switzerland.

PREPARATION CHALLENGES
She says balancing her school studies with sport and a lack of rhythmic gymnastics facilities in Switzerland put her at a disadvantage compared to other athletes at international level. "It is important to remember that most of my competitors train around 15 hours more per week and have around 15 less hours of school than I do. They train essentially under conditions that they find at competitions, in high halls and on a sprung floor. This not only protects them from injuries, but also helps immensely technically. In Switzerland, we are only just beginning to find solutions for this. If we can do that, the results will be more comparable with other nations." (nau.ch, 24 Aug 2022)

TRAINING ABROAD
She and her sister Sophia Carlotta Chiariello trained with coaches Julieta Cantaluppi and Kristina Ghiurova in Fabriano, Italy in 2018 and 2019. In 2021 she trained with coach Stefania Fogliata at the Accademia di Ginnastica Ritmica Nemesi in Lombardy, Italy. (nau.ch, 23 Jun 2021; blick.ch, 05 May 2021; Swiss Rhythmic Gymnastics Facebook page, 20 Apr 2021; ginnastica-ritmica.eu, 09 Jul 2020; bernerzeitung.ch, 12 Jul 2019)