An Olympic medal and a marriage proposal? Italy's rhythmic gymnast Alessia Maurelli says 'yes' to both
As a child, rhythmic gymnast Alessia Maurelli drew a picture of herself doing the splits inside the Olympic rings symbol with the Italian flag next to her. It was a picture she was asked to draw to illustrate her biggest dream.
Years later, at her third Olympic Games, that dream was transformed from a child's drawing to a series of professionally taken photographs at an Olympic Games. The splits, the Olympic symbol and the Italian flag were all in the shots, but there was one notable addition as well – a shiny diamond engagement ring on Maurelli's finger.
The three-time Olympian received a marriage proposal from her boyfriend of two years, Massimo Bertelloni, as soon as she got off the podium after receiving the bronze medal in the rhythmic gymnastics group-around with Team Italy at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Saturday 10 August.
"I can't believe it," Maurelli later told Olympics.com. "It's a very strange day. I think it's maybe one of the most beautiful days of my life. I will remember it forever, and I'm very happy. This ring and this medal smell of the future and I'm very happy to live this with my best friends. teammates, and with my future husband."
Team Italy: Sisters rather than teammates
Maurelli had initially planned to leave competitive sport after Tokyo 2020. By that point, she had competed at two Olympic Games, finishing fourth at Rio 2016 and getting a bronze in the Japanese capital.
The medal seemed a good way to wrap up 16 years in the sport, but with the next Olympics only three instead of four years away, Maurelli decided to continue. The special bond she had with her teammates was another major factor for the Italian athlete to aim for a third Olympic appearance during which she would be two weeks shy of her 28th birthday.
Pursuing the same dream, living together and even sporting the same tattoos of butterflies and the word 'guerriere' (warriors), the Italian rhythmic gymnastics team has established an identity that goes beyond sport. The athletes on Team Italy call themselves sisters rather than teammates and pride themselves on the bond they have developed off the competition mat.
That bond has many years and several Olympic cycles. Unlike other teams competing at Paris 2024, the Italians boast the most Olympic veterans. Four out of five group members have competed at Tokyo 2020. Maurelli, who is the team captain, and Martina Centofanti have also taken part at Rio 2016, where the team finished fourth.
Only 21-year-old Laura Paris, the youngest on the squad, was making her Olympic debut in the French capital. Despite joining the team later than her Olympic medal-winning teammates, Paris was quickly made to feel part of the family.
"We say that we are almost sisters because it is like there is a union between us that is crazy, just like that of sisters," Paris said. "It is something truly inexplicable that then can also be seen on the mat and I believe that this is our greatest strength."
In the first rotation, the Italian team performed a dynamic routine set to a mix of classical and rap music.
Medals and engagement rings in the City of Love
The bond and synchrony between the Italian gymnasts were on full display on Saturday 10 August when the five women walked out for the group all-around final.
The Italians had qualified in second place, behind defending champions Bulgaria, and were the second last to perform.
Their first rotation with five hoops set the tone, starting with some tense chords from Ludwig van Beethoven and then smoothly flowing into an even more energetic rap sequence by Vo Williams, the lyrics "greatness, greatness" repeated for everyone in the Porte de La Chapelle Arena to hear.
Dazzling in its many swirls and complex exchanges, the routine ended with one gymnast perched on the shoulders of another, a hoop raised high in her hand.
"Our routines are very different, Maurelli said. "Five hoops, we're very strong. We have music where the words say 'greatness', the greatness of everything. The greatness of sports, the greatness of life. It's very powerful."
This routine put the Italians in third place after the first rotation, 0.850 points behind the leaders from the People's Republic of China.
A dropped hoop had put Bulgaria second last in the rankings but given the strength of this team which had won medals at the last two Olympic Games, the Italians knew that this was no time to relax.
Italy's rhythmic gymnastics team finished the choreography of their second rotation at Paris 2024 with an embrace.
Things got even more heated in the second rotation. France welcomed the spectators to the Moulin Rouge, the crowds sometimes cheering so loud that they overpowered the music. Ukraine got the stands clapping along with their "Eye of the Tiger" routine, leaders China delivered a poignant number set to ethnic guitar strums, while Bulgaria made up for their earlier hoop fumble with the highest-scoring programme in the second rotation.
It was not enough, however, as China's combined score of 69.800 proved impossible to match.
The Italians tried to put themselves in contention with a flowing ribbon and ball routine set to Ennio Morricone's "L'estasi dell'oro" but came 1.700 short with a total of 68.100 points. As their earlier routine, this one also included their signature lift and ended with a group embrace.
"Our exercise with the balls and ribbons is very different," Maurelli said. "It is also about the power for exercise, but different (because it) is so emotional, so powerful. These exercises make us cry sometimes and we are proud to bring this exercise to the Olympics.
"The choice of music and choreography is (with) our coach. She is renowned for this. It's her seventh Olympics, so she's really an added value. She created amazing exercises and the music she used, particularly the one that speaks about Italy, is great. We are happy to showcase Italy through our exercises."
Last to go in the rotation, Israel also tapped into the Moulin Rouge theme, mixed in with lyrics from Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, which got a big cheer from the spectators and helped them to a silver medal with a total score of 68.850.
It marked the first Olympic medal for Israel in a rhythmic gymnastics team event.
The Italian team has won back-to-back bronze medals in the rhythmic gymnastics group all-around event.
While it was another bronze medal for Team Italy, the gymanasts were all smiles as they got on the podium.
"We are very, very happy. This is a very important medal for us," Maurelli said. "It was very difficult period. These three years were very, very difficult for us, but also for our coaches and this is the answer to everything, this medal. So we are so, so happy."
For Laura Paris, who was receiving her first ever Olympic medal, there was even more reason to celebrate.
"This was a magical experience and even more beautiful than I could have imagined," she said. "The fact that it would be a bronze is never a given, because as we have been taught, as our sport has taught us, and all sports in general, every medal is never a given. It's always something really important. This one that we managed to win today, we wanted it so much, we believed in it a lot and I think that this was precisely our strong point, the strength, the unity that was in the team."
And could her last name have been the team's other strength and lucky charm in the French capital? She might take a bit of credit, Paris answered with a laugh.
"It's true that this medal bears my name," she said. "Some tell me that it was destiny that it had to go this way. Let's believe it."