Ayelén Tarabini

Ayelén Tarabini (born 11 June 1992) is an Argentine retired artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Pan American Championships bronze medalist on vault and the 2017 South American Championships gold medalist on floor exercise. She competed at five World Championships, but never participated at the Olympics in part due to injuries. Tarabini was a member of Argentina's national gymnastics team from 2006 until 2020, when she retired from the sport.

Ayelén Tarabini
Country represented	Argentina
Born	June 11, 1992
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite (Argentina national team)
Years on national team	2006-2020
Medal record Women's Artistic Gymnastics Representing  Argentina Pan American Championships 2008 Rosario Vault Pan American Sports Festival 2014 Guadalajara Balance beam 2014 Guadalajara All-around 2014 Guadalajara Floor exercise 2014 Guadalajara Uneven bars South American Games 2006 Buenos Aires Team 2018 Cochabamba Team 2010 Medellín Vault 2010 Medellín Balance beam South American Championships 2017 Cochabamba Floor exercise 2017 Cochabamba Team 2017 Cochabamba Vault 2017 Cochabamba Balance beam 2009 Sogamoso Team 2009 Sogamoso Balance beam

Career

Junior: 1995 - 2007

Tarabini began gymnastics at age three at Club Quilmes in Mar de Plata, Argentina.[1] She became a national team member in 2006.[1] At the 2006 South American Games, she won silver with the Argentine team.

2008-2012

Tarabini became a senior in 2008. That year she competed at the Pan American Championships and won bronze on vault.

Tarabini won team and balance beam bronze at the 2009 South American Championships. She participated at the 2009 World Championships in London, Great Britain.

Tarabini won bronze on vault and balance beam at the 2010 South American Games. She competed at the 2010 World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[2]

In 2011, she ruptured her left Achilles tendon, which meant she could not compete for eight months.[1]

2013-2016

In 2013, Tarabini injured her left rotator cuff and required surgery, which sidelined her for three months.[1]

In 2014, she competed at the Osijek World Cup in April and advanced to the vault final.[3] Tarabini competed at the 2014 Pan American Sports Festival, winning balance beam gold, silver in all-around and floor exercise, and uneven bars bronze. At the Pan American Championships, held from 25 August - 1 September, she advanced to the balance beam event finals.[3] A dislocated elbow prevented her from competing at the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China.[1]

In 2015, Tarabini participated at the Cottbus World Cup and Doha World Cup, both in March.[3] From 3 - 5 April, she competed at the Ljubljana World Cup, where she won floor exercise bronze with a score of 13.500.[3] In May, she competed at the Anadia World Cup, where she won silver on balance beam (13.475) and floor exercise (13.425).[3] She competed at the Pan American Games in July.[3] In October 2015, Tarabini competed at the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. During her floor routine, she ruptured her right Achilles tendon.[1][4]

2017-2020

At the 2017 Argentinian Championships held from 28 June - 1 July Tarabini won gold on vault and floor exercise, as well as silver on uneven bars and balance beam. She was the all-around champion.[3] At the 2017 South American Championships held from 27 November - 4 December Tarabini won floor exercise gold, as well as three silvers: in team, vault and balance beam.[3]

At the 2018 South American Games in May, she won team silver. In September, she competed at the Pan American Championships. From 25 October - 3 November Tarabini participated at the World Championships.[3] On 17 November, she once again became all-around champion at the Argentinian Championships.[3]

In May 2019, she tore her soleus muscle.[1] By July, she was no longer injured, but was taken off the team for the upcoming Pan American Games.[5] She competed at the Argentinian Championships at the end of August,[3] and then competed at the World Championships in October.[3][6]

In April 2020, Tarabini announced her retirement from gymnastics through a post on her social media. She claimed that she had been mistreated by national team staff, specifically head coach Roger Medina who had been appointed in 2019. She alleged that to keep her team membership, she was forced to train unsafely, with no regard for her prior injuries and the possibility of reinjuring her Achilles. She also said that after an argument with Medina, he took her off the team for the 2019 Pan American Games, and he said that he wanted a "young team"; and at the World Championships that year, the equipment she was training on was deliberately maladjusted by team coaches.[7][8][9]

References

1. "TARABINI Ayelen - FIG Athlete Profile". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
2. "2010 World Gymnastics Championships athletes - Ayelen Tarabini". LonginesTiming.com. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
3. "Ayelen Tarabini". The Gymternet. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
4. FIG Channel (23 October 2015). "TARABINI Ayelen (ARG) - 2015 Artistic Worlds - Qualifications Floor Exercise". Youtube.
5. "Le rompieron una nueva ilusión a Ayelén Tarabini: afuera de Lima 2019". El Marplatense (in Spanish). 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
6. "Ayelén Tarabini compite en el Mundial de Stuttgart". Qué digital (in Spanish). 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
7. Tarabini, Ayelen (2020-04-16). "Aproveche la cuarentena para encontrar las palabras adecuadas para despedirme.pic.twitter.com/B8WI1fEt71". @AyelenTarabini (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-19.
8. Olé. "Tarabini anunció su retiro e hizo acusaciones por maltrato". www.ole.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-19.
9. Clarín.com. "La gimnasta Ayelén Tarabini anunció su retiro y contó graves episodios de maltrato". www.clarin.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-04-19.