Salma Solaun
Solaun in 2024
Personal information
Country represented	Spain
Born	(2005-03-02) 2 March 2005 (age 19) Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Level	International Elite
Club	Beti-Ritmica
Head coach(es)	Alejandra Quereda, Ana María Pelaz
Former coach(es)	Marga Armas
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Championships 0 1 4 European Championships 1 2 2 FIG World Cup 1 5 3 Junior World Championships 0 0 1 Total 2 8 10 Rhythmic Gymnastics Representing  Spain World Championships 2023 Valencia 5 Hoops 2022 Sofia Team 2022 Sofia Group All Around 2022 Sofia 5 Hoops 2023 Valencia Group All Around Junior World Championships 2019 Moscow Ribbon European Championships 2024 Budapest 3 Ribbons + 2 Balls 2022 Tel Aviv 3 Ribbons + 2 Balls 2024 Budapest 5 Hoops 2023 Baku 3 Ribbons + 2 Balls 2024 Budapest Group All-Around

Salma Solaun (born 2 March 2005) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast^[1] who competed at the 2019 Junior World Rhythmic Gymnastic championships, where she won a bronze medal.^[2] She also won a silver medal at the 2022 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final.

Solaun took up gymnastics at age three because she was restless, so her parents signed her up for a rhythmic gymnastics class. She also tried swimming and skating, but in the end she chose rhythmic gymnastics. Salma now says that "rhythmic gymnastics is part of my life. I could not see myself without it". Her dream is to compete at the Olympic Games, like her idols Almudena Cid and Ganna Rizatdinova.^[3]

In 2018 Solaun was integrated in the national team while competing for Beti Aurrera.^[4] She then started taking part in international tournaments representing Spain.^[5] In June 2019, after winning the junior Spanish championships,^[6] Salma was selected for the Junior World Championships in Moscow, Russia,^[7] where she made the ribbon final in the end winning an historical bronze, the first individual medal for Spain since 1993.^[8]

In 2020 Solaun was included in the senior national team, she won medals in competitions, such as the Moscow Grand Prix in February.^[9] In 2021 she was among the contenders to represent Spain at the 2021 World Championship,^[10] she made the team but an injury to her left knee prevented her from competing and was replaced by her teammate Teresa Gorospe.^[11] She underwent surgery on the problem in November 2021 and was away from the sport for five months.^[12] In 2022 Solaun decided to switch to the group making her debut in 2022 at the World Cup in Sofia, they were 5th in the All-Around and 5 hoops and 6th with 3 ribbons + 2 balls.^{[13] [14]} In Baku they were 12th in the All-Around and therefore didn't qualify for event finals.^[15] A month later in Pamplona they won bronze in the All-Around and silver with 5 hoops.^[16][17] In Portimão they won 3 silver medals.^[18] They won All-Around bronze and 5 hoops and silver with 3 ribbons + 2 balls in Cluj-Napoca.^[19] Salma took part, with Ana Arnau, Inés Bergua, Valeria Márquez, Mireia Martínez and Patricia Pérez in the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, winning silver in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final,^[20] and the World Championshipsin Sofia^[21] where the Spanish group won three bronze medals: All-Around (earning them a spot for the 2024 Olympics), 5 hoops, and team.^{[22][23][24][25]}

In 2023 Salma and the group debuted at the World Cup in Sofia, taking 11th place overall and 8th with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.^[26][27] A week later they competed at the Grand Prix in Thiais.^[28] In April the group took part in the World Cup in Baku, being 10th in the All-Around and 8th with 5 hoops.^[29] In Portimão they won gold in the All-Around and silver with 5 hoops.^[30][31] At the European Championships in Baku the group finished 6th overall, 4th with 5 hoops and won bronze in the mixed event.^[32] After a training camp in Alicante Salma was selected for the World Championships in Valencia, there along Ana Arnau, Inés Bergua, Mireia Martínez and Patricia Pérez, she took bronze in the All-Around and silver with 5 hoops.^[33]

The first competition of the group in 2024 was the World Cup in Athens, where they took 4th place in the All-Around, 8th with 5 hoops and 7th with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.^[34][35] Weeks later, in Sofia they won silver with 5 balls, in Baku the group won gold in the All-Around and silver with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.^[36][37] In May she won gold in the All-Around and with 5 hoops as well as bronze in the mixed event at the stage in Portimão.^[38] At the European Championships in Budapest the Spanish group won bronze in the All-Around, silver with 5 hoops and gold with 3 ribbons & 2 balls.^[39][40] At the last World Cup of the season, in Cluj-Napoca, they won gold in the mixed event final.^[41] In early August Salma, Ana Arnau, Inés Bergua, Mireia Martínez and Patricia Pérez competed at the Olympic Games in Paris, where they took 10th place in the qualification event and thus not advancing to the final.^[42]