Alina Vesselova
{{Short description|Estonian rhythmic gymnast}}
{{Infobox gymnast|name=Alina Vesselova|country={{EST}}|birth_date={{birth date and age|df=yes|2003|08|22}}|birth_place=Tallinn, Estonia|height={{convert|163|cm|ftin}}|discipline=RG|natlteam=2017-|club=SK Nord|headcoach=Natalja Bestsastnaja, Irina Stadnik|medaltemplates=
{{Medal|Country| {{EST}} }}
{{MedalSport|Rhythmic gymnastics}}
{{MedalCount
| Grand Prix Series | 0|1|3
| European Championships | 0|0|1
|Total|0|1|4
{{MedalCompetition | European Championships}}
{{MedalBronze|2020 Kyiv|5 Balls}}
}}|show-medals=yes}}
Alina Vesselova (born 22 August 2003) is an Estonian rhythmic gymnast.{{Cite web |title=VESSELOVA Alina - FIG Athlete Profile |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=58155 |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=www.gymnastics.sport}} She won bronze with 5 balls at the 2020 European Championships.
Personal life
Vesselova took up the sport when she was 3 and half, her mother made her try it and she immediately loved it.{{Cite web |title=Eesti iluvõimlejad muudavad võimlemisega maailma ja unistavad olümpiast – Ajakiri SPORT |url=https://ajakirisport.ee/2019/06/19/eesti-iluvoimlejad-muudavad-voimlemisega-maailma-ja-unistavad-olumpiast/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |language=en-US}} Vesselova speaks Estonian, English and Russian. Her ambition is to compete at the Olympic Games. Her hobbies are painting and drawing.{{Cite web |title=Koondised – Eesti Võimlemisliit/Estonian Gymnastics Federation |url=https://www.eevl.ee/koondised/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |language=et}} Her sport idol is Neymar while she considers Audrey Hepburn her role model.
Career
Vesselova competed at the 2017 European Championships in Budapest, as a member of the Estonian junior group, finishing 7th in the All-Around.{{Cite web |title=Junior 10 clubs result |url=https://www.gymmedia.com/RG/ECh17-Budapest/jun-groups-fin.pdf |website=gymmedia |format=PDF}}
Vesselova integrated the senior national group in 2019, taking part in the World Championships in Baku where the group finished 19th in the All-Around and with 5 balls and 18th with 3 hoops + 4 clubs.{{Cite web |title=2019 World Championships |url=https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/r_19worlds_complete.pdf |access-date=2022-10-04 |archive-date=2022-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302223231/https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/r_19worlds_complete.pdf |url-status=dead }}
In 2020 the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic but she competed at the 2020 European Championships in Kyiv, where her and her teammates Laurabell Kabrits, Evelin Naptal, Carmely Reiska and Arina Okamanchuk made history by winning Estonia's first European medal: bronze in the 5 balls final, behind Ukraine and Israel.{{Cite web |title=2020 European Championships 5 balls |url=https://backend.europeangymnastics.com/sites/default/files/paragraph/age-group-competition-info/competition-results/SENIORS%20-%20Group%20-%20Apparatus%20Final%205%20Balls%20ApparatusResultsRg.pdf |website=europeangymnastics |format=PDF}}{{Cite web |title=Eesti rühmkava koondis võitis iluvõimlemise EM-il pronksmedali – Eesti Võimlemisliit/Estonian Gymnastics Federation |url=https://www.eevl.ee/2020/11/28/eesti-ruhmkava-koondis-voitis-iluvoimlemise-em-il-pronksmedali-2/ |access-date=2022-10-02 |language=et}}
In 2021 Alina took part in the World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. The Estonian group made of Alina, Laurabell Kabrits, Evelin Naptal, Carmely Reiska, Arina Okamanchuk finished 13th in the All-Around and both the routines.{{Cite web |title=2021 World Championships Result Book |url=https://gym.longinestiming.com/File/0000130000FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF03 |website=longinestiming |format=PDF}}{{Cite web |title=2021 World Championships |url=https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2021/r_21worlds_gpaa.pdf |website=usagym |format=PDF |access-date=2022-10-04 |archive-date=2021-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219131555/https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2021/r_21worlds_gpaa.pdf |url-status=dead }}
She was selected for the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, the group finished 15th in the All-Around, 18th with 5 hoops and 9th with 3 ribbons + 2 balls.{{Cite web |title=2022 European Championships |url=https://backend.europeangymnastics.com/sites/default/files/paragraph/age-group-competition-info/competition-results/SENIORS%20-%20Group%20-%20Qualification%20AllAroundResultsRg_2.pdf |website=europeangymnastics |format=PDF}} In September she participated in the World Championships in Sofia, where she along with teammates Adelina Beljajeva, Mirtel Korbelainen, Kiara Oja, Evelin Naptal, Arina Okamanchuk was 20th in the All-Around, 15th with 5 hoops and 18th with 3 ribbons + 2 balls.{{Cite web |title=2022 World Championships Result Book |url=https://gym.longinestiming.com/File/0000140001FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF02 |website=longinestiming |format=PDF}}