Justine Lavit (born 19 July 2006) is a French

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

and a member of the national group. She competed in the group event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Career

Junior

Lavit competed as an individual up through the junior category. She participated in her first international competition in 2017 at age 11, and she was 13th at the junior national championships in 2019. She began training in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

in 2016. In October 2020, she participated in the selection process for the team for the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

at the National Institute for Sport, Expertise and Performance (INSEP). She placed third and was not selected. In January 2021, she won bronze at a review competition in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

. In September, she began training at INSEP, trying to achieve her dream of competing at the

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Senior

Lavit began competing as part of the national senior group in 2022. In May, she was bothered by a foot injury. However, she competed at the

Gymnasiade The Gymnasiade, or World Gymnasiade, or World School Sport Games, or ISF World School Sport Games is an international multi-sport event which is organised by the International School Sport Federation (ISF). It is the largest event among many oth ...

, and the group won silver in the all-around. In March 2023 she debuted as a member of the group at the international tournament in Fellbach-Schmiden, where they took 6th place in both finals. Lavit only competed in the 5 hoops routine. She then participated in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, replacing Ashley Julien, where France won three bronze medals. In April she competed in the World Cup in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. The group was 8th in the all-around and 6th with hoops. In April, the group won all three gold medals at the Grand Prix in

Thiais Thiais () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. The name Thiais comes from Medieval Latin ''Theodasium'' or ''Theodaxium'', meaning "estate of Theodasiu ...

. She was among the selected gymnasts for the

in Baku, along with fellow group members Eleonore Caburet, Emma Delaine, Manelle Inaho, Lozea Vilarino, Celia Joseph-Noel, and the individuals Hélène Karbanov and Maelle Millet. The group finished 7th with 5 hoops and 8th in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final. She also competed at the 2023 World Championships, where she and the group had a particularly strong performance with 5 hoops and were able to win a quota for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. A French group had not qualified for the Olympics in 24 years. In April 2024, Lavit and the group won the gold medal in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final as well as silver in the all-around at the

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. They also won bronze in the all-around and with 5 hoops at World Challenge Cup in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

. At the Grand Prix in Thiais in April, they again won gold in the all-around, as well as with 3 ribbons + 2 balls, and won bronze with 5 hoops. In May, at the

, they finished in 11th place. Lavit was the youngest member of the group at the Olympics. At the Olympics in August, the group had a strong performance in the qualification round and qualified for the final in 4th place. Lavit said the group was already very proud of themselves and commented on how exciting it was to compete in front of the French crowd. In the final, they scored several points lower and finished in 6th place. At the 2025 European Championships in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Justine and the French group placed 9th in the all-around and won silver medal in 5 ribbons final.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavit, Justine 2006 births Living people French rhythmic gymnasts 21st-century French sportswomen Sportspeople from Tarbes Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for France Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships