Shani Bakanov (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: שני בקנוב; born 27 February 2006) is a retired Israeli world champion

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 ...

. She won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the group All-Around at the 2022 European Championship, and the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the same category at the 2022 World Championships. She won two gold medals at the

2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships The 2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships had been held in Valencia, Spain at the Feria Valencia. The championships is a qualification event for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The 14 highest-ranked individuals from the all-around co ...

. She represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Women's rhythmic team all-around, in which Team Israel won the

Early and personal life

Bakanov was born in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, Israel, and is Jewish. Her parents immigrated to Israel from Belarus. She is a student at

Leo Baeck Leo Baeck (; 23 May 1873 – 2 November 1956) was a 20th-century German rabbi, scholar, and theologian. He served as leader of Reform Judaism in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi ...

High School in Haifa. She lives in the Neve David neighborhood in Haifa, with her mother, who works as a cleaner, and her sister in a small 33 square meter (355 square foot) apartment. She speaks Hebrew and English.

Rhythmic gymnastics career

Bakanov began the sport at age four at the

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

club in Israel, and Maccabi Haifa remains her club. Her coach is Ayelet Zussman. She trains at the

Wingate Institute Wingate Institute (), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports (), is a sports training institute located south of Netanya, Israel. History Wingate Institute was established in 1957. It was named after Orde Wingate. ...

11 hours a day, six days a week, taking one day a week off to study. She speaks Hebrew and English.

Junior; European Championship bronze medals

In 2021 Shani was part of the junior group along with Eliza Banchuk, Alona Hillel, Emili Malka. and Simona Rudnik, that won

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

s in the All-Around and with 5 ribbons at 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 ...

Varna, Bulgaria Varna (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, t ...

Senior

2022; European champion

In 2022 she was named part of Israel's new national group. They debuted at 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 ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, winning

s in 5 hoops and 3 ribbons + 2 balls. Then

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 ...

, where they got bronze in the All-Around and 5 hoops.

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

(All-Around

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 ...

(All-Around gold) and

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

(All-Around and 5 hoops silver). In June she competed in the

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, where the group won the All-Around and got silver with 5 hoops as well as the bronze medal in the senior team category along with teammates Adar Friedmann, Amit Hedvat,

Romi Paritzki Romi Paritzki (Hebrew: רומי פריצקי: born on 17 June 2004) is a retired Israeli world champion rhythmic gymnast, and captain of Israel's rhythmic gymnastics team. She won the gold medal in the group All-Around at the 2022 European Cha ...

, Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertsov, and the individuals

Daria Atamanov Daria Atamanov (, ; born December 6, 2005) is a retired Israeli individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2022 European all-around Champion, and the 2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics Wor ...

and

Adi Asya Katz Adi Asia Katz (; born 31 March 2004) is a retired Israeli Rhythmic Gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2022 European bronze medallist in Ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), Ribbon, and Team Bronze m ...

. In September, she competed in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

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 ...

along Adar Friedmann,

, Ofir Shaham, and Diana Svertsov, winning two silver medals in the All-Around and the 5 hoops' final. Despite being among the favourites for a team medal, Israel couldn't take part in the competition because Atamanov broke her foot the day before the competition started and, as replacements had to be announced at least 24 hours before competition, leaving the country with only Katz as individual.

2023; World champion

In 2023 at the first

of the season in Athens the group won gold in the All-Around and with 5 hoops as well as silver with 3 ribbons + 2 balls. In Sofia they won silver in the All-Around and with 5 hoops. In May 2023 at the

2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships The 2023 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships was the 39th edition of the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, it took place on 17–21 May 2023 at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan. Participating countries * * ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, she won a gold medal in Group Hoop, silver medals in Group and Group Ball, Ribbon, and a bronze medal in Team. In August 2023 at the

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Spain, she won gold medals in Group and Group Ball, Ribbon. She said: "I probably cried the most out of all of them, when we stood on top of the podium. We are world champions, it's unbelievable."

2024–present; Paris Olympics silver medal

In May 2024 at the

2024 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships The 2024 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships is the 40th edition of the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships. The competition took place on 22-26 May 2024 at the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena, Papp László Sportaréna in Buda ...

in Budapest, Hungary, she won a silver medal in Group Ball, Ribbon, and a bronze medal in Group Hoop. That same month, at the

2024 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Cup The 2024 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Cup is the inaugural European Cup in Rhythmic Gymnastics. The competition was held at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundari ...

, she won gold medals in All-Around and 5 Hoops. She represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Women's rhythmic team all-around, in which Team Israel won the

.Nadav Zenziper (August 10, 2024)
"Lucky seven: Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team wins silver at Paris Olympics all-around final,"
''Ynet''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakanov, Shani 2006 births Living people 21st-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli sportswomen Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Israeli rhythmic gymnasts Jewish Israeli sportspeople Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Sportspeople from Haifa Wingate Institute alumni Olympic gymnasts for Israel Olympic medalists in gymnastics Olympic silver medalists for Israel Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics