Teja Belak (born 22 April 1994) is a Slovenian
artistic gymnast who represented Slovenia at the
2016 Olympic Games. Additionally she is the
2019 European Games champion on vault. She primarily competes on the
FIG World Cup circuit.
Early life
Belak was born 22 April 1994 in
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
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, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
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.
She lived across the street from a gym and took up the sport when she was six years old.
Gymnastics career
2010–12
Belak turned senior in 2010; as a result she started competing on the
FIG World Cup circuit primarily as a vault specialist. She made her senior debut at the Cottbus World Cup where she finished sixth. She next competed in
Doha
Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
where she finished fifth. She made her first podium by winning gold at the
Maribor
Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...
World Cup held in her home country of
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
. Next she competed at the Moscow World Cup where she finished sixth. In October Belak competed at the
Ostrava
Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
World Cup where she finished fourth. The following month she competed in
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
where she finished seventh. She ended the season competing in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
but she failed to qualify to the vault final when she finished 13th in qualification.
In 2011, Belak did not compete for the first half of the year. She returned to competition in September at the
Maribor World Cup
Maribor ( , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is the seat of the Urban Municipality of Maribor and the Drava statistical region ...
where she placed second on vault behind
Valeria Maksyuta of Israel. She next competed at the
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
World Cup where she placed sixth. She ended the season competing at the Ostrava World Cup where she once again won silver behind Maksyuta.
In 2012, Belak made her debut at the
Doha World Cup where she won bronze on vault behind
Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland and
Nadine Jarosch of Germany. Next she competed at the Osijek Grand Prix where she failed to qualify to the vault final but placed fourth on balance beam. In May Belak competed at the
2012 European Championships where she finished 11th on vault during qualifications and was the third reserve for the final. In June she competed at the Maribor World Cup she won her second World Cup gold medal on vault and additionally won bronze on the balance beam. At the
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
World Cup she finished seventh on vault. In November, Belak competed at the Ostrava World Cup where she finished eighth on vault.
2013–14
2013 was a breakout year for Belak as she competed in numerous high-profile international events beyond the
World Cup series. In March she competed at the World Cups in Cottbus and Doha, placing fifth on vault and sixth on balance beam in Doha. In April Belak competed at the
2013 European Championships where she qualified to the vault final and finished in fourth place, finishing .300 points behind the two silver medalists
Larisa Iordache and
Noël van Klaveren. The following week she competed at the Ljubljana World Cup in her hometown; she finished eighth on both vault and balance beam.
In June Belak competed at the
2013 Mediterranean Games
The 2013 Mediterranean Games (), officially known as the XVII Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Mersin 2013, was an international multi-sport event held from 20 to 30 June 2013 in Mersin, Turkey. Mersin was announced as the host cit ...
in
Mersin
Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...
. Although she qualified to the
vault final in second place, she ended up placing sixth. Additionally she helped Slovenia finish sixth as a team. The following month she competed at the
Summer Universiade
The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...
where she finished seventh on vault and helped Slovenia finish 11th as a team. In October Belak represented Slovenia at the
World Championships in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
. During
qualifications she finished 11th on vault and was the third reserve for the vault final.
Belak began the 2014 season competing at the
Cottbus World Cup. During qualifications she finished 18th on vault and 9th on balance beam. Next she competed at the Doha World Cup where she won silver on vault behind
Larisa Iordache. The following month she competed at the Osijek World Cup where she won the bronze on vault. Belak next competed 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 ...
. During qualifications she placed 15th on vault and 35th on balance beam and therefore did not qualify for any event finals. She ended the season competing at the Anadia World Cup where she won gold on vault and silver on balance beam.
2015
Belak began the season competing at the
Cottbus World Cup where she won the bronze medal on vault behind
Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (; born 19 June 1975) is an Uzbekistani gymnastics, artistic gymnast who previously represented the Soviet Union and Germany.
Chusovitina's career as an elite gymnast has spanned more than three decades. She wo ...
and compatriot
Tjaša Kysselef. Additionally she finished eighth on uneven bars. The following week she competed in Doha where she once again won the bronze medal on vault. Continuing on the series she next competed in her hometown of
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
where she won the silver medal on vault behind Chusovitina.
Belak competed 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 ...
where she qualified to the vault final in seventh place and placed 32nd on uneven bars. During event finals she finished eighth on vault.
After the European Championships Belak continued competing at the World Cup series. She won the silver medal on vault at the Varna World Cup, once again behind Chusovitina. Afterwards she competed in Anadia where she placed sixth on vault and eighth on uneven bars. In September she competed at the Osijek World Cup where she finished eighth on both vault and uneven bars. Later that month she competed at the Hungarian Grand Prix where she finished second in the all-around. As for event finals she won silver on vault behind
Boglárka Dévai, bronze on uneven bars, and placed fifth on balance beam.
In October Belak represented Slovenia at the
World Championships in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. She placed 58th in the all-around during qualifications and 15th on vault; she did not qualify for any individual event finals.
2016
Belak began the season competing at the
Doha World Cup where she won silver on vault behind
Giulia Steingruber. She next competed in Cottbus where she placed seventh on vault and eighth on balance beam. Next she competed in Ljubljana and won silver on vault, bronze on uneven bars, place fourth on balance beam, and seventh on floor exercise.
In April Belak was selected to represent Slovenia at the
Olympic Test Event. She finished 52nd in the all-around and
qualified as an individual to the
2016 Olympic Games in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. In May Belak competed at the Varna Challenge Cup where she finished eighth on uneven bars. In June she competed 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 ...
; she finished sixth on vault.
Belak finished the season competing at the
2016 Olympic Games. During
qualifications she only competed on vault where she finished 19th and did not qualify to the
vault event final.
2017–18
Belak competed at the
2017 World Cups 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 ...
and
Doha
Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
, earning bronze on vault at both. In April she competed 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 ...
where she placed seventh on vault. She spent the remainder of the season competing in the World Cup series, earning bronze medals in
Koper
Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...
and
Varna and finished eighth in Osijek.
Belak began the 2018 season once again competing at the
World Cups in Baku and Doha, finishing sixth and eighth on vault respectively. In June Belak competed at the
Mediterranean Games
The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...
. She helped Slovenia finish sixth in the team final. Individually she won the bronze medal on vault and placed seventh on balance beam. In August Belak competed 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 ...
where she finished eighth on vault. In early October she competed at the Leverkusen Cup in Germany where she helped Slovenia win gold as a team; she posted the second highest score on balance beam.
Belak was selected to represent Slovenia at the
2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. She finished 16th on vault and did not qualify to the event final. Belak ended the season competing at the Cottbus World Cup, which was the first World Cup event to be used to accumulate points towards
qualification to the 2020 Olympic Games. While there Belak finished eighth on vault.
2019

Belak began the season competing at the Baku and Doha
World Cups but did not qualify for any event finals. In April she competed 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 ...
and qualified to the vault final in second place. However, during the final she fell on her double twisting yurchenko and finished in eighth place. She next competed at the Osijek and Koper Challenge Cups where she won gold and silver on vault respectively.
In June Belak represented Slovenia at the
European Games
The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from countries served by national Olympic committees within the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the regional association for such committ ...
. While there she won the gold medal on
vault, finishing ahead of
Angelina Melnikova of Russia. In August and September Belak competed at the Mersin and Szombathely Challenge Cups, winning gold on vault and silver on balance beam in Mersin and winning silver on both vault and balance beam in Szombathely.
In October Belak competed at the
World Championships in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
. During qualifications she finished 15th on vault and did not qualify for the event final. The all-around competition was used as
Olympic qualification for individuals; Belak placed 144th and did not qualify to the
2020 Olympic Games
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
. She ended the season competing at the Cottbus World Cup where she finished second on vault behind
Yu Linmin of China.
2020–21
Belak competed at the
2020 Melbourne World Cup where she placed seventh on vault. She next competed at the
Baku World Cup, qualifying to the vault final in first place. However event finals were canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan. The
FIG later ruled that the results of qualification would be used for point distribution for
Olympic qualification.
On May 31, 2021 Belak and her partner, fellow Slovenian gymnast
Žiga Šilc, welcomed a son.
2022–24
Belak returned to competition in March where she competed at the
2022 Cairo World Cup, less than a year after giving birth. She was the first reserve on balance beam but received a 0 on her first vault and did not qualify for the final. Belak next competed at the
Baku World Cup where she qualified to the vault final in second place. During the event final she won bronze behind
Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (; born 19 June 1975) is an Uzbekistani gymnastics, artistic gymnast who previously represented the Soviet Union and Germany.
Chusovitina's career as an elite gymnast has spanned more than three decades. She wo ...
and
Csenge Bácskay. At the Osijek Challenge Cup she won silver on vault behind
Valentina Georgieva. In October Belak won gold on vault at the
Mersin Challenge Cup. She ended the season competing at the
2022 World Championships where she finished 15th on vault during qualifications.
In the summer of 2023 Belak gave birth to her second child. She intended to compete at the
2024 European Championships less than eight months after giving birth. However she suffered a foot injury which kept her from competing for the rest of the season.
2025
Belak returned to competition in 2025, competing at numerous
World Cups. She won gold in Cottbus, sharing a podium with compatriot
Tjaša Kysselef and fellow mother
Oksana Chusovitina
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (; born 19 June 1975) is an Uzbekistani gymnastics, artistic gymnast who previously represented the Soviet Union and Germany.
Chusovitina's career as an elite gymnast has spanned more than three decades. She wo ...
. This podium garnered significant media attention due to the fact that the ages of three medallists equalled 110. Additionally she won silver in Baku behind Chusovitina and won another gold in Doha.
Competitive history
References
External links
database.fig-gymnastics.comProfileat ''Postanivojak.si''
www.intylgymnast.comYouTube.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belak, Teja
1994 births
Living people
Slovenian female artistic gymnasts
Gymnasts from Ljubljana
Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2019 European Games
Olympic gymnasts for Slovenia
Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Slovenia
Mediterranean Games medalists in gymnastics
Gymnasts at the 2018 Mediterranean Games
European Games competitors for Slovenia
European Games gold medalists for Slovenia
European Games medalists in gymnastics
21st-century Slovenian sportswomen