Aug 9, 2024; Paris, France; Sofia Raffaeli (ITA) in the women's rhythmic gymnastics all-around final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Adidas Arena. Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

Who is Claudia Mancinelli? Viral Italian rhythmic gymnastics coach

Originally posted on The Athlete Lifestyle on SI
By Josh Sanchez | Last updated Aug 10, 2024 10:29 AM ET

The 2024 Paris Olympics have a new breakout star as the Summer Games come to a close, but it isn't one of the athletes. Instead, it is Claudia Mancinelli, the Italian rhythmic gymnastics team coach.

Mancinelli went viral on social media after a video exploded on X.

In the video, Mancinelli approaches the judges to file for an inquiry on behalf of gymnast Sofia Raffaeli. The video has been viewed over 22.5 million times with over 146,000 likes.

this coach could get mad at me anytime she wants pic.twitter.com/62yJavINNr
— kira (@kirawontmiss) August 9, 2024

People couldn't get enough of the Italian beauty.

Yo por esta mujer, esta Perséfone, esta Helena, me robo la torre Eiffel y genero un conflicto digno de leyenda.
Claudia Mancinelli pic.twitter.com/4JAeYFH1RP pic.twitter.com/cUihJAww3N
— Hewlett Packard (@hardpaella) August 10, 2024

X users were even creating "fan cams" for the 39-year-old Italian coach.

currently shaking with rage bc i am not an italian rhythmic gymnast and claudia mancinelli will never be my coach pic.twitter.com/RS3dqAs6bA
— ✿emoly✿ (@emhstnd) August 10, 2024

Raffaeli went on to win bronze in the women's rhythmic individual all-around competition. Rafaeli's win was the first-ever individual medal for Italy in rhythmic gymnastics.

The Italians also won bronze in the women's rhythmic group all-around, making their time in Paris a success for Mancinelli's squad.

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Before accepting the coaching job for Italy's rhythmic gymnastics team which was offered by the Italian Federation, Mancinelli was an actress.

According to IMDB, she appeared in four films and was most known for her roles in the films Unique Brothers (2014), The Tourist (2010), and Nine (2009).

Now, she will go down in Italian Olympics lore as the woman who led the Italian rthymic gymnastics team to a successful run in the 2024 Paris Games and the country's first-ever individual medal in the discipline.