Meet Claudia Mancinelli, The Italian Gymnastics Coach Who Is Going Viral

Claudia Mancinelli, once an actress and now a coach for the Italian rhythmic gymnastics team, has become a social media star after a video of her standing up to judges at the Paris Olympics went viral recently. Her intense, serious look during the event has been catching everyone’s attention.

Her now-viral video has already been viewed about 38 million times so far. The incident reportedly took place when Italian gymnast Sofia Raffaeli’s chances for a win were put at risk due to the judges’ initial scoring during the all-around final. Refusing to let Raffaeli’s efforts be in vain, coach Claudia Mancinelli stepped in, confronted the judges and demanded a review of the score.

The clip of the 39-year-old coach walking back from the judge’s bench quickly spread online. With her coaching, Sofia Raffaeli won a bronze medal in the women’s rhythmic individual all-around competition. Her pictures and videos have been widely shared and people have been admiring both her beauty and assertiveness.

Watch the viral video here:

“Reminds me of when a teacher leans over to help you with your school work,” wrote a user.

“She knew what she was doing,” wrote another one while a comment read, “That’s how champions are made.”

According to The Sports Grail, Claudia was born in Fabriano. Her journey with gymnastics began at a very young age and she trained under the guidance of gymnastic legends like Kristina Ghiurova and Mirna Baldoni. She took her local club from Serie B to the prestigious Serie A1. Soon, she left gymnastics and started to pursue a career in acting.

She made a name for herself with roles in films like Unique Brothers, The Tourist and Nine. However, destiny had other plans. When renowned coach Julieta Cantaluppi resigned just ten months before the Paris Olympics, the federation called Mancinelli back to lead the national rhythmic gymnastics team.

With only a few months to prepare for the Olympics, Mancinelli faced the difficult task of turning gymnasts Sofia Raffaeli and Milena Baldassarri into top-tier competitors. Finally, under her training, Raffaeli ultimately won a historic bronze medal in the individual all-around competition. It is Italy’s first-ever individual medal in rhythmic gymnastics.