Raffaeli on change, travel, and getting her driver’s license
As her career continues on, Raffaeli, 21, understands things will change.
“Of course, the explosiveness you have as a kid almost never corresponds with the expressiveness you acquire later,” she said. “Now I adapt a lot to all kinds of music, I try not to be predictable. This year we haven’t experimented with new styles—maybe it’s time to step out of my comfort zone. Everyone has seen what I can do. I’d like to experiment, find original forms of expression, new interpretations.”
That has been on full display this season, especially in one particular exercise.
“The routine I feel most comfortable with right now is the hoop one because I absolutely love the music I chose. ‘Tu si na cosa grande’ came up by chance while we were looking for an Italian song on YouTube,” said Raffaeli. “As soon as I heard it, I said: why not? … The song is dedicated to rhythmic gymnastics, which for me is the greatest thing.”
Off the carpet, her world is expanding, delighting in the universal joy of finally getting her driver’s license.
“I care more about my red Fiat 500 than an apartment,” she said. “I’ve always travelled a lot thanks to rhythmic gymnastics, but always being transported. Now, I know I can go wherever I want.”
Her driver’s license can’t quite take her to her latest destination, Rio, a city she’s excited to be visiting for the first time.
“I love to discover new places,” Raffaeli said. “Competing in the same places becomes routine; you don’t even feel curious to step outside the arena.”
In Rio, she will also be stepping back into the spotlight — a chance to show how champions evolve, and to prove that Sofia Raffaeli remains one of rhythmic gymnastics’ brightest stars.