Ariella Käslin (anglicised Kaeslin; born 11 October 1987) is a Swiss former artistic gymnast. She won all five gold medals at the 2007 Swiss National Championships,[1] and has represented Switzerland at the World Championships in 2007, 2006 and 2005, and was a medalist on the World Cup circuit. Käslin represented Switzerland at the 2008 Olympics, where she placed 18th in the individual all-around final[2] and 5th in the vault event final.[3]

Ariella Käslin
Personal information
Full nameAriella Käslin
Country represented Switzerland
Born (1987-10-11) 11 October 1987 (age 36)
Lucerne, Switzerland
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International
ClubBTV Luzern
Head coach(es)Zoltan Jordanov, Snejana Jordanova
ChoreographerPascale Grossenbacher
Retired11 July 2011
Medal record
Representing  Switzerland
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 London Vault
World Cup Final
Silver medal – second place 2008 Madrid Vault
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Milan Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Milan All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Berlin Vault

Gymnastics career edit

In 2008, 2009 and 2010, Käslin was voted by the Swiss public as "Swiss Sportswoman of the Year"; only cyclist Tony Rominger (1992, 1993, 1994) had previously achieved three consecutive "Sportsman of the Year" awards in Switzerland.

In 2009, she became European Champion on the vault, as well as taking home a bronze medal in the All Around final. She then followed up this success with a silver medal on the vault at the 2009 World Championships.

On 11 July 2011, Käslin announced her retirement from competition.[4]

Personal life edit

In April 2021, Käslin came out as a lesbian.[5] Regarding her decision to come out publicly, she remarked: "I then understood that as a public figure, I also had to come out publicly, otherwise I would never be able to live my love for a woman in complete freedom. But I'm also scared."[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Käslin Counting Down to Beijing" John Crumlish, International Gymnast, November 12, 2007
  2. ^ "Results - All Around Women's Individual Final". The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. 2008-08-15. Archived from the original on 18 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  3. ^ "Vault event final scores". NBC Olympics. 2008-08-17. Archived from the original on 18 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  4. ^ "The Leading Source of Gymnastics News".
  5. ^ Gertsch, Christof (9 April 2021). "Ariella Kaeslin outet sich: "Ich fand Frauen schon immer attraktiv"" [Ariella Kaeslin comes out: "I've always found women attractive"]. Tages-Anzeiger (in German).
  6. ^ Oberli, Thibaud (11 April 2021). "Ariella Kaeslin: "J'aime une femme"" [Ariella Kaeslin: "I love a woman"]. Tribune de Genève (in French).

External links edit