Alba Bautista

Alba Bautista (born 13 July 2002) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast. She won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships in the team category. She is the 2023 Spanish senior national champion.

Personal life
Bautista took up the sport at age six in Teruel. She was named the 2019 Female Athlete of the Year in Teruel, Spain. The award ceremony took place in 2021.

Junior
Bautista won the all-around bronze at the 2017 Spanish national championships, as well as silver with ball and clubs and gold with ribbon. She won another bronze with the clubs in the Spanish club championships. Because of her results, she was included in the national team.

2018
In 2018, Bautista was selected to take part in the Gymnasiada, finishing 16th. She later won bronze with ribbon at the Spanish national championships. Bautista was one of several gymnasts selected to competed for one of the Spanish spots at the 2018 World Championships, but she didn't make the team. In December, she was confirmed as part of the national team and integrated in the team training at the "Centro Deportivo Colonial Sport" in Valencia.

2019
Bautista started 2019 by competing in the Kyiv Grand Prix, followed by the Baltic Hoop tournament, where she was 19th. In May, María Añó was injured and Bautista substituted for her at the World Cup in Guadalajara, which was her debut on the World Cup circuit. At nationals, she won silver with ball. In September Bautista was again named for the national team.

2020
In 2020, Bautista was to participate in the Guadalajara Tournament and the Deriugina Cup, but the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the season. She returned to training in September as a temporary reserve member for the national team. Bautista also won the all-around silver behind Dina Averina at the 2nd Online Tournament, organized by the Russian Federation. In December she became the national silver medalist behind Polina Berezina.

2021
Bautista won bronze at the 2021 Spanish National Championships and took part in the selection process for the Spanish team to compete at the 2021 World Championships, though again, she did not make the team.

2022: Breakout season
In 2022, Bautista participated in the first World Cup of the season in Athens, finishing 16th in the all-around. She then took part in the international tournament in Marbella, again placing 16th. Bautista replaced Teresa Gorospe at the World Cup stage in Sofia. She also participated in the World Challenge Cup in Pamplona.

In late May, Bautistia was selected for her first major international competition, the 2022 European Championships in Tel Aviv, Israel, along with Polina Berezina, the two juniors Marina Cortelles and Victoria Correia and the senior group. Bautista qualified for the all-around final and placed 17th. Bautista later described it as a special event for her as the competition where her international career began to take off.

The following month, at nationals, she won the silver medal behind Berezina and ahead of Gorospe. Bautista then attended the last World Challenge Cup of the season in Cluj-Napoca, where she qualified for the hoop and ribbon event finals. In September she was added to the national team for 2022–2023.

Bautista competed at her first World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria along with Berezina and the senior group. She and the other Spanish gymnasts won bronze in the team event. It was Spain's first medal in the World Championships team event since 1991. She also qualified for the all-around, ball and ribbon finals, finishing 17th, 5th and 7th respectively.

2023: First national title
In January 2023, Bautista attended a training camp in Gran Canaria along with the rest of the national team. She won a silver medal with ribbon at the Grand Prix stage in Marbella, then competed at the 2023 World Cup in Sofia, where she finished in 8th place in the all-around and qualified for the ribbon and hoop finals.

At the Spanish Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, she won her first national title ahead of Polina Berezina and Cristina Korniychuk. In July, she competed at the World Cup stage in Milan and qualified for the hoop final. She was 10th in the all-around standings. Ahead of the 2023 European Championships, she said she hoped to improve on her placement from the year before. However, after qualifying in 11th place, in the all-around final, she again finished in 17th place.

The 2023 World Championships were held in Spain, in Valencia and were a qualifying event for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Bautista was selected to compete along with Berezina. Both of them ranked high enough in the all-around qualification to each earn an Olympic berth for Spain. In the all-around final, Bautista came in 8th place. She said that she with the pressure to win the Olympic spot gone, she enjoyed herself competing in the final.

2024
Bautista competed at the 2024 World Cup stages in Sofia, where she finished in 13th and did not make any finals, and in Baku, where she ended in 14th place in the all-around and 8th place in the clubs final. She also competed at the World Challenge Cup in Portimão and won the all-around bronze medal. She qualified to three finals and was fifth with both clubs and ribbon and sixth with hoop.

At the 2024 European Championships, Bautista placed 14th in the all-around final, just behind fellow Spanish gymnast Polina Berezina. She also qualified for three apparatus finals. She placed fourth in the hoop final, close to the bronze medal score, and 6th in the ball and 7th in the ribbon final.

Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Bautista was visited at her training center by singer C. Tangana, whose music she was using for her clubs routine.