Claire Martin (gymnast)


Claire Suzanne Martin is a former French artistic gymnast. She is the 2015 European bronze medalist on balance beam. She finished seventh on beam at the 2014 European Championships.

Early life

Claire Martin began gymnastics at the age of three at a club in Marsannay-la-Côte in a baby gymnastics class. At age eleven, Martin won the French Championships in the avenir division, and then at thirteen she won the espoir division.

Junior career

2012

Martin competed in the European Junior Championships on two apparatus: the beam and the uneven bars. She finished 7th with the French team. The same year, she won the all-around bronze medal at the French Junior Championships.

2013

Martin began her season by becoming French junior champion on floor and finishing second in the all-around and on beam. A few months later, she competed in a match against Romania where she took silver in the all-around and bronze on the floor. She then competed at the European Youth Olympic Festival in the Netherlands. She finished 4th place in the team competition and won bronze on beam. At the end of the summer, she decided to leave her training center in Dijon to join INSEP in Paris. In September 2013, Martin won the all-around bronze medal at the National Cup in Mouilleron-le-Captif. She also finished 4th in the team competition at the Massilia international competition in Marseille.

Senior career

2014

At her first senior competition, Martin finished fifth in the all-around at the National Championships. Her performance allowed her to compete at the European Championships. She qualified to the beam final, but she crashed her double back dismount and finished in 7th place. At the end of the season, Martin is selected to compete at the World Championships in Nanning, China. She finished 13th with the French team.

2015

Martin finished second on beam at the National Championships in Rouen. She was selected for the European Championships in Montpellier where she finished 13th in the all-around and won the bronze medal on beam.

Retirement

Claire Martin retired in January 2017 due to various injuries following the 2015 World Championships.