Who is Rifda Irfanaluthfi? All you need to know about Indonesia's first Olympic gymnast at Paris Olympics 2024
Rifda Irfanaluthfi made history at the Paris Olympics 2024, as she became the first gymnast from Indonesia to qualify for the showpiece event. Indonesia has no national training center for gymnasts and male athletes already dominated the sport.
The journey to the Olympics was not easy for Rifda. She began gymnasium when she was in the first grade. However, at an early age, her parents found it difficult to find a school that supported an unknown sport like gymnastics.
Rifda was fortunate when she was admitted to an athletes' school in Jakarta. It was her first step towards the Olympics. As a child, Rifda first started swimming, diving, sport climbing, rhythmic gymnastics and artistic gymnastics. At the age of eight, she won her first medal at a junior championship in Singapore.
It was in 2015 that Rifda went international at the Doha World Cup. However, she failed to qualify. Her golden period started in 2017 during the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur where she won her first gold. In the SEA Games itself, Rifda has won a total of four gold medals.
The 2018 Asian Games saw her win a silver medal in the floor exercise category of the gymnastics event.
In the 2023 Baku World Cup, Rifda came fifth. She traveled to Paris after recovering from a knee injury and rigorous training in Jakarta.
Rifda Irfanaluthfi's recurring injury marks her historic Olympic appearance
Despite battling injuries, Rifda Irfanaluthfi decided to push through and compete in the all-around gymnastics event at the Paris Olympics 2024.
At the Bercy Arena in Paris, she finished 80th in the uneven bars, earning 9,166 points. Rifda endured pain from both a meniscus and an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during the event, and she needed assistance from her coach, Eva Novalina, throughout her performance.
Although she had surgery on her meniscus, her ACL injury remained untreated to ensure she could participate in the Olympics.
After undergoing an extensive regimen of rehabilitation, therapy, and training, Rifda managed to be fit enough for this historic feat. However, just three weeks before heading to Paris, she suffered another injury.