Laura Muñoz

Laura Muñoz
Full nameLaura Muñoz Ilundain
Born (1970-06-09) June 9, 1970
Gymnastics career
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
Country represented
 Spain

Laura Muñoz (born 9 June 1970) is a Spanish gymnast. She competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics.[1] She was a three-time national champion.

Gymnastics career

Muñoz was noted to be active at a young age, and at seven, her parents took her to a swimming class. She instead went to look in on a gymnastics class, in which her parents eventually enrolled her. She joined the national team in 1980 and won the national championships three times (1984, 1985, and 1987).[2]

She placed 31st at the 1983 World Championships,[3] and at the 1983 Mediterranean Games, she won the team event with the Spanish team as well as two individual gold medals in the all-around and on the balance beam. However, she was too young to compete at a senior international competition; the age requirements at the time required a gymnast to turn 15 the year of competition, and Muñoz, being born in 1970, turned 13 that year. This meant that she was also too young for the 1984 Summer Olympics, where she competed and finished in 14th place.[2][4]

In 1985, she placed 22nd at the World Championships, and in 1987, she finished in 16th place.[5][6]

At the 1987 national championships, she received a perfect 10 score on the vault. She won five more gold medals at the 1987 Mediterranean Games.[2]

She placed 23rd at the 1988 Summer Olympics. After the Olympics, she had surgery on her elbow. She finished second at the national championships in 1989 and retired in 1991.[2]

Post-gymnastics career

Muñoz studied educational psychology and worked as a schoolteacher for ten years. She has worked at the Fundación Madrid por el Deporte (Madrid for Sport Foundation) since 2008.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Laura Muñoz Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Corral, Iñigo (15 February 2025). "Laura Muñoz, la primera española con un 10 en gimnasia deportiva que suspendía educación física: «Rompí la brecha con las rumanas, checoslovacas o rusas»" [Laura Muñoz, the first Spanish gymnast to earn a perfect 10—who actually failed P.E.: "I bridged the gap with the Romanians, Czechoslovaks, and Russians."]. Relevo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "1983 World Champs., Women's AA". Gymn Forum. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "Laura Muñoz: Spain's Underage "Queen of Casablanca"". Gymnastics History. 24 March 2026. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "1987 World Champs., Women's AA". Gymn Forum. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "1985 World Champs., Women's AA". Gymn Forum. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
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