Lauren Grüniger

Lauren Grüniger
Lauren Grüniger at the 2025 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships
Personal information
Born (2007-02-03) 3 February 2007
Zurich, Switzerland
Gymnastics career
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
Country represented
 Switzerland
(2021-present)
ClubGlarner Turnverband
GymStützpunkt Zürich
Head coach
Karina Pfennig / Natalia Raskina

Lauren Grüniger (international spelling Grueniger), (born 3 February 2007) is a Swiss individual rhythmic gymnast.

Personal life

Grüniger was born in Zurich to a Swiss father and a Singaporean mother, and she has a younger sister. She grew up speaking German and English.[1] She is also fluent in Italian and Russian, and she has studied French.[2]

Career

At ten years old in 2017, Grüniger attended a training camp in Moscow. She asked her parents if she could stay to continue training. After a long discussion, her father agreed to let her live there with a host family, as the training conditions were better there than in Switzerland; for example, there was ample access to training areas with sprung floors that reduce the impact of jumps, while there was only one intermittently available in Switzerland. She attended a German school and continued to train in Moscow through at least the end of 2021. Grüniger spoke positively about her experiences training in Russia.[1][2]

Junior

In 2021, as a junior, Grüniger won her first medal at a FIG tournament in June, a bronze. She also had the highest score of all gymnasts at the Swiss National Championships that year.[3]

In 2022, she competed in the junior event at the Irina Cup, which was used as a selection event for the European Championships by the Swiss Gymnastics Federation. She won the bronze medal in the ball final.[4] She was selected for the junior team at the European Championships and competed with ball only; she was 24th with that apparatus, and she and her teammates placed 18th in the team competition.[5]

Senior

Grüniger began competing as a senior in 2023. Her first international senior competition was the Gymnastik International in March, where she placed 10th and qualified for the hoop and ball finals.[6] She was selected for the 2023 European Championships along with Norah Demierre, and she placed 42nd in the all-around qualifications.[7]

She injured her foot during mandatory sports lesson at her school in December 2023 and took months off training to recover.[1] She did not compete in early 2024, but returned to compete at the Swiss National Championships in June, where she won silver in the all-around behind Sophia Carlotta Chiariello.[8]

In 2025, she competed at the World Challenge Cup in Portimão, where she placed 12th in the all-around and qualified for the clubs and ribbon finals.[9] At the Swiss National Championships, she won the senior title and three of the four event finals.[10] In June, she competed at her second European Championships, where she placed 30th in the all-around qualifications and narrowly missed qualifying to the final. She said afterward, "Of course I'm disappointed, but I'm also proud of my performance."[11] She also competed at the 2025 Summer World University Games in July, where she placed 12th in the all-around.[12]

She was selected to represent Switzerland at her first World Championships in August 2025, and ahead of the Championships, she trained in Germany.[13] At the World Championships, she placed 30th in the all-around qualifications.[14]

In fall 2025, she competed for the German club Bremen 1860 in the domestic German Bundesliga, where she received one of the highest scores of the competition; Bremen 1860 won third place over TB Oppau at the finals in Fellbach Schmiden. This was the best result for Bremen 1860 since joining the Erste Bundesliga in the year 2020.[15]

Her first international competition in 2026 was the Grand Prix Miss Valentine in Tartu, Estonia. She finished 15th in the all-around and took 4th place in the club final.[16] In March, she won the bronze medal in the all-around at Gymnastik International in Fellbach Schmiden, Germany.[17] A week later, she won another bronze medal in the all-around at MTM Tournament in Ljubljana.[18]

Grüniger competed at the 2026 European Championships in May, where she had a goal of placing in the top 30; she did so by finishing 25th.[19] In June, she retained her title at the Swiss National Championships and also won all four apparatus finals.[20]

She was then selected to represent Switzerland at the World Championships, held in Frankfurt in August. After a good first day, she was the first gymnast to perform during the second day of the qualifications and eventually finished in 38th place.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bärtsch, Philipp (31 December 2021). "Rhythmische Gymnastik: Ein Mädchen zieht alleine nach Moskau" [How a 10-year-old moved to Russia alone to become a rhythmic gymnast]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 Favre, Emmanuel (7 November 2021). "À 10 ans, elle quitte la Suisse et s'installe à Moscou" [At the age of 10, she left Switzerland and moved to Moscow]. Tribune de Genève (in French). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  3. ↑ "Rhythmische Gymnastik: Das sind die 6 grössten Talente" [Rhythmic Gymnastics: These Are the 6 Greatest Talents]. Nau (in Swiss High German). 23 June 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Dütschler, Oliver (2 May 2022). "Bronzemedaille für Lauren Grüniger beim Irina Cup 2022" [Bronze medal for Lauren Grüniger at the 2022 Irina Cup]. Nau (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  5. ↑ Greutmann, Thomas (6 October 2025). "Schweizer Juniorinnen-Team erreicht an der EM den 18. Rang" [Swiss junior team reaches 18th place at the European Championships]. Swiss Gymnastics Federation (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  6. ↑ Dütschler, Oliver (9 March 2023). "Schweizer Gymnastinnen sorgen bei Traditionsturnier für Furore" [Swiss gymnasts cause a sensation at traditional tournament]. Nau (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Dütschler, Oliver (22 May 2023). "Norah Demierre überzeugt bei ihrem EM-Debüt in Baku" [Norah Demierre convinces on her European Championship debut in Baku]. Nau (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Schweizer Meisterschaften Rhythmische Gymnastik 2024" [Swiss Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships 2024]. www.ztv.ch. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Dütschler, Oliver (20 May 2025). "Lauren Grüniger überzeugt am World Challenge Cup in Portimao" [Lauren Grüniger convinces at the World Challenge Cup in Portimao]. Nau (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  10. ↑ Herzog, Alexandra (6 October 2025). "Lauren Grüniger kürt sich überlegen zur Schweizer Meisterin" [Lauren Grüniger crowns herself Swiss Champion]. Swiss Gymnastics Federation (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  11. ↑ Dütschler, Oliver (9 June 2025). "Lauren Grüniger verpasst EM-Final nur knapp" [Lauren Grüniger narrowly misses out on European Championship final]. Nau (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Result Book Rhythmic Gymnastics" (PDF). Rhine Ruhr 2025. 21 July 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  13. ↑ Estibeira, Carolina (6 October 2025). "Erste WM-Teilnahme für Lauren Grüniger" [First World Championships participation for Lauren Grüniger]. Swiss Gymnastics Federation (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  14. ↑ Dütschler, Oliver (22 August 2025). "Lauren Grüniger glänzt an der WM in Brasilien" [Lauren Grüniger shines at the World Championships in Brazil]. Nau (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "Schmiden nicht zu stoppen" [Schmiden Unstoppable]. German Gymnastics Federation (in German). 8 December 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "2026 Miss Valentine Tartu Grand Prix". rgform.eu. 1 March 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Ergebnisse/Results - Gymnastik International". gymnastik-international.de (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "38. MTM LJUBLJANA FIG AND NON FIG TOURNAMENT". ksis.eu. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Estibeira, Carolina (27 May 2026). "Starke Auftritte bei der EM" [Strong performances at the European Championships]. Schweizerischer Turnverband (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  20. ↑ Fischer, Julia; Herzog, Alexandra (12 August 2026). "Starke Leistungen und grosse Emotionen – Grüniger und Saari räumen ab" [Strong performances and great emotions – Grüniger and Saari sweep the board]. Schweizerischer Turnverband (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Lauren Grüniger erreicht WM-Zielsetzung". stv-fsg.ch (in Swiss High German). 11 June 2026. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
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