Teja Belak (born 22 April 1994) is a Slovenian artistic gymnast who represented Slovenia at the 2016 Olympic Games. Additionally she is the 2019 European Games champion on vault. She primarily competes on the FIG World Cup circuit.
Early life
Belak was born 22 April 1994 in Ljubljana. She lived across the street from a gym and took up the sport when she was six years old.
Gymnastics career
2010–11
Belak turned senior in 2010; as a result she started competing on the FIG World Cup circuit primarily as a vault specialist. She made her senior debut at the Cottbus World Cup where she finished sixth. She next competed in Doha where she finished fifth. She made her first podium by winning gold at the Maribor World Cup held in her home country of Slovenia. Next she competed at the Moscow World Cup where she finished sixth. In October Belak competed at the Ostrava World Cup where she finished fourth. The following month she competed in Osijek where she finished seventh. She ended the season competing in Stuttgart but she failed to qualify to the vault final when she finished 13th in qualification.
In 2011 Belak didn't compete for the first half of the year. She returned to competition in September at the Maribor World Cup where she placed second on vault behind Valeria Maksyuta of Israel. She next competed at the Osijek World Cup where she placed sixth. She ended the season competing at the Ostrava World Cup where she once again won silver behind Maksyuta.
2012
In 2012 Belak made her debut at the Doha World Cup where she won bronze on vault behind Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland and Nadine Jarosch of Germany. Next she competed at the Osijek Grand Prix where she failed to qualify to the vault final but placed fourth on balance beam.
In May Belak competed at the European Championships where she finished 11th on vault during qualifications and was the third reserve for the final. In June she competed at the Maribor World Cup she won her second World Cup gold medal on vault and additionally won bronze on the balance beam. At the Ghent World Cup she finished seventh on vault. In November Belak competed at the Ostrava World Cup where she finished eighth on vault.
2013
2013 was a breakout year for Belak as she competed in numerous high-profile international events beyond the World Cup series. In March she competed at the World Cups in Cottbus and Doha, placing fifth on vault and sixth on balance beam in Doha. In April Belak competed at the European Championships where she qualified to the vault final and finished in fourth place, finishing .300 points behind the two silver medalists Larisa Iordache and Noël van Klaveren. The following week she competed at the Ljubljana World Cup in her hometown; she finished eighth on both vault and balance beam.
In June Belak competed at the Mediterranean Games in Mersin. Although she qualified to the vault final in second place, she ended up placing sixth. Additionally she helped Slovenia finish sixth as a team. The following month she competed at the Summer Universiade where she finished seventh on vault and helped Slovenia finish 11th as a team. In October Belak represented Slovenia at the World Championships in Antwerp. During qualifications she finished 11th on vault and was the third reserve for the vault final.
2014
Belak began the season competing at the Cottbus World Cup. During qualifications she finished 18th on vault and 9th on balance beam. Next she competed at the Doha World Cup where she won silver on vault behind Larisa Iordache. The following month she competed at the Osijek World Cup where she won the bronze on vault. Belak next competed at the European Championships. During qualifications she placed 15th on vault and 35th on balance beam and therefore did not qualify for any event finals. She ended the season competing at the Anadia World Cup where she won gold on vault and silver on balance beam.
2015
Belak began the season competing at the Cottbus World Cup where she won the bronze medal on vault behind Oksana Chusovitina and compatriot Tjaša Kysselef. Additionally she finished eighth on uneven bars. The following week she competed in Doha where she once again won the bronze medal on vault. Continuing on the series she next competed in her hometown of Ljubljana where she won the silver medal on vault behind Chusovitina.
Belak competed at the European Championships where she qualified to the vault final in seventh place and placed 32nd on uneven bars. During event finals she finished eighth on vault.