Carmel Kallemaa
Carmel Kallemaa is an Estonian-born Canadian rhythmic gymnast. She is a Commonwealth Games champion and a Pan American Championships medalist.
Life and career
Kallemaa was born in Tartu, Estonia. She moved to Ontario, Canada with her family in 2013. Her mother Janika Mölder was a gymnast, who competed for Soviet Union in group exercises at [Rhythmic Gymnastics Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships|World Championships|World] and European Championships. Kallemaa took up rhythmic gymnastics at age two.Competing for Estonia
Kallemaa represented Estonia internationally from 2013 until 2018.2016 Summer Olympics Cycle
Kallemaa competed at the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia, finishing 16th with ball and clubs, and 18th with hoop. In May 2014, she competed at the Koop Cup in Canada. At the 2014 World Championships in Izmir, she ranked 43rd all-around, after competing with ball, hoop and clubs. Alongside Viktoria Bogdanova and Olga Bogdanova Koop, she contributed to team Estonia's 16th place finish. In 2015, she competed at the Budapest World Cup Category B in all four apparatus and the all-around, finishing 38th. At the 2015 World Championships in Stuttgart, she ranked 58th all-around, competing with ball, clubs and ribbon. Again, her teammates were Viktoria Bogdanova and Olga Bogdanova, and they placed 18th as a team. In 2016, at the Olympic Test Event, Kallemaa placed 23rd in qualification. At the Baku World Cup Category B, she was ranked 20th all-around.2020 Summer Olympics Cycle
In 2017, at the Guadalajara World Challenge Cup, Kallemaa ranked 22nd in the all-around qualification. At the 2018 Guadalajara World Challenge Cup, she was 23rd all-around.In December 2018 the International Gymnastics Federation approved her request to switch nationality from Estonia to Canada.
Competing for Canada
2020 Summer Olympics Cycle
In 2019 Kallemaa competed as a member of Canada's rhythmic gymnastics group. In May at the Guadalajara World Challenge Cup, the group finished 11th. Part of Canada's group at the 2019 Pan American Games, Kallemaa finished off the podium. In September at the 2019 World Championships in Baku, the group was 20th in the all-around.2024 Summer Olympics Cycle
In 2021, Kallemaa returned to individual competition. At the 2021 Virtual Elite Canada in March, Kallemaa won the senior all-around title.In January 2022, Kallemaa was named as an individual national team member. At the Rhythmic Gymnastics Canadian Championships in May 2022, Kallemaa competed as a group gymnast, winning gold. At the 2022 Pan American Gymnastics Championships Kallemaa competed as an individual gymnast and won bronze medals in the team, individual all-around and clubs events. She competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning a gold medal in the team all-around event alongside teammates Tatiana Cocsanova and Suzanna Shahbazian, a silver medal in the clubs event and bronze medals in the hoop and ribbon events.
At the 2023 Pan American Gymnastics Championships, Kallemaa won team bronze alongside teammates Tatiana Cocsanova and Suzana Shahbazian. She was sixth with clubs, seventh with ribbon, eighth all-around and with hoop. In August, she competed at the 2023 World Championships in Valencia, Spain.
In 2024, together with Jana Alemam, Eva Cao, Tatiana Cocsanova, Suzanna Shahbazian and Kate Vetricean, she won silver medal in team competition at the 2024 Pacific Rim Championships in Cali, Colombia.
In 2025, she competed at Portimao World Challenge Cup and ended on 20th place in all-around. She won bronze medal in team competition alongside Pin Rong Lee and Suzanna Shahbazian at the 2025 Pan American Championships in Asunción, Paraguay. She took 7th place in Hoop, Clubs and Ribbon finals. In July, she competed at Cluj-Napoca World Challenge Cup and took 33rd place in all-around. She was selected to represent Canada at the 2025 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest competitor in the entire field.