Helena Ripken
Helena Ripken is a German rhythmic gymnast. She represents Germany as part of the senior group.
Biography
In June 2018 Ripken won bronze among 12 years old gymnasts behind Hannah Vester and Anna Schenenko. The following she won bronze, behind Darja Varfolomeev and Schenenko, at the German Championships in the 2006 botn juniors category.In November 2021 she participated in the Children's Gymnastics Day in Hamburg. In December she helped Berlin TSC take silver in the first ever German club championship.
In 2022 she took part in the qualifications for the European Championships, being 5th in the first and 3rd in the second competition. In May Helena made her World Cup debut in Portimão, being 24th in the All-Around, 35th with hoop, 34th with ball, 23rd with clubs and 11th with ribbon. In June she competed in the stage in Pesaro, finishing 23rd overall, 23rd with hoop, 25th with ball, 24th with clubs and 17th with ribbon. She then was 4th in the All-Around, 4th with clubs, 5th with ribbon, and won bronze with hoop and ball at nationals. In August she came in 6th place in the second stage of the qualification for the World Championships.
Ripken moved to Fellbach in 2024 to join the national senior group. In 2025 she became a starter in the group, debuting at the Gymnastik International, winning gold in the All-Around and with 5 ribbons. Then she competed the World Cup in Baku where Germany was 10th in the All-Around, 12th with 5 ribbon and 7th with 3 balls & 2 hoops. A week later, in Tashkent, they took 4th place overall, 5th with 5 ribbons and 7th in the mixed event. She was then selected for the European Championships in Tallinn, there the group was 10th in the All-Around and won an historical bronze medal, the first ever in the competition for a German group, with 3 balls & 2 hoops. In August, Ripken made her senior World Championships debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, alongside Melanie Dargel, Anja Kosan, Olivia Falk, Anna-Maria Shatokhin and Emilia Wickert, where they took 8th place in all-around. Together with Darja Varfolomeev and Anastasia Simakova, they won the gold medal in team competition.