Sofia Ilteriakova

Junior

In June 2024, she competed at the BRICS Games and won the gold medal in the junior ball final.^[4]

In the spring of 2025, she won the gold medals in the all-around and the hoop and ball finals at the Russian junior championships.^[5]

Senior

She debuted as a senior in early 2026 at the Moscow championships, winning the all-around gold.^[6] In late February – early March 2026, she competed at the Russian championships and won the silver medal in the all-around.^[7]

In late March, she competed at the World Cup event in Sofia, Bulgaria. She won the silver medal in the hoop final with a score of 29.700, behind Ukrainian Taisia Onofriichuk with 30.400 and ahead of Italian Sofia Raffaeli with 29.600.^[8] After the competition, she faced controversy for not turning to face the flags shown on the electronic screen behind the podium during the medal ceremony.^[13] The Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation demanded her results be annulled and that she be banned from international competitions for "disrespect for the state symbol of [their] country".^[14][15][16]

This prompted a review by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). Having assessed the incident, the FIG Ad-Hoc Committee decided to issue a warning to her, stating that "AIN Athletes bear full responsibility to avoid any action that could be perceived as disrespectful or politically motivated".^[12] Additionally, the FIG warned that "any similar violation of its rules for award ceremonies, or other breach of the Ad-hoc regulations, would result in the withdrawal of her AIN status".^[12] The FIG also noted the "need to clarify the protocol governing [their] award ceremonies".^[17] Russian athlete and deputy at the State Duma Svetlana Zhurova approved the federation's decision "not to ruin the child's career" and pointed out that "it was noticeable that [Ilteriakova] was standing there on the podium a bit lost and didn't know what she was supposed to do and how."^[18][19] The head coach of the Russian rhythmic gymnastics team, Tatiana Sergaeva, suggested as well that "Sofia might have become a little confused", which was "completely natural for an athlete [...] competing at [the high international] level for the first time."^[20][21]

On 17–19 April, she competed at the Baku World Cup, where she ended in 5th place in the all-around. She also won bronze in the hoop final, took 8th place in the ball final^[22], and won bronze in the clubs final.^[23] On May 16, the Executive Committee has decided to lift all restrictions regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian gymnasts since 2022. Therefore, she and her teammates were able to represent Russia.^[24]

Ilteriakova made her European Championship debut in May at the 42nd European Championships in Varna, Bulgaria. She qualified in fifth place with a total score of 85.500.^[25] In the individual all-around final, she finished in fifth place ahead of teammate Maria Borisova with a total score of 115.050.^[26] She and her teammates won the bronze medal in team competition behind Bulgaria and Israel.^[27] In the apparatus finals, she became European champion with the hoop ahead of Alina Harnasko and Sofia Rafaelli.^[28] In the ball final, she won the bronze medal.^[29]

On 19–21 June, Ilteriakova competed at the Beijing World Challenge Cup and took the silver medal in the all-around behind Wang Qi. She won gold medals in ball, clubs and ribbon and a bronze medal in the hoop final.^[30]