Alma Belle finishes fourth in world jigsaw championship team final

11-year-old Alma Belle represented Gibraltar as part of the United Kingdom team at the 2026 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid, Spain, finishing fourth in the world in the Teams competition.

The championship, held from September 16 to 20, brought together competitors from more than 70 countries across several speed puzzling categories.

Alma competed in both the Pairs and Teams events.

In the Teams competition, she formed part of Team Mac and Piece alongside Krystian Niedziela, Maartje van der Meer and Martine Valk.

The team completed two 1,000-piece puzzles in one hour, 10 minutes and 38 seconds during qualification, securing second place and a spot in the World Championship Final.

In the final, they completed two previously uncirculated 1,000-piece Ravensburger puzzles in one hour, 10 minutes and 18 seconds, finishing fourth out of around 230 teams.

The result earned them a place on stage during the championship award ceremony.

In the Pairs competition, Alma partnered Mr Niedziela, from Poland.

They completed a 500-piece Ravensburger puzzle in 20 minutes and two seconds during qualification, placing first and progressing to the final.

There, they completed a previously uncirculated 1,000-piece Ravensburger puzzle in 51 minutes and 13 seconds, finishing 13th out of around 500 pairs.

Speaking about the championship, Alma said: “I’m really happy and proud of what I achieved at the World Championship.”

“I worked really hard to get here and compete at the highest level, so these results mean a lot to me.”

“Hearing the name Gibraltar announced on stage again made me feel really proud.”

“It was so much fun puzzling with Krystian, Maartje and Martine, and I learned so much from all of them.”

“I’m really happy I got to be part of such a great team.”

“Having Krystian as my pairs partner was really special.”

“He is an amazing speed puzzler, one of the fastest in the world, but even more importantly, he is a wonderful and inspiring person.”

“The hardest part for me was saying goodbye at the end of the championship, but I know we’ll stay in touch and I’m already looking forward to the next time we get to puzzle together.”

Her parents Raanan Baharal and Maya Bezalel Baharal said they were “incredibly proud of Alma's achievements and the way she represented Gibraltar and the United Kingdom on the world’s biggest stage in speed puzzling.”

“Competing at the highest level against many of the world's fastest speed puzzlers and achieving such outstanding results made this a truly memorable World Championship.”