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Maria Petrova (rhythmic gymnast)

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In this Bulgarian name, the patronymic is Dimitrova and the family name is Petrova.
Maria Petrova
Personal information
Full nameMaria Dimitrova Petrova
Country represented Bulgaria
Born (1975-11-13) 13 November 1975 (age 49)
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
ClubLevski
Head coach(es)Neshka Robeva, Natalia Muravenova
Medal record
Representing  Bulgaria
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1993 Alicante All-around
Gold medal – first place 1993 Alicante Hoop
Gold medal – first place 1993 Alicante Ball
Gold medal – first place 1993 Alicante Ribbon
Gold medal – first place 1993 Alicante Team
Gold medal – first place 1994 Paris All-around
Gold medal – first place 1994 Paris Hoop
Gold medal – first place 1995 Vienna All-Around
Gold medal – first place 1995 Vienna Clubs
Silver medal – second place 1991 Athens Team
Silver medal – second place 1992 Brussels All-around
Silver medal – second place 1992 Brussels Ball
Silver medal – second place 1992 Brussels Clubs
Silver medal – second place 1994 Paris Clubs
Silver medal – second place 1994 Paris Ribbon
Silver medal – second place 1995 Vienna Rope
Silver medal – second place 1995 Vienna Team
Silver medal – second place 1996 Budapest Ball
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Brussels Hoop
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Alicante Clubs
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Paris Ball
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Budapest Clubs
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Stuttgart All-around
Gold medal – first place 1992 Stuttgart Team
Gold medal – first place 1994 Thessaloniki All-around
Silver medal – second place 1994 Thessaloniki Hoop
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Stuttgart Rope
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Thessaloniki Ball
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Thessaloniki Team
European Cup Final
Gold medal – first place 1993 Málaga All-around
Gold medal – first place 1993 Málaga Hoop
Gold medal – first place 1993 Málaga Ribbon
Silver medal – second place 1993 Málaga Ball
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1995 Fukuoka All-around
Gold medal – first place 1995 Fukuoka Rope
Gold medal – first place 1995 Fukuoka Ball
Gold medal – first place 1995 Fukuoka Clubs
Gold medal – first place 1995 Fukuoka Ribbon

Maria Dimitrova Petrova (Bulgarian: Мария Димитрова Петрова; born 13 November 1975) is a Bulgarian former rhythmic gymnast who is now a rhythmic gymnastics judge and official. She is a triple World all-around champion (1993, 1994, 1995) and a triple European all-around champion (1992, 1993, 1994).

Career

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Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Petrova began her training at the age of five at local club Trakia Plovdiv Club, coached by Natalia Moravenova. By 1991, she was coached by Neshka Robeva at the Levski Sofia Club. In her first World Championship appearance, Petrova placed second in the team competition after a hoop drop.

Petrova was one of the favorites to win gold but found herself finishing in fifth in the all-around finals at the Barcelona Olympics after a penalty of .20 was imposed due to the zipper on the back of her leotard that had broken during her hoop exercise. A few months later, at the World Championships, Petrova took second place behind Russia's Oxana Kostina and ahead of Belarusian Larissa Lukyanenko.

Petrova (third from left) at the 1996 World Championships

In 1993, Petrova performed with her Panovaesque ball to an Indian melody. She also competed in a ribbon exercise, and a small-toss filled clubs routine to Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner". Her final performance to Carmina Burana caused a great crowd ovation. She went on to win the all-around World title, as well as three more gold medals (ball, hoop, ribbon) and a bronze medal (clubs).

She went on to win one more European title and two more world titles (shared in 1995 with Yekaterina Serebrianskaya), tying her with countrywoman Maria Gigova for the most wins in the latter category.

Competing in her second Olympics, Petrova was one of the front runner to win the gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, however a series of mistakes left her finishing in 5th place in the All-around Finals behind Russia's Amina Zaripova.

Although she had tried to retire several times after her first World title, Petrova continued competing as a favor to the Bulgarian national team, which was in a rebuilding phase after the Eastern European Communist collapse.

Petrova previously shared the world record for most individual world all-around rhythmic gymnastics titles with Maria Gigova, Evgenia Kanaeva and Yana Kudryavtseva, until that record was broken by Dina Averina in 2021.[1] Petrova's three titles were earned in 1993, 1994, and 1995 (shared).

She is currently a judge in rhythmic gymnastics and served as the Execution Supervisor at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[2][3][4] In 2021, she was elected second vice president of the International Gymnastics Federation technical committee for rhythmic gymnastics, and she was re-elected in 2024.[5][6]

Personal life

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In 1998, Petrova married Bulgarian footballer Borislav Mihaylov.[citation needed]

Achievements

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Routine music information

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Petrova at the European Cup in 1993
Year Apparatus Music title [8]
1996 Ball She is Dead music from Leon (The Professional) by Eric Serra
Rope ?
Clubs Habanera, Scene music from The Carmen Ballet by Rodion Shchedrin / Bizet
Ribbon La Zarzamora by Paco de Lucia
1995 Ball Dreaming Strings by Gheorge Zamfir
Rope ?
Clubs Wedding Celebration / The Bottle Dance music from Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock
Ribbon La Zarzamora by Paco de Lucia
1994 Ball Dreaming Strings by Gheorge Zamfir
Hoop Carmina Burana music from Synthétiseur 6 by Synthesizer
Clubs Wedding Celebration / The Bottle Dance music from Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock
Ribbon The Lark by Balogh Kalman
1993 Ball Toni / Making Music by Zakir Hussain
Hoop Carmina Burana music from Synthétiseur 6 by Synthesizer
Clubs Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega/DNA
Ribbon The Lark by Balogh Kalman
1992 Ball Toni / Making Music by Zakir Hussain
Hoop Duet Improvisation (Part 1) and Duet Improvisation (Part 2) by Chick Corea Trio Music
Clubs Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega/DNA
Rope Amazonas by Strunz & Farah
1991 Ball The First Garden from The Secret Life of Plants by Stevie Wonder
Hoop he Feeling Begins music from The Last Temptation of Christ by Peter Gabriel
Clubs Camptown Races
Rope ?

References

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  1. ^ "Dina Averina crushes her competition for World All-Around title #4". FIG News. Federation Internationale de Gymnastique. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Five questions with Maria Petrova, 2018 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Ambassador". FIG News. Federation Internationale de Gymnastique. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  3. ^ "FIG Judges Index - Maria Petrova Mihaylova". FIG. Federation Internationale de Gymnastique. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Judges Assignments - Paris 2024 Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Final PDF" (PDF). Paris 2024 Rhythmic Gymnastics Official Reports. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Maria Petrova elected Second Vice President of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Technical Committee at the International Gymnastics Federation". Radio Bulgaria. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Morinari Watanabe re-elected as FIG President". International Gymnastics Federation. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  7. ^ Knapp, Gwen (21 April 1997). "Timing is of the essence for gymnast". sfgate.com. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  8. ^ "Petrova RG music list". rgforum.
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