Diana Popova (born December 10, 1976 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

) is an Individual

Rhythmic Gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and co ...

Career

She started rhythmic gymnastics in 1982 and started training at an early age. Popova competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, Despite two drops of the clubs, she finished 7th in the all-around. In 1993, Popova made a brief retirement, citing exhaustion but returned to competition shortly after in 1994. She had a good comeback finishing 8th in 1994 and 7th in 1995 at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, she also took home 5 medals (including the all-around bronze) at that year's World University Games. She also won three bronze medals at the 1996 European Championships in Team, Rope and Ribbon. She competed in her second Olympics in 1996, but a couple of small mistakes in the semifinal round dropped Popova to 11th place and denied her the chance to compete in her second Olympic final. After her retirement in 1996, Popova married the son of famed Bulgarian coach Julieta Shishmanova. Popova has since relocated to Italy, where she accepted a coaching position with the national team.

External links

* 1976 births Living people Bulgarian rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1992 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1996 Summer Olympics Bulgarian expatriates in Italy Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships {{Bulgaria-rhythmic-gymnastics-bio-stub