Stefani Radoslavova Kiryakova ( bg, Стефани Радославова Кирякова; born 5 January 2001) is a

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 Macedon ...

n group

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 coordi ...

. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion and the 2018 World 5 hoops champion. She is a two-time (2018, 2019) World group all-around bronze medalist and the 2018 European group all-around bronze medalist. She is also a two-time European champion.

Career

Kiryakova began rhythmic gymnastics when she was six years old.

2018

In 2018, Kiryakova became part of the main senior group with

Elena Bineva Elena Slavcheva Bineva ( bg, Елена Славчева Бинева) (born 18 September 1999) is a retired Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 European and 2018 World Group 5 Hoops champion, the 2017 World Group All-around silv ...

Simona Dyankova Simona Dyanova Dyankova ( bg, Симона Дянова Дянкова; born 7 December 1994) is a Bulgarian former group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion and the 2018 World 5 hoops champion. She is a two-time ...

Laura Traets Laura Jean Pierre Traets ( bg, Лаура Жан Пиер Траатс, born 13 December 1998) is a Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion in the group all-around. She is the 2018 World and 2021 European champion in ...

, and

Madlen Radukanova Madlen Milenova Radukanova ( bg, Мадлен Миленова Радуканова; born 14 May 2000) is a Bulgarian group rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion and the 2018 World 5 hoops champion. She is a two-ti ...

, replacing the injured Teodora Aleksandrova. At the Sofia World Cup, they won gold in the group all-around and in 5 hoops and bronze in 3 balls + 2 ropes. Then at the Baku World Cup they won gold in both apparatus finals but lost the group all-around to Italy. They won another group all-around gold medal at the Guadalajara World Challenge Cup in addition to winning gold in 3 balls + 2 ropes and silver in 5 hoops. She then competed at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

. They won the bronze medal in the group all-around behind Russia and Italy and placed fourth in the 5 hoops final. In the 3 balls + 2 ropes final, they won the gold medal, and they won a team bronze medal with the individual juniors. Then at the Kazan World Challenge Cup, they won the group all-around bronze medal behind Italy and Russia, and they won silver in 5 hoops behind Russia. The same group competed 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, ...

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 ha ...

where they won the group all-around bronze medal behind Russia and Italy and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games. They then won the gold medal in the 5 hoops final and placed sixth in 3 balls + 2 ropes. Kiryakova dedicated the group's 5 hoops gold medal to her mother, who had a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

days before the World Championships began.

2019

Kiryakova competed with the same 2018 group during the 2019 season. They won the gold medal in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final and the silver medal in the group all-around at the Pesaro World Cup. Then at the Sofia World Cup, they won the group all-around gold medal. She represented Bulgaria at the 2019 European Games where the Bulgarian group won silver in the group all-around by only 0.050 behind Belarus. They also won the silver medal in the 5 balls final, this time behind Russia. In the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final, they won the bronze medal behind Belarus and Ukraine. She then competed at the

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

where the Bulgarian group won the bronze medal in the group all-around behind Russia and Japan. They then won the silver medal behind Japan in the 5 balls final, and they placed fifth in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final.

2021

The Bulgarian team began their year at the Sofia World Cup, where the team won gold in the group all-around and in both apparatus finals. They once again swept the gold medals at the Baku World Cup. She then competed at the

Varna, Bulgaria Varna ( bg, Варна, ) is the third-largest List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the ...

. The Bulgarian team of the senior group,

Boryana Kaleyn Boryana Nikolaeva Kaleyn ( bg, Боряна Николаева Калейн; born 23 August 2000) is a Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 European Champion with Ball, Ribbon and in the Team competition, Twice (2021 & 2022) ...

, and

Katrin Taseva Katrin Yankova Taseva ( bg, Катрин Янкова Тасева; born November 24, 1997) is a retired Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2017 European Silver medalist with Ribbon, 2019 Grand-Prix Final All-around bronze medalist, ...

finished in fourth place. The Bulgarian group finished fifth in the all-around, but they won gold in the 5 balls final and won silver in the 3 hoops + 4 clubs final behind Israel. Kiryakova was selected to represent Bulgaria at the 2020 Summer Olympics alongside

, and

Erika Zafirova Erika Rosenova Zafirova ( bg, Ерика Росенова Зафирова; born 7 May 1999) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic group all-around champion. She is the 2019 World group all-around bronze medalist and 5 balls ...

. In the qualification round, the group qualified in first place after receiving the highest scores for both of their routines. In the group all-around final, they once again received the highest scores for both routines and won the gold medal with a total score of 92.100, 1.400 points ahead of Russia. This marked the first time a non-Russian team won the Olympic gold medal in the group all-around since Spain won in 1996, and it was the first time Bulgaria won the Olympic group all-around competition. The Bulgarian group withdrew from the

in Kitakyushu, Japan, four days before the start of the competition, after an injury to Traets.

Detailed Olympic results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiryakova, Stefani Bulgarian rhythmic gymnasts 2001 births Living people Gymnasts at the 2019 European Games European Games medalists in gymnastics European Games silver medalists for Bulgaria European Games bronze medalists for Bulgaria Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Sportspeople from Burgas Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Bulgaria Olympic medalists in gymnastics Olympic gold medalists for Bulgaria Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics