Tsvetanka Pavlova Khristova ( bg, Цветанка Павлова Христова) (sometimes spelled Tsvetanka Hristova, 14 March 1962 – 14 November 2008) was 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 Macedo ...

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

er. She won gold at the 1991 World Championships and the 1982 European Championships. She also won two Olympic medals, with bronze at the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and silver at the

1992 Barcelona 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 ...

. Her best throw of 73.22 metres in 1987, ranks her eighth on the world all-time list.

Life

Born in

Kazanlak Kazanlak ( bg, Казанлък , Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις (''Seuthopolis''), tr, Kazanlık) is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountai ...

, Stara Zagora she became European champion in 1982 at only 20 years of age. Nine years later she won the World Championships, and the following year won an Olympic silver medal. Khristova tested positive for steroids in 1993 and was banned from competition. In 2004, at the age of 42, she competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her personal best was 73.22 m. That is still the Bulgarian record. She died on 14 November 2008, of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

International Competitions

References

External links

* *
Standartnews.com listing of Khristova's death
- accessed November 15, 2008. *Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Women): Discus Throw". In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 359.

1962 births 2008 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Bulgarian sportspeople in doping cases Bulgarian female discus throwers Doping cases in athletics Olympic athletes of Bulgaria Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria Olympic silver medalists for Bulgaria Deaths from cancer in Bulgaria World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists People from Kazanlak Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Universiade gold medalists for Bulgaria Universiade silver medalists for Bulgaria World Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1987 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games {{Bulgaria-athletics-bio-stub