Zhaneta Tosheva Ilieva ( bg, Жанета Тошева Илиева; born 3 October 1984 in

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

) is a retired

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 rhythmic gymnast. She is a two-time member of the Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics team 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, ...

, and contributed to a silver medal in the group all-around in 2003. The following year, at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Ilieva helped her squad claim a bronze medal in the same program before her official retirement from the sport.

Career

2000–2003

Ilieva made her senior official debut in 1999, and later competed as part of the Bulgarian women's rhythmic gymnastics team at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where she placed seventh in the group all-around tournament with a composite score of 38.432 (19.166 for five clubs and 19.266 for two hoops and three ribbons). At the

2002 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships XXV World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in New Orleans, United States from 10th to 14 July 2002. The competition was open to groups only and the designated apparatuses were Ribbon and Ball & Rope. Competitors There were particip ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Ilieva and her Bulgarian team finished fourth in the same program with a score in 47.050, missing out the medal podium by 350-thousandths of a point. The following year, at the

2003 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships The XXVI World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, during September 24–29, 2003. Medal winners Individual Events Individual All-Around Individual Hoop Individual Ball Individual Clubs In ...

Budapest, Hungary Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...

, Ilieva pulled off the second highest score both in ribbons and in hoops and clubs to hand the Bulgarians a silver medal in the group all-around tournament (a score of 50.175), and a qualifying ticket to her second Olympics.

2004 Summer Olympics

At the

, Ilieva competed for the Bulgarian women's rhythmic gymnastics team in the group all-around tournament, after receiving a qualifying berth from the World Championships. Teaming with Eleonora Kezhova, Zornitsa Marinova,

Kristina Rangelova Kristina Rangelova-Yankova ( bg, Кристина Рангелова; born 24 January 1985 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. Olympic medalist 2004 Athens, World Champion 2005 Baku and Europe Champion 2003 Riesa. She has a Mast ...

, and twin sisters

Galina Galina, Halyna, or Halina (russian: Галина; from Greek ''γαλήνη'' "Serenity") is an East Slavic feminine given name, also popular in Bulgaria and Slovenia during the period of Soviet influence. Galina is the standard transliteration fr ...

and

Vladislava Tancheva Vladislava Tancheva ( bg, Владислава Танчева ; born 18 May 1987 in Varna) is a retired Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She contributed to a silver medal effort for the Bulgarian squad in the group all-around at the 2003 World Rhythmi ...

in the competition, Ilieva performed a double routine using five ribbons (23.400) and a combination of three hoops and two balls (25.200) to deliver the Bulgarian squad a bronze-medal score in 48.600.

Life after gymnastics

Shortly after the Olympics, Ilieva announced her retirement from rhythmic gymnastics to further pursue her degree in

sports journalism Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the ...

at the National Sports Academy 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 ha ...

, and later worked as a recreational and competitive team and individual coach for the Bulgarian team.

References

External links