Bulgaria wins six medals at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

Bulgaria finished its participation at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships with a total of six medals. Three of them were won by the ensemble, while the other three went to Stiliana Nikolova.

The Bulgarian gymnasts won a bronze medal in the five-ball final on the last day of the 42nd World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Frankfurt. Brazil won the gold and China took silver.

A little later, the Bulgarian ensemble took to the carpet to compete for medals in the three hoops and two pairs of clubs event. Bulgaria again won bronze, with only the champions from Brazil and the runners-up from Spain finishing ahead.

Photo: EPA/BGNES

World all-around silver medallist Stiliana Nikolova qualified for the hoop, clubs and ribbon finals. In the first, the Bulgarian finished sixth in a strong field. In the second, however, Stiliana beat the competition to win the world title, while in the third she claimed a silver medal.

A day earlier, the national team, consisting of Rachel Stoyanov, Margarita Vasileva, Magdalina Minevska, Magdalena Valkova, Raya Bozhilova and Emilia Obretenova, finished sixth in the all-around with a total score of 54.600 points.

Thus, at this championship, the Bulgarian representatives won one gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Following Stiliana Nikolova's second-place finish in the individual all-around, the national team also earned silver in the team competition.

Bulgaria, represented by Stiliana Nikolova, Eva Brezalieva and the ensemble members, collected 276.050 points. The team ranking takes into account all eight scores from the individual qualifications, to which the two ensemble scores from the all-around are added.