Bulgaria at Rhythmic Gymnastics FIG World Cup: three gold, one silver, one bronze medals
Baku, April 7, AZERTAC
Bulgaria's gymnasts won a total of five medals - three gold, one silver, and one bronze - at the Rhythmic Gymnastics 2025 FIG World Cup, held in Sofia's Arena 8888 over the weekend, according to the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).
Stiliana Nikolova won gold in the women's hoop and ball events on Sunday, as well as the silver medal in the women's all-around event on Saturday. Nikolova's excellent performance with the hoop secured a score of 29.500, which placed her ahead of Ukraine's Taisiia Onofriichuk with a score of 28.850 and Italy's Sofia Raffaeli with 28.400 in the hoop final. The ball event saw the Bulgarian gymnast score 28.950 points, which placed her on top of the podium between Alina Harnasko with 28.350 points competing under a neutral flag and Takhmina Ikromova from Uzbekistan with 27.150 points. In the all-around event, Nikolova's score of 110.650 left her behind Ukraine's Taisiia Onofriichuk with 114.450 and ahead of Takhmina Ikromova from Uzbekistan with 109.850. The Bulgarian competitor performed great with three out of the four apparatuses, but a major fault during her execution with ribbon diminished her chances for the gold.
Bulgaria won the gold in the women's group event with five ribbons on Sunday. The performance of Sofia Ivanova, Rachel Stoyanov, Alina Kolomiets, Susan Puladian, Danaya Atanassova, and Viktoria Georgieva received a total of 24.400 points. The silver went to Japan with 22.750 points and the bronze, to Poland with 22.250 points. In the group all-around, the Bulgarian gymnasts finished fourth. They failed to reach the finals in the three hoops and two balls events.
Eva Brezalieva won the bronze in Sunday's clubs event. In the women's finals, her composition received 27.000 points, securing her third place. The gold went to Ukraine's Taisiia Onofriichuk with 28.900 points and the silver, to Takhmina Ikromova from Uzbekistan with 27.200 points.
Bulgarian Rhythmic Federation President Iliana Raeva commented in an interview that she was happy with the Bulgarian gymnasts' performance at the FIG World Cup. "It is important for us and for me personally that we work very seriously, that we always chase the most attractive and difficult routines and that we chase the highest place - both in the group and in the individual events. This Cup has shown that we are there. It is just a matter of taking a little more time to work on it, to polish the routines and get the girls more relaxed when they perform," said Raeva.
This year, Bulgaria will host the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Cup in Burgas (on the Black Sea) in May and the Junior World Championships in Sofia in June.
