Elizabeth Koleva

Elizabeth Koleva
Personal information
Born	(1972-11-11) 11 November 1972 Sofia
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Country represented	Bulgaria
Club	Slavia
Retired	yes
Medal record Rhythmic Gymnastics Representing Bulgaria World Championships 1987 Varna All-around 1987 Varna Ribbon European Championships 1988 Helsinki All-around 1988 Helsinki Rope 1988 Helsinki Clubs European Junior Championships 1987 Athens All-around 1987 Athens Rope 1987 Athens Hoop 1987 Athens Ball 1987 Athens Ribbon

Elizabeth Koleva (Bulgarian: Елизабет Колева, born 11 November 1972 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian individual rhythmic gymnast.

Biography

Elizabeth Koleva was born in the city of Sofia. Elizabeth began her sports career and gymnastics at club Slavia. She was one of the Golden Girls of Bulgaria that dominated Rhythmic Gymnastics in the 1980s.

Koleva had good results as a junior, At the 1987 European Junior Championships she won the All-around title, as well as the gold medal in all four apparatus (rope, hoop, ball, ribbon) and achieved a maximum score of 40.00 points. She advanced to Senior the following year and at the 1987 World Championships Koleva tied with teammate Adriana Dunavska for the silver medal in the all-around, she also won a bronze medal at the Ribbon finals.

In 1988, Koleva tied with teammate Dunavska and Soviet gymnast Alexandra Timoshenko for the gold at the European Championships, where she was also won a gold medal in rope and bronze in clubs final.

Koleva retired early at only 16 years old. She later became a coach at her home club Slavia. She married Bulgarian national volleyball and later national coach of the men's volleyball team Martin Stoev. Koleva now lives in Italy with her husband and two children ( Marina and Eric ).

External links

• Elizabeth Koleva at the International Gymnastics Federation
• http://sporta.bg/?load=OtherSports::Champion&id=261 ( Golden Girls of Bulgaria )