Diana Popova
| Diana Popova | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 December 1976 (age 48) Plovdiv, Bulgaria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Rhythmic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | Bulgaria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Neshka Robeva | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach(es) | Krasimira Filipova | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Diana Antonieva Popova (Bulgarian: Диана Антониева Попова; born 10 December 1976, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics coach and former rhythmic gymnast who competed at two Olympic Games (1992, 1996) and won several medals at the World and European championships.[1][2]
Career
Popova began training when she was five years old. During her career, she trained twelve hours a day.[2]
In 1991, Popova competed at the Junior European Championships, where she won two gold and two silver medals.[3] She was the all-around silver medalist and team medalist, and she won gold in the hoop and ribbon finals.[4]
The next year, she competed at the 1992 senior European Championships in June. She won gold in the team competition but did not advance to the all-around final as two of her teammates, Maria Petrova and Dimitrinka Todorova, were ahead of her in the qualification.[5] In August, she competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, where she was the youngest gymnast competing, and finished 9th in the all-around final.[2][6] She also competed in the 1992 World Championships in November, where she placed 6th and tied for bronze in the clubs final with Carmen Acedo.[7]
In 1993, Popova suffered a spinal injury. After a MRI scan, she was told that she had a congenital issue with her vertebrae. She was unable to bend at the waist and took six months off from training, and she lost much of her back flexibility.[6]
Popova was able to return to competing; at the 1994 European Championships, she placed 8th in the all-around, and she was again 8th at the 1994 World Championships.[8][9]
In August 1995, she won five medals at the Summer Universiade - bronze in the all-around, behind Maria Petrova and Inessa Gizikova, and silver in all four apparatus finals behind Petrova.[10] The next month, she participated in the 1995 World Championships and won the team silver with Petrova. Individually, she finished 7th.[11]
At the 1996 European Championships, she finished 8th in the all-around. She also won three bronze medals in team, rope and ribbon.[12] In June, she competed at the 1996 World Championships, which had no all-around competition and only allowed gymnasts to compete in two apparatus finals. She won bronze with the rope and placed 4th with ribbon.[13]
Although her teammate Stella Salapatiyska had placed higher than her (5th) at the European Championships, Popova was selected to compete at her second Olympics in 1996.[14] She competed on painkillers as her spinal pain had returned, though they did not stop the pain entirely.[6] Popova advanced to the semifinal, where she placed 11th and did not continue to the final.[15]
Popova retired after the Olympics. While she had several injuries, including both her spinal problems and a cyst in her knee, she said that she retired because training became overwhelming mentally.[6]
Personal life
Popova relocated to Italy in 1997 to coach and lived there until 2015. She then returned to Bulgaria to coach in her hometown of Plovdiv.[6][3] However, she has continued to visit Italy for coaching clinics and to choreograph.[2][6] She has also learned to judge rhythmic gymnastics.[3]
While in Italy, Popova married and gave birth to a daughter, Venere.[2][6]
References
- ^ "Diana Popova". Olympedia. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Giugliano, Ciro (1 August 2024). "Diana Popova: passione e dedizione nella ginnastica ritmica, una carriera straordinaria tra Olimpiadi e allenamento delle nuove generazioni". CRONACHEdi (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "Диана Попова: Избягах, защото не исках вечно да съм втора" [Diana Popova: I ran because I didn't want to be second forever]. Marica (in Bulgarian). 21 March 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "3. European Junior Championships in Lisbon, Portugal (4.-7. July 1991)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "8. European Championships in Stuttgart, Germany (4.-7. June 1992)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Наша грация пред "Доктор": Родих в Италия, кърмих Венере Ботичели до 20-ия месец" [Our grace before "Doctor": I gave birth in Italy, breastfed Venus Botticelli until the 20th month]. Blitz.bg (in Bulgarian). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "16. World Championships in Brussels, Belgium (13.-15. November 1992)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "10. European Championships in Thessalonika, Greece (26.-29. May 1994)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "18. World Championships in Paris, France (6.-9. October 1994)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "Universiade in Fukuoka, Japan (24.-28. August 1995)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "19. World Championships in Vienna, Austria (19.-24. September 1995)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "12. European Championships in Asker/Oslo, Norway (29. May-2. June 1996)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ "20. World Championships in Budapest, Hungary (21.-23. June 1996)". rsg.net. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
- ^ Turner, Amanda (January 2003). "How Stela got her groove back". International Gymnast. Vol. 45, no. 1. p. 38. ProQuest 214006973. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
- ^ "Diana Antonieva Popova". Olympics.com. Retrieved 29 April 2025.