Maria Petrova (rhythmic gymnast)

Maria Petrova
Personal information
Country represented	Bulgaria
Born	(1975-11-13) November 13, 1975 (age 41)
Discipline	Rhythmic gymnastics
Club	Levski
Head coach(es)	Neshka Robeva, Natalia Muravenova
Medal record Representing  Bulgaria World Championships 1993 Alicante All-around 1993 Alicante Hoop 1993 Alicante Ball 1993 Alicante Ribbon 1993 Alicante Team 1994 Paris All-around 1994 Paris Hoop 1995 Vienna All-Around 1995 Vienna Clubs 1991 Athens Team 1992 Brussels All-around 1992 Brussels Ball 1992 Brussels Clubs 1994 Paris Clubs 1994 Paris Ribbon 1995 Vienna Rope 1995 Vienna Team 1996 Budapest Ball 1992 Brussels Hoop 1993 Alicante Clubs 1994 Paris Ball 1996 Budapest Clubs European Championships 1992 Stuttgart All-around 1992 Stuttgart Team 1994 Thessalonika All-around 1994 Thessalonika Hoop 1992 Stuttgart Rope 1994 Thessalonika Ball 1994 Thessalonika Team European Cup Final 1993 Málaga All-around 1993 Málaga Hoop 1993 Málaga Ribbon 1993 Málaga Ball Summer Universiade 1995 Fukuoka All-around 1995 Fukuoka Rope 1995 Fukuoka Ball 1995 Fukuoka Clubs 1995 Fukuoka Ribbon

Maria Petrova (Bulgarian: Мария Петрова) (born November 13, 1975 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She is a three-time (1993, 1994, 1995) World All-around champion and a three-time (1992, 1993, 1994) European All-around champion.

Petrova began her training at the age of five at Trakia Plovdiv Club in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, coached by Natalia Moravenova. By 1991, she was coached by Neshka Robeva at the Levski Sofia Club. In her first World Championship appearance, Petrova placed second in the team competition after a hoop drop.

Petrova was one of the favorites to win gold but found herself finishing in fifth in the all-around finals at the Barcelona Olympics after a penalty of .20 was imposed due to the zipper on the back of her leotard that had broken during her hoop exercise. A few months later, at the World Championships, Petrova took second place behind Russia's Oxana Kostina and ahead of Belarusian Larissa Lukyanenko.

In 1993, Petrova performed with her Panovaesque ball to an Indian melody. She also competed in a ribbon exercise, and a small-toss filled clubs routine to Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner". Her final performance to Carmina Burana caused a great crowd ovation. She went on to win the all-around World title, as well as three more gold medals (ball, hoop, ribbon) and a bronze medal (clubs).

She went on to win one more European title and two more world titles (shared in 1995 with Yekaterina Serebrianskaya), tying her with countrywoman Maria Gigova for the most wins in the latter category.

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