Iva Tepeshanova (; born 19 February 1983 in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

) is a Bulgarian former individual

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

. She won a team bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships.

Career

In 1999, Tepeshanova came in second place in the junior all-around at the Bulgarian championships. The next season, she competed at the Julietta Shishmanova tournament in May, where she won the silver medal behind

Esther Domínguez Esther Domínguez (23 April 1981, Zaragoza, Province of Zaragoza) is a Spanish rhythmic gymnast. Dominguez competed for Spain in the Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's rhythmic individual all-around, rhythmic gymnastics individua ...

and just ahead of fellow Bulgarian

Teodora Alexandrova Teodora Alexandrova (; born 24 September 1981 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 1995 Junior European all-around champion. Biography Alexandrova started rhythmic gymnastics in 1986 at age 5. Sh ...

. In June, she competed at the 2000 European Championships in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

along with Alexandrova. She reached the all-around final and finished in 18th place. Originally, Alexandrova was set to compete in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. However, after she broke her leg, the Bulgarian federation voted to replace her with Tepeshanova in late August. Tepeshanova was given only a month and a half to prepare. At the Olympics, she was 15th in the

qualification round Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

and did not advance to the final of 10 competitors. Her last major competition was the 2001 World Championships in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. Along with her teammates

Simona Peycheva Simona Peycheva (, born 14 May 1985, in Sofia) is a rhythmic gymnast who represented Bulgaria at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She is the 2001 World Championships all-around silver medalist and a World champion with hoop, ball and clubs as well a ...

, Yuliana Naidenova, and Elizabeth Paisieva, she won the bronze medal in the team event. After her competitive career, Tepeshanova was a soloist in a show run and co-choreographed by

Lilia Ignatova Lilia Ignatova (; born 17 May 1965) is a Bulgarian modern rhythmic gymnast. She was one of the Golden Girls of Bulgaria who dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the 1980s. Personal life Ignatova was born on 17 May 1965 in Sofia, Bulgaria. She gav ...

in 2006. The show told the story of

Orpheus and Eurydice In Greek mythology, the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice () concerns the pitiful love of Orpheus of Thrace, located in northeastern Greece, for the beautiful Eurydice. Orpheus was the son of Oeagrus and the Muse Calliope. It may be a late addition ...

using a combination of dance and rhythmic gymnastics. Tepeshanova performed in a showing at the Royal Albert Hall.

References

External links

Iva Tepeshanova
at Sports-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tepeshanova, Iva 1983 births Living people Bulgarian rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Bulgaria Gymnasts from Sofia