Eleоnora Valerieva Kezhova (; born 28 December 1985 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 retired

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n rhythmic gymnast. She is a two-time member of the Bulgarian rhythmic gymnastics team at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, and contributed to a silver medal in the group all-around in 2003. The following year, at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Kezhova helped her squad claim a bronze medal in the same program.

Career

2000–2003

Kezhova made her official worldwide debut, as a 15-year-old teen, at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where she placed seventh for the Bulgarian squad in the group all-around tournament with a composite score of 38.432 (19.166 for five clubs and 19.266 for two hoops and three ribbons). At the 2002 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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, Kezhova and her Bulgarian team finished fourth in the same program with a score in 47.050, missing out the medal podium by 350-thousandths of a point. The following year, at the

2003 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships The XXVI World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships were held in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, during September 24–29, 2003. Medal winners Individual Events Individual All-Around Individual Hoop Individual Ball Individual Clubs In ...

Budapest, Hungary Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Kezhova pulled off the second highest score both in ribbons and in hoops and clubs to hand the Bulgarians a silver medal in the group all-around tournament (a score of 50.175), and a qualifying ticket to her second Olympics.

2004 Summer Olympics

At the

, Kezhova Zhaneta Ilieva, Zornitsa Marinova, Kristina Rangelova, and twin sisters Galina and

Vladislava Tancheva Vladislava Tancheva (; born 18 May 1987 in Varna) is a retired Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She contributed to a silver medal effort for the Bulgarian squad in the group all-around at the 2003 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Budapest, ...

in the competition, Kezhova performed a double routine using five ribbons (23.400) and a combination of three hoops and two balls (25.200) to deliver the Bulgarian squad a bronze-medal score in 48.600.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kezhova, Eleonora 1985 births Living people Bulgarian rhythmic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2000 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Bulgaria Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria Olympic medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts from Sofia Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships

Career

2000–2003

2004 Summer Olympics

See also

References

External links