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 ...
in
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 ...
in
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 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, 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 ...
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
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 ...
in
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
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.
See also
*
List of Olympic medalists in gymnastics (women)
This is the complete list of women's Olympic medalists in gymnastics.
Artistic gymnastics
Current program
All-around, individual
All-around, team
Note: The International Gymnastics Federation recommended to the IOC that the medals of the C ...
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