Silviya Topalova (; born 7 March 1964) is a Bulgarian

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. She competed in six events at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

Personal life

Topalova was friends with Maya Blagoeva, a fellow artistic gymnast who competed at the 1972 Olympics. Blagoeva named her daughter,

Silvia Mitova Silvia Zarkova Mitova (later ''Hutchinson'', , born 29 June 1976) is a retired Bulgarian artistic gymnast. She is a five-time Bulgarian Champion, the 1991 European junior silver medalist, and the 1992 European vault bronze medalist. She compete ...

, after Topalova.

Career

Topalova competed at five consecutive

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 ...

from 1978 to 1985, making the all-around final at all but her last. At her first World Championships in 1978, she finished in 32nd place. The next year, at the 1979 World Championships, she placed 20th. She represented Bulgaria at the

. In the all-around, she placed 15th, the top placement among the Bulgarian women. At the 1981 European Championships, she placed 16th in the all-around. She also competed at the

that year and finished in 22nd place. In 1983, she competed at the

, where she finished in 13th place in the all-around and placed 6th in the uneven bars final. In 1984, due to the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympics, she competed at the

Friendship Games The 1984 Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other Eastern Bloc states which boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in ...

instead, and she placed 6th in the uneven bars final. At the 1985 European Championships, she placed 26th in the all-around. Her last major event was the 1985 World Championships, where she placed 4th in the team event with her Bulgarian teammates. After her competitive career ended, in 1990, Topalova moved to Mexico to work there as a coach. Her students included

Brenda Magaña Brenda Vianey Magaña Almaral (born July 27, 1977 in Guadalajara, Jalisco) is a Mexican artistic gymnast. Magana is best known for being the first woman to successfully complete a triple back somersault dismount from the uneven bars at a World ...

. In September 2002, she moved to another coaching job in Puerto Rico. She coached the Puerto Rican national team for some time, and her student

Lorena Quiñones Lorena Quiñones (born 26 July 1996) is a Puerto Rican artistic gymnast who represented her country at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London, England. Gymnastic career Lorena Quiñones Moreno was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on 29 July 1996. At ...

competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. She is also qualified as a judge. In 2022, she began coaching in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

with her former teammate Dima Raynova.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topalova, Silviya 1964 births Living people Bulgarian female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Bulgaria Gymnasts at the 1980 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people) Competitors at the 1984 Friendship Games