Kameliya Petrova

Kamelia Petrova (Bulgarian: Камелия Петрова; born 1 May 2006) is a retired Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 World group all-around champion, a two-time (2023, 2024) European group all-around champion and a three-time (2022–2024) European Team champion. As a junior, she is the 2021 European group all-around silver medalist.

Personal life Petrova started practicing rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 6, along her sister, encouraged by her mother, a former athlete. Petrova's favorite school subject is maths. Her motto is "God loves the brave".

Career

Junior Petrova was selected for the 2020-2021 junior group along with Kristiana Doycheva, Suzan Pouladian, Maria Stamenova, Gergana Trendafilova and Aleksandra Vasileva. In February they competed at the 2021 Moscow Grand Prix, winning all the silver medals. They followed this with a bronze with 5 balls at the Deleanu Cup. In June the team won three silver medals 2021 Junior European Championships in the all-around and event finals.

Senior In 2022, when the gymnasts comprising the previous senior group retired after becoming Olympic champions, Petrova began competing in both senior group routines beginning at the World Cup in Pesaro. There, the group won silver in the all-around and the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final and bronze with 5 hoops. She also took part in the World Cup stages in Pamplona (bronze with 5 hoops and silver with 3 ribbons + 2 balls) and Cluj-Napoca (all-around, 5 hoops and 3 ribbons + 2 balls gold).

In June she was part of the group competing at the European Championship in Tel Aviv. She won gold in the senior team category along with her teammates, Vaya Draganova, Zhenina Trashlieva, Sofia Ivanova, Rachel Stoyanov, Margarita Vasileva, and the individuals Boryana Kaleyn and Stiliana Nikolova.

In 2023 the group began their season at the Grand Prix stage in Marbella. Petrova won gold in the all-around as well as in both event finals. They went on to win silver in the all-around at the World Cup in Athens, and they won gold in the same category two weeks later at the World Cup in Sofia.

At the 2023 European Championships, held in Baku, Petrova and her group won gold medals in both the all-around and team competition, together with Boryana Kaleyn, Stiliana Nikolova and Eva Brezalieva. In the 5 hoops final, she won the silver medal, and she placed 5th in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final.

In March 2024 the group were 5th in the all-around and 6th with 2 balls and 3 ribbons at the World Cup in Athens. In April, they won bronze in the all-around and silver with 3 ribbons and 2 balls at the World Cup in Sofia. In June, they won the gold medal in the all-around at the 2024 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. They also won gold in the Team event, together with Boryana Kaleyn, Elvira Krasnobaeva and Stiliana Nikolova. They placed fourth in the 5 hoops final and 8th in the 3 ribbons + 2 balls final.

In August, Petrova was selected to compete in the group at the Olympic Games in Paris, where she, Margarita Vasileva, Sofia Ivanova, Rachel Stoyanov and Magdalina Minevska, took fourth place in the final after making mistakes in their 5 hoops routine. She competed with severe pains in her legs due to serious injuries.

In October she announced she had made the decision to retire, along with Vasileva, Minevska and Stoyanov. However, in December it was announced that Rachel Stoyanov had decided to continue after undergoing surgery on her meniscus. So, Stoyanov is included in the new national team along with her old teammate Sofia Ivanova who is the captain of the group.

Detailed Olympic results Year Competition Description Location Music Apparatus Rank Score-Final Rank Score-Qualifying 2024 Olympics Paris All-around 4th 67.800 1st 70.400 Chi Mai, Dona Is Sick by Ennio Morricone, Bulgarian Voices 5 Hoops 7th 34.100 2nd 37.700 Someone else (Acapella)' by Allegro 3 Ribbons + 2 Balls 1st 33.700 2nd 32.700