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 as a Bulgarian national champion. She now works as a television host and a coach.

Personal life Peycheva has a son born in 2009 named Alexei.

Career

Peycheva began artistic gymnastics in kindergarten after being selected by a coach. She later switched to rhythmic gymnastics and began training with Marieta Dukova. In 2000, she won the Bulgarian senior all-around title.

In 2001, she won bronze at the 2001 Goodwill Games behind Irina Tchachina and Alina Kabaeva. Peycheva won a total of six medals there: three gold (hoop, ball, and clubs), two silver (all-around and rope), and one bronze (team). She received a good reaction from the crowd, which Peycheva attributed to Bulgarian gymnastics emphasizing musicality and emotions when creating routines. Although Peycheva broke her foot in June, she continued to compete. Later in the month, she won two gold medals in ball and clubs and a silver in rope at the World Cup Final in Stuttgart. She did not feel comfortable receiving the new gold medals, and she gave one to Tchachina, returned one to Kabaeva, and kept one for herself. In November, she had surgery on her foot, which required a bone graft.

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she placed 6th in the final

Peycheva stopped training for three months in 2005 and planned to retire. However, her coach, Dukova, persuaded her to return. She briefly returned to competing in 2013 and won an internal control training, although she had conflicts with the Bulgarian federation. In early 2014, she announced her second retirement. Peycheva also founded her own gymnastics club in 2009, where she coaches, and began to run the "Simona Cup" in 2010.

Ribbon 24.400 23.725 Navras (Don Davis & Juno Reactor) Ball 25.675 24.800 Prokliatieto (Isihia) Hoop 25.375 25.475 Handel's Sarabande (Maksim Mrvica) Clubs 25.600 24.700 All-around 101.050 98.700

Ribbon 15.750 16.675 Overture (Andrew Lloyd Webber) Rope 15.975 16.900 Berlin Foot Chase (John Powell) Hoop 16.975 17.125 Summertime (Rick Wakeman) Clubs 16.775 16.475 Korana (Balkanika) All-around 65.475 67.175