Bulgaria's Stiliana Nikolova Secures Third Place in World Rhythmic Gymnastics Qualifiers in Rio

Bulgaria’s Stiliana Nikolova secured third place in the individual all-around qualifications at the 41st World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Rio de Janeiro. Competing on the second day, she delivered consistent performances across the apparatuses and ensured her place among the top contenders. Eva Brezalieva also represented Bulgaria with distinction, finishing 14th overall. Between them, the two gymnasts advanced to a total of five apparatus finals.

Nikolova, the reigning European all-around champion from 2024, amassed 88.800 points, which positioned her third heading into the all-around final later today. Her qualifying breakdown included 29.350 on hoop, 29.400 on ball, 30.050 on clubs, and 29.050 on ribbon, with the top three results being counted toward her total. The all-around final will feature the best 18 gymnasts, starting from a clean slate.

The Bulgarian athlete, coached by Valentina Ivanova, managed to qualify for all four apparatus finals scheduled for Sunday. After securing her spots in the hoop and ball finals, she later added places in the clubs and ribbon finals as well. On clubs, she earned 30.050 points (difficulty 14.000; artistry 8.350; execution 7.700), ranking fourth, while on ribbon she placed third with 29.050 points (12.500; 8.150; 8.400).

The qualification was topped by Germany’s Olympic champion from Paris 2024, Darja Varfolomeev, who led with 92.850 points. Ukraine’s Taisiia Onofriichuk, the current European champion, finished second with 90.150, narrowly ahead of Nikolova.

Brezalieva, meanwhile, also impressed on the Rio carpet. She closed the qualification in 14th position with a score of 83.350, coming from 28.150 on hoop, 27.350 on ball, 27.200 on clubs, and 27.850 on ribbon. Guided by head coach Branimira Markova, Brezalieva advanced to the ribbon final, where she ranked sixth in qualifying with 27.850 (difficulty 11.900; artistry 7.900; execution 8.050). On clubs, she recorded 27.200 (12.600; 7.700; 6.900), which placed her 24th.

Bulgaria is also represented in the judging panel through Filipa Filipova, who serves as a difficulty judge for clubs.

The final day of the individual all-around is scheduled for later today. Brezalieva will begin her program at 20:30 Bulgarian time, starting with hoop, while Nikolova will appear in Stream A, opening her routine on clubs at 23:00 Bulgarian time.