Iliana Raeva (BUL)
Tribute courtesy of Robin
Catalano
One of a trio of Bulgarian
champions of the early 1980s, Iliana Raeva was born on March 15,
1963. Raeva, Lilia Ignatova, and Anelia Ralenkova were,
coincidentally, raised on the same street in Sofia, and all
competed for club Levski. In a career stretching from 1978 to
1982, Raeva never placed lower than 6th in a major competition.
At her first European
Championships in 1978, the 15-year-old Raeva debuted auspiciously
in 6th. In 1979, she rose to 4th in the all-around at the World
Championships, and also won a gold medal for clubs and a silver
for ball. 1980 would see her finally attain international
all-around titles, first at the Julieta Shishmanova Cup, and
again at the European Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
She also dominated the apparatus finals at 1980 Europeans, coming
in first with rope, hoop, and clubs, and second with ribbon.
At the 1981 World Championships,
Raeva would display her trademark smooth, expressive work, but
ended up 2nd behind teammate Ralenkova (and tied with
Ignatova) by one-tenth of a point. Although she made all four
event finals, she scored only enough for a collection of silvers
(hoop and ribbon) and bronze (rope). Nevertheless, she was a
crowd favorite, receiving plentiful applause. Raeva finished 3rd
at the 1982 European Championships, and also took bronze medals
with each of the apparatuses.
Famous for her exciting
choreography, Iliana Raeva was also a gymnast with the rare
ability to touch an audience. While she lacked the difficulty of
her younger competitors, she performed with a largely unmatched
sophistication and connection to spectators. Her slow and elegant
1982 ribbon, energetic 1980 ribbon to music from Zorba the
Greek, and moving 1980 clubs to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake
stand out among a host of noteworthy performances.
After retiring from gymnastics,
Raeva married Nasko Sirakov, a Bulgarian soccer player who
competed for the National Team in the 1994 World Cup. For a short
time, Raeva and Sirakov lived in Spain, where she coached and he
played soccer. They finally settled in their home country.
Sirakov is the trainer for the elite soccer club Slavia, while
Raeva coaches at Club Iliana, the first private gymnastics club
in Bulgaria, which she created. Raeva and her husband have two
daughters, Violeta and Slavea.
© 1999-2002. This page was
created on August 8th, 1999 and last updated July 2004.
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