Diana Popova
Personal information
Country represented Bulgaria
Born (1976-12-10) December 10, 1976
Sofia, Bulgaria
DisciplineRhythmic gymnastics
Head coach(es)Neshka Robeva
Assistant coach(es)Krasimira Filipova
Retired1997
Medal record
Representing  Bulgaria
Rhythmic Gymnastics
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1995 ViennaTeam
Bronze medal – third place 1992 BrusselsClubs
Bronze medal – third place 1996 BudapestRope
European Championships
Gold medal – first place1992 StuttgartTeam
Bronze medal – third place1994 ThessalonikiRope
Bronze medal – third place1994 ThessalonikiTeam
Bronze medal – third place1996 AskerRope
Bronze medal – third place1996 AskerRibbon
Bronze medal – third place1996 AskerTeam
Summer Universiade
Silver medal – second place1995 FukuokaRope
Silver medal – second place1995 FukuokaBall
Silver medal – second place1995 FukuokaClubs
Silver medal – second place1995 FukuokaRibbon
Bronze medal – third place1995 FukuokaAll-around
Junior European Championships
Gold medal – first place1991 CascaisHoop
Gold medal – first place1991 CascaisRibbon
Silver medal – second place1991 CascaisAll-around
Silver medal – second place1991 CascaisTeam

Diana Popova (born December 10, 1976, in Sofia, Bulgaria) is an Individual Rhythmic Gymnast.

Career

She started rhythmic gymnastics in 1982 and started training at an early age.

Popova competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Despite two drops of the clubs, she finished 7th in the all-around. In 1993, Popova made a brief retirement, citing exhaustion but returned to competition shortly after in 1994. She had a good comeback finishing 8th in 1994 and 7th in 1995 at the World Championships, she also took home 5 medals (including the all-around bronze) at that year's World University Games. She also won three bronze medals at the 1996 European Championships in Team, Rope and Ribbon. She competed in her second Olympics in 1996, but a couple of small mistakes in the semifinal round dropped Popova to 11th place and denied her the chance to compete in her second Olympic final.

After her retirement in 1996, Popova married the son of famed Bulgarian coach Julieta Shishmanova. Popova has since relocated to Italy, where she accepted a coaching position with the national team.


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