Stefi (Facebook profile, 26 Sep 2021)

Reading, shooting short video clips. (times.bg, 17 May 2018)

Bulgarian, English

She took up the sport at age six at the Chernomorets club in Burgas, Bulgaria.

She was selected to try rhythmic gymnastics by coach Ani Bosheva and enjoyed the sport from her first session.

Winning gold in the group all-around event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (championat.com, 08 Aug 2021)

Her parents. (times.bg, 17 May 2018)

''What I love in gymnastics is that I'm in a team. I qualify as a team player and it just gives me the pleasure of working with a team of four more people next to me. It's more enjoyable when we create something beautiful together than when we do as individuals.'' (times.bg, 17 May 2018)

In 2021 she and her Bulgarian teammates Laura Traets, Madlen Radukanova, Simona Dyankova and Erika Zafirova received the Woman of the Year award at the gala ceremony held by Grazia magazine in Bulgaria. (graziaonline.bg, 08 Oct 2021)

In 2019 she and her Bulgarian teammates Laura Traets, Madlen Radukanova, Simona Dyankova and Erika Zafirova were named Team of the Year at the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year awards after they won a silver and a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. (bnr.bg, 20 Dec 2019)

In 2017 she was part of the Bulgaria national rhythmic gymnastics team that was named Team of the Year in Bulgaria. (beautyinsport.com, 20 Dec 2017)

In 2015 she received an honorary award for her contribution to the development of rhythmic gymnastics at the Chernomorets club in Burgas, Bulgaria. (Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Facebook page, 26 Jan 2017)

RETIREMENT
In October 2021 she was part of the Bulgarian group that withdrew from the world championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, due to an injury suffered by Laura Traets. Following the withdrawal, she announced her retirement from the sport alongside her national teammates Simona Dyankova, Laura Traets, Erika Zafirova and Madlen Radukanova, who claimed gold together in the group event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "The whole way I walked was like a dream, a fairy tale, a breath that passed as if imperceptibly, but completely full. I experienced everything I ever dreamed of and more. I will probably never realise what we did in Tokyo. We gave hope and changed everything. We wrote history." (Facebook page, 15 Dec 2021; epicenter.bg, 28 Oct 2021)

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WIN DEDICATION
After winning gold in the five hoops event at the 2018 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, she dedicated the victory to her mother, who had suffered a stroke days before the competition began. "I was numb, I didn't know what to say. It occurred to me that I had to go home and I wanted to leave [the competition]. It was natural but then I realised I had to stay. The girls were relying on me. We are a team." (gong.bg, 23 Sep 2018; hiclub.bg, 21 Sep 2018)