Bulgarian gymnasts have recorded new successes on the second day of qualifications for the World Cup of Gymnastics in Varna, securing five more spots in the finals.
Daniel Trifonov, Jordan Alexandrov, Yoan Ivanov, and Nikol Stoimenova have qualified for the finals in vault, parallel bars, rings, and floor exercise. Trifonov secured third place in the vault with a score of 13.616 points (13.533 on the first vault and 13.700 on the second). He will also compete for honors in the rings, where he scored 12.966 points for his stable performance, securing eighth place.
Other Bulgarian representatives Dimitar Dimitrov and Jordan Alexandrov made mistakes, preventing them from qualifying for the finals. Dimitrov scored 12.533 points (11.766 and 13.300) and finished 14th in the vault, while Alexandrov scored 10.533 points and finished 20th in the rings.
Bulgaria will have two representatives in the parallel bars final. Silver medalist Jordan Alexandrov finished the qualifiers in fourth place. Initially, he scored 13.400 points, but after a successful protest, his score was increased by 0.20, securing a spot among the top four. Yoan Ivanov also qualified for the final with 13.400 points, finishing eighth overall. Three-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock also made the final, finishing second with 13.700 points.
In the women's events, Nikol Stoimenova will have a chance to defend her bronze medal from the previous season in the floor exercise. The Bulgarian athlete, who trains in the UK, finished the qualifiers in ninth place with 12.366 points but will participate in the final due to a host country quota.
Stoimenova received some bad news shortly before her performance. The gym where she trains with the world-famous Gadira sisters, Jennifer and Jessica, was destroyed by a fire. The cause of the incident is yet to be determined.
Another Bulgarian participant, Nikol Sokolova, finished 19th with 11.400 points in the floor exercise. Bulgaria did not secure any finalists for the women's floor exercise, with Michail Arabadzhieva finishing 24th with 10.733 points and Viktoriya Ventzislava finishing 28th with 10.133 points.
Bulgaria has now secured spots in seven finals, with Dimitar Dimitrov qualifying in the women's floor exercise and David Ivanov qualifying in the men's pommel horse earlier.
The finals begin tomorrow at 14:00. The official opening ceremony is scheduled for 13:15, and it is expected that Minister of Youth and Sports Encho Keriazov and the president of the organizing committee, Jordan Yovchev, will be in attendance.
The program will also include gymnasts with Down syndrome: Emilijan Kostadinov, Ramonola Sikander, and Radina Angelova.
