{{Multiple issues| {{BLP sources|date=June 2015}} {{BLP one source|date=June 2015}} }} {{short description|Bulgarian gymnast and sports official}} {{Infobox gymnast | name = Maria Gigova | image = Maria Gigova 1973.jpg | image_size = 230px | caption = Gigova in 1973 | full_name = | altname = | nickname = | country = {{BUL}} | formercountry = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1947|04|21}} | birth_place = Sofia, Bulgaria | hometown = | residence = | death_date = | death_place = | height = | discipline = RG | level = | natlteam = | club = CSKA Sofia | gym = | collegeteam = | headcoach = Julieta Shishmanova | assistcoach = Lili Mircheva | formercoach = | choreographer = | music = | eponymousskills = | retired = 1974 | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = <!-- see Template:MedalRelatedTemplates --> {{MedalSport | Rhythmic Gymnastics }} {{MedalCountry | {{BUL}} }} {{MedalCompetition | World Championships }} {{MedalGold | 1967 Copenhagen | Hoop }} {{MedalGold | 1969 Varna | All-around }} {{MedalGold | 1969 Varna | Free hands }} {{MedalGold | 1969 Varna | Hoop }} {{MedalGold | 1971 Havana | All-around }} {{MedalGold | 1971 Havana | Rope }} {{MedalGold |1971 Havana | Hoop }} {{MedalGold | 1973 Rotterdam | All-around }} {{MedalGold | 1973 Rotterdam | Hoop }} {{MedalSilver | 1969 Varna | Rope }} {{MedalSilver | 1969 Varna | Ball }} {{MedalBronze | 1973 Rotterdam | Ribbon}} {{MedalBronze | 1973 Rotterdam | Clubs }} }}
'''Maria Gigova''' ({{langx|bg|Мария Гигова}}; born 21 April 1947) is a retired Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast and sports official. She is a three-time World All-around Champion, having won the title in 1969,1971, and 1973.
== Biography ==
Maria Gigova was the first gymnast to become a three-time World All-Around Champion in rhythmic gymnastics, winning titles in 1969, 1971, and 1973. She holds a record four gold medals in the hoop event (1967, 1969, 1971, and 1973), an achievement that remains unmatched. She also won individual world titles in rope (1971) and free exercise (1969). As part of the Bulgarian team, she contributed to team gold medals at the World Championships in 1969 and 1971.
At the 1971 World Championships, Gigova shared the all-around title with Soviet gymnast Galima Shugurova. Notably, both performed their ribbon routines to the same music—an excerpt from Bizet's Carmen. Gigova was Bulgaria’s first rhythmic gymnastics world champion and played a key role in the sport’s development in the country.
She retired from competition in 1974 and later graduated from the National Sports Academy in Sofia. In 1978, Gigova joined the FIG Technical Committee, serving until 1992. That same year, she was appointed vice-president of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation and became its president in 1982. She served on the federation’s Administrative Council from 1989 to 1999 and was re-elected president in 1999. Since 2000, she has once again been a member of the FIG Technical Committee.
On 4 May 2017, Gigova was awarded the Order of Stara Planina (1st class) by President Rumen Radev in recognition of her contributions to Bulgarian sport.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.sportal.bg/news.php?news=662457| title = Президентът Румен Радев връчи орден "Стара планина" 1-ва степен на Мария Гигова| language = Bulgarian | author=|publisher = sportal.bg| date= 4 May 2017|accessdate = 4 May 2017}}</ref>
== Achievements ==
* Gigova was the first rhythmic gymnast to win three consecutive World All-Around titles, securing victories in 1969, 1971 (shared with Galima Shugurova), and 1973. Her record was later matched by fellow Bulgarian Maria Petrova (1993, 1994, 1995, the last shared with Ukraine’s Ekaterina Serebryanskaya), and by Russian gymnasts Evgenia Kanaeva (2009, 2010, 2011) and Yana Kudryavtseva (2013, 2014, 2015). However, Gigova achieved this feat when the World Championships were held biennially, unlike her successors who competed annually. * She was the first Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast to win a World Championship title. * In 1972, Gigova was awarded the title of Merited Master of Sport of the USSR.<ref name="Panorama">{{cite book |title=Panorama of the 1972 Sports Year |year=1973 |pages=122–124 |publisher=Fizkultura i sport |location=Moscow |language=Russian}}</ref>
==References== <references />
==External links== * {{FIG|bio=2580|lic=820|name=Mariya Gigova<!-- spelling at FIG website -->}} * {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050522115242/http://get.info.bg/sport/Dir.asp?d=0-3-Rhythmic_gymnastics-Maria_Gigova |title=Maria Gigova from Bulgarian Info }} * [http://www.nsa.bg/en/faculty/department/branch,48/subpage,93 NSA Bulgarian gymnasts] * {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312211913/http://lnx.ukraine-rg.com/images-new/history/guigova.jpg |title=Photo from Ukraine RG }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gigova, Maria}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Bulgarian rhythmic gymnasts Category:Gymnasts from Sofia Category:Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Category:Medalists at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships Category:People from Sofia