Milena Trendafilova

Milena Trendafilova
Personal information
Surname:	Milena Grigorova Trendafilowa
Nationality:	Bulgaria
Date of birth:	May 3, 1970
Place of birth:	Varna
Medal table
World championships 3 × 4 × 1 × European championships 7 × 2 × 0 ×

Milena Grigorowa Trendafilowa ( Bulgarian Милена Григорова Трендафилова ; born May 3, 1970 in Varna ) is a Bulgarian weightlifter.

Career

Milena Trendafilowa was discovered at school by talent scouts at the age of 15, who realized that she had a good physical condition for lifting weights at a height of 1.62 m. After her first successes in the youth field, she was delegated to the sports club "Chernomorec" Burgas , where Dimitar Kowachew became her coach. As early as 1988 in San Marino at the age of 18 she was the first European champion. This first success was followed by countless other successes up to 2004. She became world champion several times and won a total of 47 medals at international championships. But she could not win an Olympic medal. Nevertheless, like almost all other Bulgarian weightlifters, her career is marked by a dark point. In 1997 and 1998 she served a two-year ban from the International Weightlifting Federation for doping.

Milena Trendafilova's occupation was given by the Bulgarian National Olympic Committee once as "Sports Instructor" and another time as "Student". It is well known, however, that the top Bulgarian weightlifters, even after the socialist era, were all professionals, as the amount of training they mastered was hard to think of any other occupation.

International success / duel

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, KG = body weight)

• 1988, 1st place , EM in San Marino , up to 75 kg body weight, with 200 kg, ahead of Senka Assenowa, Bulgaria , 195 kg and Klara Kollmann, Hungary , 185 kg;
• 1988, 2nd place , World Championships in Djakarta , up to 75 kg body weight, with 205 kg;
• 1989, 1st place , World Championships in Manchester , up to 75 kg body weight, with 220 kg, ahead of Zhang Xiaoli, China , 215 kg and Arlys Kovach, USA , 202.5 kg;
• 1990, 1st place , EM in Tenerife , up to 67.5 kg body weight, with 215 kg, ahead of Jeanette Rose, Great Britain , 177.5 kg and Maria Dolores Martinez, Spain , 177.5 kg;
• 1990, 1st place , World Championships in Sarajevo , up to 75 kg body weight, with 237.5 kg, ahead of Li Chanping , China , 220 kg and Chen Shu-Chih , South Korea , 205 kg;
• 1991, 1st place , EM in Varna , up to 75 kg body weight, with 222.5 kg, ahead of Pnagiotia Antinopoulou, Greece, 180 kg and Line Mary, France , 180 kg;
• 1991, 2nd place , WM in Donaueschingen , up to 75 kg body weight, with 220 kg, behind Zhang Xiaoli, 242.5 kg and in front of Maria Takacs, Hungary , 202.5 kg;
• 1992, 1st place , EM in Loures b. Lisbon , up to 67.5 kg, with 200 kg, ahead of Jeanette Rose, 182.5 kg and Maria Dolores Martinez, 177.5 kg;
• 1992, 2nd place , World Championships in Varna, up to 67.5 kg, with 220 kg, behind Gao Lijuan, China, 222.5 kg and in front of Maria Dolores Martinez, 192.5 kg;
• 1993, 1st place , EM in Valencia , up to 70 kg body weight, with 210 kg, ahead of Maria Takacs, 207.5 kg and Daniela Kerkelowa, Bulgaria , 205 kg;
• 1993, 1st place , World Championships in Melbourne , up to 70 kg body weight, with 220 kg, ahead of Kumi Haseba, Japan , 207.5 kg and Kim Dong-Hee, South Korea, 205 kg;
• 1994, 1st place , European Championship in Rome , up to 70 kg body weight, with 207.5 kg, ahead of Theodula Spanou, Greece, 200 kg and Ilona Danko, Hungary, 192.5 kg;
• 1994, unplaced , World Championships in Istanbul , up to 70 kg body weight, abandoned due to injury in pushing;
• 1995, unplaced , EM in Be'er Scheva , up to 64 kg body weight, abandoned due to injury in the tear;
• 1995, 3rd place , World Championships in Guangzhou / China, up to 70 kg body weight, with 215 kg, behind Tang Weifang , China, 225 kg and Li Hongyun , China, 217.5 kg;
• 1996, 3rd place , World Championships in Warsaw , up to 64 kg body weight, with 202.5 kg, behind Li Hongyun, China, 225 kg and Chen Jui-Lien , Taiwan , 215 kg; subsequently disqualified for doping and banned for 2 years;
• 1999, 1st place , EM in A Coruña , up to 69 kg body weight, with 237.5 kg, ahead of Irina Kasimowa, Russia , 227.5 kg and Beata Prei, Poland , 222.5 kg;
• 1999, 2nd place , World Championships in Athens , up to 69 kg body weight, with 232.5 kg, behind Sun Tianni, China, 247.5 kg and in front of Erzsebet Markus, Hungary, 232.5 kg;
• 2000, 1st place , EM in Sofia , up to 69 kg body weight, with 232.5 kg, ahead of Daniela Kerkelowa, 227.5 kg and Irina Kasimowa, 222.5 kg;
• 2000, 4th place , OS in Sydney , up to 69 kg body weight, with 232.5 kg, behind Lin Weining , China, 242.5 kg, Erzsebet Markus, 242.5 kg and Karnam Malleswari , India , 240 kg;
• 2001, 2nd place , EM in Trencin , up to 69 kg body weight, with 215 kg, behind Wanda Maslowska, Ukraine , 217.5 kg and in front of Milona Kleanthi, Greece, 215 kg;
• 2003, 2nd place , EM in Loutraki / Greece , up to 69 kg body weight, with 237.5 kg, behind Valentina Popowa , Russia, 245 kg and in front of Zarema Kassaewa, Russia, 235 kg;
• 2003, 9th place , World Championships in Vancouver , up to 69 kg body weight, with 240 kg, winner: Liu Chunhong , China, 270 kg ahead of Eszter Krutzler , Hungary, 262.5 kg;
• 2004, 5th place , EM in Kiev , up to 69 kg body weight, with 220 kg, winner: Sibel Simsek, Turkey , 247.5 kg, ahead of Tatjana Matvejewa, Russia, 245 kg;
• 2004, 6th place , OS in Athens , up to 69 kg body weight, with 237.5 kg, winner: Liu Chunhong, 275 kg, ahead of Eszter Krutzler, 262.5 kg

Medals individual disciplines

(World Cup medals are no longer awarded at the Olympic Games)

• World Cup gold medals: 1988, snatch, 90 kg - 1989, snatch, 95 kg - 1990, snatch, 102.5 kg - 1990, push, 135 kg - 1991, snatch, 105 kg - 1992, snatch, 97.5 kg - 1993, snatch, 100 kg - 1993, push, 120 kg
• World Cup silver medals: 1988, push, 115 kg - 1989, push, 125 kg - 1991, push, 115 kg - 1992, push, 122.5 kg - 1999, snatch, 105 kg
• World Cup bronze medals: 1995, push, 120 kg - 1999, push, 127.5 kg
• European Championship gold medals: 1988, snatch, 87.5 kg - 1988, push, 112.5 kg - 1990, snatch, 95 kg - 1990, push, 120 kg - 1991, snatch, 102.5 kg - 1991, push, 120 kg - 1992, snatch, 90 kg - 1992, push, 110 kg - 1993, snatch, 95 kg - 1994, snatch, 95 kg - 1994, push, 112.5 kg - 1999, snatch, 102.5 kg - 1999, Push, 135 kg - 2000, snatch, 105 kg - 2000, push, 127.5 kg - 2001, snatch, 97.5 kg
• European Championship silver medals: 1993, push, 115 kg - 2003, snatch, 107.5 kg - 2003, push, 130 kg
• European Championship bronze medal: 2001, push, 117.5 kg

Web links

• Milena Trendafilowa in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )