Bye bye from Boryana

It took me about 4 months to take this decision because after the Olympics I wanted to have a rest, enjoy my medal, and spend time with my family. After that, I had a lot of time to think about this. In the end I decided to retire because I’ve won a lot of medals over the years, I’m very happy with my results so for me it’s a happy end. [Standing on the Olympic podium] was my childhood dream. I’m very happy now, and calm: no stress, no more ambition to compete, to win more and more medals. I’m really satisfied with everything I achieved.

I’ve always loved competing and I enjoyed every moment of competitions. I love to compete in a full gym, with a lot of people cheering. These emotions will for sure be missed in my life. When people watch me, they see that I compete with all my heart and that I want to express my emotions so they can feel how I feel at the moment during the routine. We will both miss each other. Every athlete experiences this moment when you have to change something. For me, this is the perfect moment. I want to thank my fans all around the world for our emotions together, I’ll never forget their support, their love and the moments they cheered.

Now I’m travelling a lot, all around the world, teaching masterclasses, and taking part in gala events. Before Christmas I have two more masterclasses, in Spain. At Christmas time, I’ll be with my family. This is my most favourite holiday. This is the time to calm down, think about the people precious to you, enjoy the moment. It’s amazing: everyone you love in one place, together. I really enjoy this moment.

One day I want to be a coach, for sure, to help prepare gymnasts. Maybe one day I will go to the Olympics with my own gymnast. Who knows? In Bulgaria, we have a very long story with a lot of good Rhythmic gymnasts, and good coaches also. When you want to start as a coach,  you have a lot of people to learn from. This is good for our generation, the next coaches. I think we’ll have more success with the young gymnasts and I really hope they achieve their dreams as I did.

Stiliana and I, we are friends. We see each other, we write to each other. I will support her no matter what. I’m sure she will achieve her dreams. She just needs to be healthy, that’s the most important thing. The work, I’m 100% sure she’ll do it.