Форум по Спортивной гимнастике

Я думаю, об этом парне мы еще услышим. Надежда болгарской гимнастики- Эдди Пенев.

Penev Poised for More International Success
Eighth on floor exercise at the recent European Gymnastics Championships in Italy, Bulgaria's Eddie Penev described his finals experience as "pretty awesome."
The 18-year-old Bulgarian-American competed two events at his first European Championships, held April 2-5 in Milan. In qualification, he finished fifth on floor exercise (15.300) and 14th on vault (15.612 average for a Yurchenko 2 1/2 and Tsukahara double full).

In floor finals, the springy Penev finished eighth (14.425) after a break on his fifth pass cost him .5 in Start Value.

"I could have done better in finals, but I'm OK with it because it's only my second major international meet," said Penev, who first competed for Bulgaria at the 2006 World Championships, at age 16.

In Milan, Penev proved himself to be a promising talent for Bulgaria, the former gymnastics power that has struggled to field competitive teams in the past decade. His competitors in the floor final included 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Anton Golotsutskov (Russia), Olympic floor exercise finalist Alexander Shatilov (Israel) and two-time Olympian Fabian Hambüchen (Germany).

The son of two former Bulgarian team members, Penev trains at Rochester Gymnastics Academy in Rochester, N.Y. His father, Marian Penev, was a double bronze medalist at the 1984 Alternate Games in Olomouc, while his mother, Yulia Hristova, was sixth at the 1984 Junior European Championships.

Penev is coached at Rochester Gymnastics by Ivaylo Grahovski, alternate to the Bulgarian men's team at the 1999 Worlds in Tianjin. Grahovski, who graduated from the National Sports Academy in Sofia, recently was named New York State Men’s Gymnastics Coach of the Year for 2009.

"My coach was unfortunately not able to come with me [to Milan] because the other boys from my gym had regionals, but I still talked to him every day on the phone to tell him what's going on," Penev said.

In Grahovski's absence, Penev said he found support in Milan from five-time Bulgarian Olympian Jordan Jovtchev, who placed third on still rings at the competition.

"I have to say it was an honor to compete alongside someone like Jovtchev, who is a gymnastics legend," Penev said. "He is such an inspiration and always gives me great advice. He just told me to stay focused and do my routines as best I could do them. He reminds me a lot of my coach, and that made me feel really comfortable."

Penev, who turns 19 in August, will attend Stanford University in the fall. In addition to competing for Stanford, he is looking forward to getting more experience in international competition.

"I can't wait for the next meet so I can do even better!" he said. "We are currently looking into possibly having me compete at one of the World Cups, so I'm pretty excited."

http://www.intlgymnast.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=851:penev-poised-for-more-international-success&catid=2:news&Itemid=53