Iliana Raeva

Infobox Gymnast
gymnastname= Iliana Raeva


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birthdate= birth date and age|1963|03|15
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discipline=RG
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natlteam=1978 - 1982
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Iliana Raeva is a Bulgarian gymnast who competed in modern rhythmic gymnastics for her country from 1978 to 1982.

She was born on March 15, 1963 in Raeva, Bulgaria. She was raised in Sofia, on the same street as fellow gymnasts Lilia Ignatova and Anelia Ralenkova, who also competed for the same Levski gymnastics club.

She placed 6th at her first European Championships in 1978 at the age of 16, and was 4th in the all round competition at the 1979 World Championships where she won the gold medal for clubs, and the silver for ball. Raeva won her first all around gold at the 1980 Julieta Shishmanova Cup, and went on to dominate the European Championships in Amsterdam, winning the all around gold medal, gold for rope, hoop and clubs, and placing silver with the ribbon.

She claimed all around silver at the 1981 World Championships, and tied with team mate Ignatova for the silver: one tenth of a point behind the winner Ralenkova. She won silver for hoop and ribbon, and bronze for the rope. She was 3rd at the 1982 European Championships, picking up bronze in each apparatus final.

She relied on style and artistry, rather than excessively complex moves, with her 1980 ribbon routine to Zorba the Greek and clubs routine to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, which remain outstanding examples of the sport.

After retiring from active competition she married Bulgarian world cup footballer Nasko Sirakov, and now runs her own gymnastics club in Bulgaria.