Teodora Alexandrova is the 1995 European Junior Champion, who also won gold with hoop, and silver with rope, clubs, and ribbon at this European Championship. She started rhythmic gymnastics in 1986, which is before the time current gymnasts were born, but she has a lot to show in terms of her pirouette technique, her risks with the apparatus, and the overall brilliant, perfect control and confidence she demonstrated.
I have watched Teodora in practice for many hours and I always felt amazed to see that her enthusiasm keeps shining in her eyes even after 8 hours of doing the same elements. The same elements, which most gymnasts in the world would never dare to try. I have two amazing routines for you. In one of them, you can barely hear the music because of the Japanese fans screaming. Well deserved. Unforgettable.
Many theories attempt to explain why some gymnasts have better technique than others in terms of pirouettes. Does height have to do with it? Is it natural, or all learned?
In Teodora's case, we can say that she had all the natural talent imaginable, but it would not have been enough for her to execute these routines if she didn't have the impenetrable psychological preparation that came with them. Can you tell that her center of gravity is somewhere deep in her beautiful mind, so nothing can shake it out of balance? :-)
