At the end of June, the selection for the 2019 pre-junior Olympic squad took place. Dara Krasteva and Gabriela Krastanova from TEA Dance Sports Club were invited to take part. The selection had three stages. Little Gabriela Krastanova went out after the first stage, but rather than disappointing her, it gave her even more motivation to progress.
Dara Krasteva passed the first stage in 5th position out of 64 gymnasts and went on to the second stage, a camp at the Rakovski National Sports Base. The camp ended with the third stage of the selection, a physical qualities exam, in which Dara performed excellently. So, finishing third overall across the three stages, Dara Krasteva made the Olympic squad for 2019 as well, improving on her 2018 results.
Dara's personal coach, Teodora Gramatikova, says of her:
"Dara is extremely ambitious and very hard-working. She does her very best to improve the way she works and her weaknesses, and she puts a huge amount into the training process. In the last year she has learned that it's important to beat herself on the competition carpet first, and then everyone else. Naturally, like everyone, she has strengths and weaknesses, but she is an all-round gymnast, which I think is extremely important. She can be gentle and beautiful as well as very dynamic and eye-catching. This lets the coach create routines of very different character. Dara has well-rounded physical qualities, and now she has also focused hard on apparatus work, and things have started to move up. She is very smart, which makes working with her easier. She has a strong character, but sometimes she uses that strength in the wrong direction – that's why I'm by her side, to correct and guide her. I hope she succeeds, proves herself, makes her mark and, of course, that one day I'll see her as a national team gymnast."
Through her hard work, Dara Krasteva also made the top 9 gymnasts who will be invited to joint training sessions with the national teams at the Rakovski National Sports Base during the preparation period (end of 2018, start of 2019). It's a reward camp for the children who placed best in the selection.
Good luck to Dara Krasteva – onwards and upwards!