Background
She was born on March 15, 1963 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
She was born on March 15, 1963 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
She was one of the Golden Girls of Bulgaria that dominated Rhythmic Gymnastics in 1980"son 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 Iliana was the recognized leader, both in their street games and in the team, who started learning gymnastics American Broadcasting Company under the clever and experienced eyes of the coach Zlatka Bontcheva in "Levski-Spartak " club, Sofia.
At 15 Iliana went on to train under Neshka Robeva who had joined the club shortly before.
One year later, at the 1980 European Championships in Amsterdam, Raeva swept the gold in the all around, rope, hoop and clubs. She was third 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. In 1999, she became the Head of the Council of Coaches in the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.
She led the Bulgarian team in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.