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| Born | (1990-08-16)16 August 1990 (age 35) Sofia, Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Men's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Bulgaria(2007–2011, 2023–present) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former countries represented |  United States(2013–2018, 2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Stanford Cardinal (2010–2013) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Eddie Penev (born 16 August 1990) is a Bulgarian artistic gymnast. He is a former member of theUnited States national team where he was part of the gold medal-winning teams at the2014 Pan American Championships and the2016 Pacific Rim Championships. He competed in NCAA gymnastics for theStanford Cardinal, where he was a three-time individual NCAA champion.
Penev was born inSofia, Bulgaria, to Youlia Coss (née Hristova) and Marian Penev, both of whom were former members of the Bulgarian national gymnastics team.[1] His family moved to the United States when Penev was three years old.[2] He is the older brother ofKevin Penev.[1]
Penev began representing Bulgaria in international competition in 2007.[3] He competed at the2007 World Championships but did not qualify for any event finals. At the2009 European Championships, Penev finished eighth on floor exercise.[4] At the2010 World Championships, Penev qualified to the floor exercise final, where he finished sixth.[4] At the2011 World Championships he finished 70th in the all-around and did not qualify for any event finals.[5]
In 2013, Penev officiallyswitched his nationality to represent the United States in international competitions.[3] He competed at the2013 Winter Cup where he won the vault title. As a result, he was added to theUnited States national team for the first time.[6] He made his international debut for the United States at theAnadia World Cup where he finished sixth on floor exercise.[7] He competed at hisfirst U.S. National Championships that year where he placed second on vault and was named to theUnited States national team.[8]
At the2014 Winter Cup, Penev co-won the event titles on floor exercise and vault.[9] At theAnadia World Challenge Cup, he won gold medals on floor exercise and vault.[10] Penev was named to the team to compete at the2014 Pan American Championships where he helped the USA win gold.[11] However, while vaulting Penevtore his ACL.[1]
In 2016, Penev competed at thePacific Rim Championships where he helped the USA win gold as a team. Individually he won gold on vault and silver on floor exercise behind teammateJake Dalton.[12] Penev competed at the2016 Olympic Trials where he placed second on floor exercise; however he was not named to the Olympic team.[13]
Penev was selected to compete at the2017 World Championships, his first World Championships representing the United States. During the qualification round, he finished sixth on floor exercise but did not qualify for the final due to teammatesYul Moldauer andDonnell Whittenburg scoring higher. He was, however, the second reserve for the vault final.[14] During the summer of 2018, Penev suffered his second ACL tear.[1]
In 2021, Penev qualified to compete at the postponed-2020 Olympic Trials; however, while competing at a mock meet at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, Penev tore his ACL for the third time in seven years.[15]
In early 2023, theInternational Gymnastics Federation approved Penev's nationality change request, allowing him to once again represent Bulgaria in international competition.[16] He immediately competed at variousWorld Cups, winning gold medals on floor exercise in Varna and Osijek, and winning silver in Szombathely.
In 2024, Penev attempted to qualify for theOlympic Games via theWorld Cup circuit. He won bronze on floor exercise in Cairo and placed fourth in Baku. However, he had to withdraw from the Doha World Cup due to a shoulder injury.[17]
Penev competed at variousWorld Cups in the 2025 season. At the Varna World Challenge Cup, he won gold on floor exercise and bronze on vault.[18]
Penev began competing for theStanford Cardinal in 2010.[4] During his freshman season, he won the NCAA vault title.[19] At the 2012 NCAA Championships, he won the titles on both floor exercise and vault.[20]
Penev was awarded theNissen-Emery Award in 2013, the highest honor for a senior collegiate gymnast.[21][22]
| Year | Event | Team | AA | FX | PH | SR | VT | PB | HB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Winter Cup | 4 | 7 | 15 | 8 |  | 13 | 13 | |
| NCAA Championships |  | |  | 7 | |||||
| Anadia Challenge Cup | 6 | ||||||||
| U.S. National Championships | 12 | 8 | 21 | 21 | | 22 | 10 | ||
| 2014 | Winter Cup | | | 12 | 14 | ||||
| Anadia Challenge Cup | | | |||||||
| U.S. National Championships | 18 | | 25 | 30 | | 29 | 30 | ||
| Pan American Championships | | ||||||||
| 2015 | U.S. National Championships | 14 | 4 | 13 | 34 | 5 | 12 | 16 | |
| Toyota International | | 5 | | ||||||
| 2016 | Winter Cup | | 15 | | |||||
| University of Calgary International Cup | | | | ||||||
| Pacific Rim Championships | | | | ||||||
| U.S. National Championships | 13 | | 16 | 28 | 19 | 20 | 16 | ||
| Olympic Trials | | 11 | 7 | 15 | 11 | ||||
| 2017 | Winter Cup | | 13 | 10 | 14 | 25 | |||
| Koper World Challenge Cup | | 4 | |||||||
| U.S. National Championships | | | |||||||
| World Championships | R2 | ||||||||
| 2019 | Winter Cup | 7 | 9 | 4 | 20 | 16 | |||
| U.S. National Championships | 21 | 4 | |||||||
| 2020 | Winter Cup | 5 | | ||||||
| 2021 | Winter Cup | | | ||||||
| U.S. National Championships | | | |||||||
| Olympic Trials | WD |
