View source for Nikolina Shtereva

{{short description|Bulgarian middle-distance runner}}
{{MedalTableTop|nation=BUL|sport=Women's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]|medals=
{{Medal|Olympics}}
{{Medal|Silver | [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Montreal]]|[[Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres|800&nbsp;m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold   | [[1976 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1976 Munich]]|800 m}} 
{{Medal|Gold   | [[1979 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1979 Vienna]]|800 m}} 
{{Medal|Bronze | [[1981 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1981 Grenoble]]|800 m}} 
}}
'''Nikolina Pavlova Shtereva''' ({{langx|bg|Николина Павлова Щерева}}; born 25 January 1955) is a retired [[Bulgaria]]n [[middle-distance runner]] who specialised in the [[800 metres|800]] and [[1500 metres]]. She is best known for her silver medal in 800 metres at the [[1976 Summer Olympics]], and at the [[European Athletics Indoor Championships|European Indoor Championships]] she won gold medals in [[1976 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1976]] and [[1979 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1979]] and a bronze medal in [[1981 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1981]]. She won fourteen national titles (outdoor; as well as seven indoor) in Bulgaria, and is still the [[Bulgarian records in athletics|Bulgarian record]] holder in the 800 metres.

==International career==
She was born in [[Sofia]], and represented the club [[CSKA Sofia (sports club)|CSKA]] Septemvrisko Zname during her career.<ref name=sref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sh/nikolina-shtereva-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174138/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sh/nikolina-shtereva-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|title=Nikolina Shtereva|publisher=Sports-Reference.com|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> In the 1970s and 1980s she was a prolific competitor at the European Indoor Championships. She finished sixth at the [[1975 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1975 European Indoor Championships]], clocking in only 2:20.3 seconds,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1975/f75_03.html|title=1975 European Indoor Championships, women's 800 metres final|publisher=Die Leichtatletik-Statistik-Seite|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> but then won the gold medal at the [[1976 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1976 European Indoor Championships]]. She edged out countrywoman [[Lilyana Tomova]] with 0.4 seconds, and Bulgaria almost managed a gold-silver-bronze constellation, but [[Ivanka Bonova]] lost the bronze medal to [[Gisela Klein]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1976/f76_03.html|title=1976 European Indoor Championships, women's 800 metres final|publisher=Die Leichtatletik-Statistik-Seite|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> She won another gold medal at the [[1979 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1979 European Indoor Championships]], 0.3 seconds ahead of [[Anita Weiß]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1979/f79_03.html|title=1979 European Indoor Championships, women's 800 metres final|publisher=Die Leichtatletik-Statistik-Seite|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> and finished sixth at the [[1982 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1982 European Indoor Championships]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1982/f82_04.html|title=1982 European Indoor Championships, women's 800 metres final|publisher=Die Leichtatletik-Statistik-Seite|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> She also won the 800 metres event at the [[1979 IAAF World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/wp.htm|title=IAAF World Cup in Athletics|work=GBR Athletics|publisher=Athletics Weekly|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref>

In winning her medals at the 1976 and 1979 European Indoor Championships, she was a part of a strong tradition of Bulgarian 800 metres runners, who won medals at the European Indoor Championships in [[1972 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1972]], [[1973 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1973]], [[1975 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1975]], [[1976 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1976]], [[1977 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1977]], [[1978 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1978]] and [[1979 European Athletics Indoor Championships|1979]]. Other than Shtereva, these medals were taken by [[Svetla Zlateva]] (1972), [[Stefka Yordanova]] (1973), [[Rositsa Pekhlivanova]] (1975), [[Lilyana Tomova]] (1976) and [[Totka Petrova]] (1977, 1978).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/eiw.htm|title=European Indoor Championships (Women)|work=GBR Athletics|publisher=Athletics Weekly|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref>

Shtereva also competed in the Olympic Games twice, in [[1976 Summer Olympics|1976]] in [[Montreal]] and [[1980 Summer Olympics|1980]] in [[Moscow]]. Both times she competed in both 800 and 1500 metres. In the [[Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres|1976 Olympic 800 metres event]] she started by finishing second in the initial heat with 2:01.02 minutes, then second in the semi-final with 1:57.35 minutes.<ref name=sref/> In the final she won the silver medal behind Soviet [[Tatyana Kazankina]] (gold) but ahead of East German [[Elfi Zinn]] (bronze). Kazankina set a new [[world records in athletics|world record]] of 1:54.94 minutes, while Shtereva clocked in 1:55.42 minutes. The previous world record was 1:56.0 minutes, achieved by [[Valentina Gerasimova]] in June the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/womens-800-metres.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417173635/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/womens-800-metres.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|title=Athletics at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games: Women's 800 metres|publisher=Sports-Reference.com|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> In the [[Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metres|1976 Olympic 1500 metres event]] Shtereva reached the final as well, after a fourth place in the heat and a second place in the semi-final. In the final round she finished fourth with 4:06.57 minutes, despite having clocked in 4:02.33 minutes in the semi-final.<ref name=sref/> Kazankina won the gold again; Shtereva was 0.48 seconds too late for the bronze medal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/womens-1500-metres-final.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172537/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1976/ATH/womens-1500-metres-final.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 April 2020|title=Athletics at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games: Women's 1,500 metres Final|publisher=Sports-Reference.com|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref>

In the [[Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Women's 800 metres|1980 Olympic 800 metres event]] she achieved similar results in all the three rounds. She first ran in 1:58.83 minutes to finish third in round one, and in 1:58.87 minutes to finish fourth in the semi-final. In the final she ran in 1:58.71 to finish seventh. In the [[Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Women's 1500 metres|1980 Olympic 1500 metres event]] she ran in 4:08.25 minutes in the first round, better than in the equivalent round of the 1976 Olympics, but this time it was not enough to progress from the heats.<ref name=sref/> She later finished seventh in the final at the [[1982 European Championships in Athletics – Women's 800 metres|1982 European Championships]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todor66.com/athletics/europe/1982/Women_800m.html|title=Women 800m European Championships 1982 Athens (GRE)|publisher=Todor Krastev|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref>

==Domestic titles==
Shtereva became Bulgarian champion in the [[400 metres]] in 1974, 800 metres champion in 1974, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989, 1500 metres champion 1980, 1985 and 1986 and [[10,000 metres]] champion in 1986. In the 800 metres she established a long-standing championship record with her 1:57.2 minutes, achieved in 1979. After Shtereva's last national championship victory in the 800 metres, the hegemony was taken over by [[Petya Strashilova]] who won every year but one (1996) between 1990 and 1998.<ref name=bulg>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/bul.htm|title=Bulgarian Championships|work=GBR Athletics|publisher=Athletics Weekly|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref> She also became Bulgarian indoor champion in the 800 metres in 1974, 1976, 1979, 1980 and 1987, in the 1500 metres in 1976 and 1987 and in the [[3000 metres]] in 1986. She achieved championship records all three events, with 2:01.1 minutes, 4:09.80 minutes and 9:06.61 minutes respectively; the two latter times were beat in 2000 by [[Daniela Yordanova]], with 4:08.53 minutes and 8:52.90 minutes respectively.<ref name=bulgindoor>{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/buli.htm|title=Bulgarian Indoor Championships|work=GBR Athletics|publisher=Athletics Weekly|access-date=8 February 2010}}</ref>

==Personal bests==
The times achieved by Shtereva at the 1976 Summer Olympics, 1:55.42 in the 800 metres and 4:02.33 in the 1500 metres, remained her personal best times.<ref>[http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-d04.htm World women's all-time best 800m] (last updated 2001)</ref><ref>[http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-d06.htm World women's all-time best 1500m] (last updated 2001)</ref> She still holds the [[Bulgarian records in athletics|Bulgarian record]] in the 800 metres.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090816211641/http://www.athletix.org/Statistics/bulgaria.htm Bulgarian Records]}} (last updated 31 December 07))</ref> She also had 2:33.8 minutes in the 1000 metres, achieved in July 1976 in [[Sofia]],<ref>[http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-d05.htm World women's all-time best 1000m] (last updated 2001)</ref> 4:30.26 minutes in the [[mile run]], achieved in June 1988 in [[Bratislava]],<ref>[http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-d07.htm World women's all-time best 1 mile] (last updated 2001)</ref> 9:00.38 minutes in the 3000 metres, achieved in August 1978 in [[Thessaloniki]],<ref>[http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-d09.htm World women's all-time best 3000m] (last updated 2001)</ref> and 15:37.49 minutes in the [[5000 metres]], achieved in May 1985 in [[Budapest]].<ref>[http://hem.bredband.net/athletics/atb-d10.htm World women's all-time best 5000m] (last updated 2001)</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Footer IAAF World Cup Champions 800m Women}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shtereva, Nikolina}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Athletes from Sofia]]
[[Category:Bulgarian female middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1975 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Bulgarian Athletics Championships winners]]