Marinova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria.[1] She trained in both the Slavia and Levski clubs during her career.[2][3]
As a junior, Marinova competed at the 1989 Junior European Championships, where she won silver in the all-around as well as gold in three of the four apparatus finals.[4] That year, she was also the national junior champion.[1]
The next year, she won the Bulgarian senior title.[1] She competed at the 1990 World Cup, where she won silver in the all-around. She won three more medals in the event finals, a gold with ribbon, silver with hoop, and bronze with ball.[5]
At the 1990 Goodwill Games, she won the silver medal in all-around as well as in three of the event finals - all but hoop, where she won gold.[6]
In June 1991, she competed at the European Cup Final, where she won bronze in the all-around behind Alexandra Timoshenko and Oksana Skaldina. In the apparatus finals, she won gold with hoop and ball and silver with rope.[7] That October, she represented Bulgaria at the World Championships, where she again won bronze in the all-around behind Skaldina and Timoshenko. She won a further two silvers in the apparatus finals, hoop and clubs, and a bronze with ball. With her teammates Maria Petrova and Kristina Shikerova, she also won silver in the team event.[8]
After her retirement, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida in the United States with her coach and began coaching alongside her. She married in 1995, and she had a son in 1998. Marinova began to train again in 1998. Speaking about her comeback, she said "I have a lot more fun than I did before" and that she thought that older gymnasts were better than younger ones because they were able to show more artistry.[9]
She competed domestically and spent two years on the US national team.[1] In 1999, she was fourth at the national championships.[10] The next year, she was third, but she withdrew from the apparatus finals, citing exhaustion.[11][12] She resumed coaching after her second retirement and now works at Florida Elite Gymnastics.[13]
Bulgaria
