Kiril Andonov

Prof. Kiril Andonov, D.Sc., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Gymnastics at the National Sports Academy (NSA), affiliated with the Faculty of Public Health, Health Care and Tourism. He has served as Head of the Gymnastics Department since 1999 and held roles such as Vice-Rector for International and Economic Activities and Public Relations. Born in Kiustendil on 04 August 1954, Andonov began his sports career in 1961 and competed nationally until 1978. He has lectured internationally and managed qualification courses for coaches through the International Gymnastics Federation.

• Education: Appointed Assistant Professor at NSA in 1982, promoted to Senior Assistant (1985), Head Assistant (1987), and Associate Professor (1988) after defending his Doctor’s thesis.
• Leadership: Served as President of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation (1999–2000), during which the National Men’s Team secured 6 Olympic visas and Yordan Yovchev won two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Research focuses on gymnastics pedagogy and athlete development, with over 60 published books/articles. He advises doctoral candidates, directing two completed PhDs and four ongoing dissertations. Fluent in Russian, Spanish, and English, he has taught at universities in Spain, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the U.S.

Current projects include preparing to defend his D.Sc. thesis and leading NSA’s Gymnastics Department. His work bridges elite sports coaching with academic research, emphasizing international collaboration and athlete success.