Magdalena Brzeska

Magdalena Brzeska, born on 14 May 1978 in Gdynia, Poland, is a retired German individual rhythmic gymnast. She began rhythmic gymnastics training in 1990 at TSV Schmiden, where she stayed for six years and won all the national titles under the coach Kristina Georgieva, and then moved to TV Wattenscheid for two years, coached by Livia Medilanski. She first competed at the European Championships in 1992, finishing 14th in the all-around final, and would have qualified for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona but could not attend because she did not yet have a German passport. She competed in five World Championships and was a regular in the top ten of the all-around rankings, reaching her highest placing, eighth in the all-around, at the 1995 World Championships, where she also qualified for all the apparatus finals in ball, clubs, rope and ribbon. Brzeska represented Germany at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and finished tenth in the all-around final. After her retirement she became a regular guest at show performances on German television and in the entertainment industry, and in 2008 she served as an ambassador for Germany in the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.