Elizabeth began her sports career and gymnastics at club Slavia.

Koleva had good results as a junior, At the 1987 European Junior Championships she won the All-around title, as well as the gold medal in all four apparatus (rope, hoop, ball, ribbon) and achieved a maximum score of 40.00 points.

[1] She advanced to Senior the following year and at the 1987 World Championships Koleva tied with teammate Adriana Dunavska for the silver medal in the all-around, she also won a bronze medal at the Ribbon finals.

In 1988, Koleva tied with teammate Dunavska and Soviet gymnast Alexandra Timoshenko for the gold at the European Championships, where she was also won a gold medal in rope and bronze in clubs final.

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