In her first World Championship appearance, Petrova placed second in the team competition after a hoop drop.

Petrova was one of the favorites to win gold but found herself finishing in fifth in the all-around finals at the Barcelona Olympics after a penalty of .20 was imposed due to the zipper on the back of her leotard that had broken during her hoop exercise.

A few months later, at the World Championships, Petrova took second place behind Russia's Oxana Kostina and ahead of Belarusian Larissa Lukyanenko.

She also competed in a ribbon exercise, and a small-toss filled clubs routine to Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner".

Although she had tried to retire several times after her first World title, Petrova continued competing as a favor to the Bulgarian national team, which was in a rebuilding phase after the Eastern European Communist collapse.