Maria Nichiforov was a Romanian sprint canoer. In 1969, Nichiforov competed at the European Junior Championships, her first international competition, and won the gold in the K4-500 m event. At the 1972 München Olympics, Nichiforov and Viorica Dumitru won the bronze medal in the K2-500 m. At the 1973 World Championships, Nichiforov, Dumitru, Maria Cosma and Maria Ivanov won the bronze medal in the K4-500 m, the first medals to be won by Romanian female kayakers. A year later, again teaming with Viorica Dumitru, Nichiforov won the silver medal at the World Championships in the K2-500m.