Plovdiv – a city with a millennia-long history and cultural renown – is proud not only of its architectural heritage but also of exceptional athletes who have left a lasting mark on Bulgarian and world sports. From record-breaking feats to Olympic victories, Plovdiv residents have shown that the champion's spirit is part of the city’s essence.
The first world record holder from Bulgaria was Lyuben Bozev, a weightlifter from Plovdiv. On 27th December 1927, in the main hall of the “Voltaire” High School in Paris, the economics student lifted 109 kg overhead in the 82.5 kg category – a new world record. At that time, Bulgaria was not a member of the world federation (it joined only in 1928), so the record wasn’t officially recognized, but Bozev received a certificate.
The first European footballer to be invited to play in the "Mecca" of world football – Brazil – was Todor Diev from “Spartak” club Plovdiv in 1958.
The first Bulgarian chess grandmaster was Milko Bobotsov from Plovdiv.
Viden Apostolov, a footballer from “Botev” Plovdiv, is the only defender to score a hat-trick in a Bulgarian league match between “Botev” and “Dunav” (Ruse).
Georgi Ubinov – “The Count” from “Botev” – scored the fastest hat-trick with diving headers in just 11 minutes (52nd, 59th, and 63rd minute) in the derby between “Botev” and “Lokomotiv”. This was an unofficial world record in the top league in 1970.
The first tennis medal for Bulgaria was won by Matey Pampulov and Bozhidar Pampulov from “Lokomotiv” Plovdiv in 1970 when they placed third in Europe in doubles.
The first European mixed doubles tennis title was won by Bozhidar Pampulov and Mima Jaušovec (Yugoslavia) in Maribor, Yugoslavia in 1977.
The first European athletics champion and the first Bulgarian woman to win two medals in one championship was Lilyana Tomova from Plovdiv – gold in the 800m. and silver in the 1500m. in Rome, Italy, in 1974.
The first world champions in academic rowing for Bulgaria were Teodor Mrankov from Plovdiv, Dimitar Yanakiev, and coxswain Stefan Stoykov, who won gold in Amsterdam in 1977 in the coxed pair event.
The first Bulgarian woman to swim 100m. freestyle under 1 minute was Radosveta Chinkova – Pironkova from Plovdiv in 1977.
The first Bulgarian female tennis player to play at Wimbledon was Marina Kondova from Plovdiv, invited by the organizers of the tournament in 1978 as the second-ranked girl in Europe under 16.
The only Bulgarian male gymnast to become an all-around European champion is Stoyan Deltchev from Plovdiv. He won the title in Essen, West Germany, in 1979, reaching the finals in all six apparatus and earning two golds, one silver, one bronze, one fifth place and two seventh places. This is the one and only time a Bulgarian places so high. He is also the first Bulgarian to patent two elements on the horizontal bar, named somersault “Deltchev 1” and “Deltchev 2”. He won two medals at the World Championships in Strasbourg in 1978 and was the first Bulgarian to participate in the prestigious Chunichi Cup in Japan. He was the first Bulgarian to win two medals at a single Olympics — the Olympic Games in Moscow, USSR. He competed in the finals on four apparatuses. During his rings routine in the all-around, he received a perfect score of 10. He is the only Bulgarian athlete to have won Olympic gold medals both as a competitor in Moscow (1980) and as a coach — of Lyubomir Geraskov — in Seoul (1988).
The first Bulgarian athlete to win both a gold and silver medal at a single Olympics (Moscow, 1980) was Lyubomir Lyubenov, a canoeist from Plovdiv. He was also Bulgaria's first world canoe champion in 1978 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
The only Bulgarian female athlete with 28 European titles is Nonka Matova from Plovdiv, a sports shooter. She won over 600 medals, including 76 from European and 16 from world championships. She also participated in 6, potentially 7, Olympic Games (if not for the 1984 boycott).
The first Bulgarian woman world champion in single sculls rowing was Magdalena Georgieva from “Trakia” Plovdiv in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1987. Along with Pavlina Alexandrova, they were the first to win two medals at one world championship in both pair and quad sculls in Bled, Yugoslavia, in 1989.
The only athlete to win gold, silver, and bronze at one Olympics was Vanya Gesheva – a canoeist from “Trakia” Plovdiv – at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She was also the first Bulgarian woman to win both world and Olympic titles in the discipline.
The first Bulgarian woman to win three medals at a Winter Olympics was biathlete Nadezhda Alexieva from Plovdiv at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
The only Bulgarian athlete to win two gold medals at a single Olympics (Barcelona, 1992) was Nikolay Bukhalov from “Trakia” Plovdiv. He was also the first winner of the newly established World Cup that year.
The first Bulgarian to compete in six consecutive Olympic Games was gymnast Yordan Yovchev from Plovdiv.
The first Bulgarian swimmer to swim the 200m freestyle in under 2 minutes and the first to reach the European Championship final (Vienna, 1994) was Stefan Georgiev from Plovdiv.
The first track and field athlete to win two medals at one World Indoor Championship and also at one European Indoor Championship was Iva Prandzheva from Plovdiv. She placed second in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump at the World Championships in Maebashi, Japan (1999), and third in both events at the European Championships in Ghent, Belgium (2000).
The first Bulgarian with two Olympic silver medals in kayaking is Petar Merkov from Plovdiv, who won them in Sydney, Australia (2000).
The first Bulgarian professional wrestler is Miroslav Barnyashev (known as Alexander Rusev Rusev), from Plovdiv.
The only Bulgarian athlete with 16 European karate titles is Valeri Dimitrov, a Shinkyokushin karate competitor.
Тhere are no comments yet.