Bulgaria at the
2020 Summer Olympics
IOC codeBUL
NOCBulgarian Olympic Committee
Websitewww.bgolympic.org (in Bulgarian and English)
in Tokyo, Japan
July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) – August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08)
Competitors42 in 12 sports
Flag bearers (opening)Maria Grozdeva
Josif Miladinov
Flag bearer (closing)Simona Dyankova
Medals
Ranked 30th
Gold
3
Silver
1
Bronze
2
Total
6
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Bulgaria competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Bulgarian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympics since 1924, except for three occasions: the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, and the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles because of Bulgaria's actions in World War II and the worldwide Great Depression and Soviet boycott, respectively.

Bulgaria won six medals, with three of them gold, its best result since 2004 in terms of total medals and since 2000 in terms of gold medals. This was the first time since 2008 that Bulgaria had won any gold medals. All 6 medals were won by female athletes. [2]

Medalists

Further information: 2020 Summer Olympics medal table and List of 2020 Summer Olympics medal winners
Medal Name Sport Event Date
 Gold Ivet Goranova Karate Women's 55 kg 5 August
 Gold Stoyka Krasteva Boxing Women's flyweight 7 August
 Gold Simona Dyankova
Stefani Kiryakova
Madlen Radukanova
Laura Traets
Erika Zafirova		 Gymnastics Women's rhythmic group all-around 8 August
 Silver Antoaneta Kostadinova Shooting Women's 10 m air pistol 25 July
 Bronze Taybe Yusein Wrestling Women's freestyle 62 kg 4 August
 Bronze Evelina Nikolova Wrestling Women's freestyle 57 kg 5 August

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.

Sport Men Women Total
Athletics 1 4 5
Badminton 0 3 3
Boxing 1 2 3
Canoeing 0 1 1
Gymnastics 1 7 8
Judo 2 1 3
Karate 0 1 1
Shooting 0 3 3
Swimming 4 1 5
Table tennis 0 1 1
Weightlifting 2 0 2
Wrestling 3 4 7
Total 14 28 42

Athletics

Main articles: Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgarian athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):[3][4]

Key
Track & road events
Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Inna Eftimova Women's 100 m 11.46 6 Did not advance
Women's 200 m 23.42 5 Did not advance
Ivet Lalova-Collio Women's 200 m 23.39 5 Did not advance
Field events
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Distance Position Distance Position
Tihomir Ivanov Men's high jump 2.17 26 Did not advance
Gabriela Petrova Women's triple jump 13.79 22 Did not advance
Mirela Demireva Women's high jump 1.95 14 Q 1.93 12

Badminton

Main articles: Badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Badminton at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgaria entered three female badminton players for each of the following events into the Olympic tournament. Rio 2016 Olympian Linda Zechiri was selected among the top 39 individual shuttlers in the women's singles, while sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva secured the women's doubles spot by finishing eighth in the BWF Race to Tokyo Rankings of 15 June 2021.[5]

Athlete Event Group stage Elimination Quarterfinal Semifinal Final / BM
Opposition
Score 		Opposition
Score 		Opposition
Score 		Rank Opposition
Score 		Opposition
Score 		Opposition
Score 		Opposition
Score 		Rank
Linda Zechiri Women's singles  Chen (AUS)
L (16–21, 22–20, 8–21) 		 Blichfeldt (DEN)
L (10–21, 3–21) 		— 3 Did not advance
Gabriela Stoeva
Stefani Stoeva 		Women's doubles  Kim S-y /
Kong H-y (KOR)
L (23–21, 12–21, 21–23) 		 Chen Qc /
Jia Yf (CHN)
L (18–21, 15–21) 		 Kititharakul /
Prajongjai (THA)
W (21–11, 16–21, 21–17) 		3 Did not advance

Boxing

Main articles: Boxing at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Boxing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgaria entered one male boxer into the Olympic tournament. Rio 2016 Olympian Daniel Asenov topped the list of eligible boxers from Europe in the men's flyweight division to secure his place on the Bulgarian team based on the IOC's Boxing Task Force Rankings. Stoyka Krasteva secured her spot by scoring a quarterfinal victory at the 2020 European Qualification Tournament in London, United Kingdom.

Athlete Event Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank
Daniel Asenov Men's flyweight  Girleanu (ROU)
W 5–0 		 Escobar (ESP)
L 1–4 		Did not advance
Stoyka Krasteva Women's flyweight  Nguyễn (VIE)
W 3–2 		 Fuchs (USA)
W 5–0 		 Chang Y (CHN)
W 4–1 		 Namiki (JPN)
W 5–0 		 Çakıroğlu (TUR)
W 5–0 		1st place, gold medalist(s)
Stanimira Petrova Women's featherweight Bye  Arias (COL)
L 2–3 		Did not advance

Canoeing

Main articles: Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Canoeing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Sprint

With the cancellation of the 2021 Pan American Championships and the lack of eligible competitors available from the Americas in the canoe sprint regatta, Bulgaria accepted the invitation from the International Canoe Federation to send a canoeist in the inaugural women's C-1 200 m to the Games based on the results at the 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary.[6]

Athlete Event Heats Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Staniliya Stamenova Women's C-1 200 m 48.477 4 QF 48.939 5 Did not advance

Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Gymnastics

Main articles: Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Artistic

Bulgaria entered one artistic gymnast into the Olympic competition. David Huddleston booked a spot in the men's individual all-around and apparatus events, by finishing tenth out of the twelve gymnasts eligible for qualification at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

Men
Athlete Event Qualification Final
Apparatus Total Rank Apparatus Total Rank
F PH R V PB HB F PH R V PB HB
David Huddleston All-around 12.433 11.000 12.200 14.000 13.166 11.466 74.265 59 Did not advance

Rhythmic

Bulgaria qualified a squad of rhythmic gymnasts for the group all-around by virtue of a top-three finish at the 2018 World Championships in Sofia.[7] Two more rhythmic gymnasts were added to the roster by finishing in the top sixteen of the individual all-around at the 2019 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.[8] The athletes for the individual and group all-around were announced on 1 July 2021.[9]

Athlete Event Qualification Final
Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon Total Rank Hoop Ball Clubs Ribbon Total Rank
Boryana Kaleyn Individual 24.100 25.800 26.600 19.150 95.650 8 Q 25.900 25.625 26.650 22.450 100.625 5
Katrin Taseva 24.450 24.600 24.400 17.650 91.100 14 Did not advance
Athletes Event Qualification Final
5 balls 3 hoops
2 clubs 		Total Rank 5 balls 3 hoops
2 clubs 		Total Rank
Simona Dyankova
Stefani Kiryakova
Madlen Radukanova
Laura Traets
Erika Zafirova 		Group 47.500 44.300 91.800 1 Q 47.550 44.550 92.100 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Judo

Main articles: Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgaria entered three judoka (two men and one women) into the Olympic tournament based on the International Judo Federation Olympics Individual Ranking.[10]

Athlete Event Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank
Yanislav Gerchev Men's −60 kg —  Preciado (ECU)
W 10–00 		 Yang Y-w (TPE)
L 00–10 		Did not advance
Ivaylo Ivanov Men's −81 kg Bye  Lucenti (ARG)
W 10–00 		 Boltaboev (UZB)
L 00–01 		Did not advance
Ivelina Ilieva Women's−57 kg —  Khelifi (TUN)
W 10–00 		 Klimkait (CAN)
L 00–10 		Did not advance

Karate

Main articles: Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgaria entered one karateka into the inaugural Olympic tournament. Ivet Goranova qualified directly for the women's kumite 55 kg category by finishing top three at 2021 World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Paris, France.

Athlete Event Group stage Semifinals Final
Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank
Ivet Goranova Women's −55 kg  Wen T-y (TPE)
W 5–2 		 Özçelik (TUR)
W 5–1 		 Bahmanyar (IRI)
W 5–2 		1 Q  Plank (AUT)
W 4–3 		 Terliuga (UKR)
W 5–1 		1st place, gold medalist(s)

Shooting

Main articles: Shooting at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Shooting at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgarian shooters achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the 2018 ISSF World Championships, the 2019 ISSF World Cup series, European Championships or Games, and European Qualifying Tournament, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by May 31, 2020.[11]

Athlete Event Qualification Final
Points Rank Points Rank
Selin Ali Women's trap 115 20 Did not advance
Maria Grozdeva Women's 10 m air pistol 559 43 Did not advance
Women's 25 m pistol 578 27 Did not advance
Antoaneta Kostadinova Women's 10 m air pistol 578 6 Q 239.4 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Women's 25 m pistol 590 1 Q 28 4

Swimming

Main articles: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgarian swimmers further achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)):[12][13]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Lyubomir Epitropov Men's 100 m breaststroke 1:00.71 32 Did not advance
Men's 200 m breaststroke 2:09.68 14 Q 2:10.33 15 Did not advance
Antani Ivanov Men's 100 m butterfly 52.25 29 Did not advance
Men's 200 m butterfly 1:56.36 20 Did not advance
Kaloyan Levterov Men's 100 m backstroke 55.60 37 Did not advance
Men's 200 m backstroke 1:58.96 24 Did not advance
Josif Miladinov Men's 100 m butterfly 51.28 6 Q 51.06 4 Q 51.49 8
Diana Petkova Women's 100 m breaststroke 1:10.61 34 Did not advance
Women's 200 m individual medley 2:16.70 25 Did not advance

Table tennis

Main articles: Table tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Table tennis at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgaria entered one athlete into the table tennis competition at the Games. Polina Trifonova booked the third of four women's singles spots with a third-stage final victory at the European Qualification Tournament in Odivelas, Portugal.[14][15]

Athlete Event Preliminary Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final / BM
Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank
Polina Trifonova Women's singles  Hanffou (CMR)
W 4–1 		 de Nutte (LUX)
W 4–3 		 Yang Xx (MON)
L 1–4 		Did not advance

Weightlifting

Main articles: Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Weightlifting at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgarian weightlifters qualified for two quota places at the games, based on the Tokyo 2020 Rankings Qualification List of 11 June 2021.[16]

Athlete Event Snatch Clean & Jerk Total Rank
Result Rank Result Rank
Bozhidar Andreev Men's −73 kg 154 4 184 7 338 5
Hristo Hristov Men's −109 kg 189 3 219 6 408 5

Wrestling

Main articles: Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Bulgaria qualified seven wrestlers for each of the following classes into the Olympic competition. One of them finished among the top six to book Olympic spots in the women's freestyle 62 kg at the 2019 World Championships, while four additional licenses were awarded to the Bulgarian wrestlers, who progressed to the top two finals of their respective weight categories at the 2021 European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Budapest, Hungary.[17] Two Bulgarian wrestlers claimed one of the remaining slots each in the men's Greco-Roman 77 kg and women's freestyle 68 kg, respectively, to complete the nation's roster at the 2021 World Qualification Tournament in Sofia.[18][19]

Key:

Freestyle
Athlete Event Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank
Georgi Vangelov Men's −57 kg  Kherbache (ALG)
W 5–0 VT 		 Dahiya (IND)
L 1–4 SP 		Did not advance  Tigreros (COL)
W 5–0 VT 		 Sanayev (KAZ)
L 1–3 PP 		5
Miglena Selishka Women's −50 kg  Vuc (ROU)
W 3–0 PO 		 Hildebrandt (USA)
L 1–4 SP 		Did not advance 7
Evelina Nikolova Women's −57 kg  Wrzesień (POL)
W 3–0 PO 		 Nichita (MDA)
W 3–1 PP 		 Kurachkina (BLR)
L 0–4 ST 		Bye  Koblova (ROC)
W 5–0 VT 		3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Taybe Yusein Women's −62 kg  Nunes (BRA)
W 3–1 PP 		 Khürelkhüü (MGL)
W 4–0 ST 		 Kawai (JPN)
L 2–3 PP 		Bye  Ovcharova (ROC)
W 4–0 ST 		3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Mimi Hristova Women's −68 kg  Zhumanazarova (KGZ)
L 1–3 PP 		Did not advance 11
Greco-Roman
Athlete Event Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Repechage Final / BM
Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Opposition
Result 		Rank
Aik Mnatsakanian Men's −77 kg  Starčević (CRO)
L 1–3 PP 		Did not advance 12
Kiril Milov Men's −97 kg  İldem (TUR)
W 3–1 PP 		 Saravi (IRI)
L 0–3 PO 		Did not advance 8

See also

References

  1. ^ "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". Olympics. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Most Balkan Countries Cheer Olympic Medal Scores". August 9, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "iaaf.org – Top Lists". IAAF. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  4. ^ "IAAF Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020 Entry Standards" (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Сестри Стоеви и Линда Зечири се класираха за Токио 2020" [Stoeva sisters and Zetchiri qualified for Tokyo 2020] (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian National Radio. 13 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Mexico to make Olympic slalom debut after quota allocations". International Canoe Federation. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Russia claims Rhythmic Group All-around title". FIG. 15 September 2018. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Places to Tokyo 2020, The World Games 2021 booked". FIG. 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  9. ^ "42 състезатели в 14 вида спорт утвърди БОК за Токио 2020" [42 athletes in 14 sports approved by the BOC for Tokyo 2020]. Bulgarian Olympic Committee (in Bulgarian). 1 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  10. ^ "IJF.org – International Judo Federation". www.ijf.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  11. ^ "Quota Places by Nation and Number". www.issf-sports.org/. ISSF. 1 January 2018. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  12. ^ "FINA – Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Qualification". FINA. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Tokyo 2020 – FINA Swimming Qualification System" (PDF). Tokyo 2020. FINA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Places booked new names join Olympic order". International Table Tennis Federation. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Last places booked; Panagiotis Gionis makes it five in a row". International Table Tennis Federation. 25 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Tokyo 2020 Qualification (Weightlifting)". www.iwf.net. Archived from the original on 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  17. ^ Olanowski, Eric (18 March 2021). "Armenia Earns Olympic Berths Through Rising Stars Tevanyan and Harutyunyan". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  18. ^ Marantz, Ken (7 May 2021). "Russia Puts All 3 Women Into Semis; Renteria's Quest for More Olympic Glory Ends". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  19. ^ Marantz, Ken (8 May 2021). "Datunashvili Denies Rio champ Chakvetadze Ticket to Tokyo; Armenia Grabs 2 Greco spots". United World Wrestling. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.


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