Bulgaria at the 2020 Summer Olympics

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 at the 2020 Summer Olympics
IOC code	BUL
NOC	Bulgarian Olympic Committee
Website	www.bgolympic.org (in Bulgarian and English)
in Tokyo, Japan July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) – August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08)
Competitors	42 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)
1896 1900–1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

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

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

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
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

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

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
	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:

• VT (ranking points: 5–0 or 0–5) – Victory by fall.
• VB (ranking points: 5–0 or 0–5) – Victory by injury (VF for forfeit, VA for withdrawal or disqualification)
• PP (ranking points: 3–1 or 1–3) – Decision by points – the loser with technical points.
• PO (ranking points: 3–0 or 0–3) – Decision by points – the loser without technical points.
• ST (ranking points: 4–0 or 0–4) – Great superiority – the loser without technical points and a margin of victory of at least 8 (Greco-Roman) or 10 (freestyle) points.
• SP (ranking points: 4–1 or 1–4) – Technical superiority – the loser with technical points and a margin of victory of at least 8 (Greco-Roman) or 10 (freestyle) points.

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
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
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

• Bulgaria at the 2020 Summer Paralympics

References

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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.
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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.