Despite only taking up judo in his late teens Dimitar Zapryanov went on to become one the best practitioners of the sport in Bulgaria. Zapryanov first competed as a junior in the late 1970s, winning bronze at the 1978 European Cadet Championships and the 1979 European Junior Championships. He soon stepped up to the senior ranks and won silver in the heavyweight class at the 1980 Moskva Olympics. He won more medals at international competitions, including silver at the European Championships (1981, 1983), silver at the 1984 Friendship Games, bronze at the 1985 World Championships, and a final bronze at the 1988 European Championships. In 2001 Zapryanov was named as the best Bulgarian judoka of the century.
Bulgaria