Bulgaria (BUL)

Overview

NOCBulgarian Olympic Committee
Flagbearers87

Participants

Olympic Games 1543
Youth Olympic Games 112

Description

Five Bulgarian athletes went to Athens for the 1896 Olympic Games, but due to a misunderstanding over the use of the Gregorian and the Julian Calendars, they arrived too late to compete. However, a Swiss national in 1896, Charles Champaud, worked in Sofia and is considered the first Bulgarian Olympian. It was not until 1923 that a National Olympic Committee (NOC) was formed and International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition followed in the next year. Bulgaria first competed at the Olympic Games in 1924, and it has since missed only the Olympic Games of 1932, 1948, and 1984. Bulgaria has had its greatest successes in strength sports, mainly weightlifting and wrestling. In the 1980s, it was the premier nation in the world in weightlifting. Through 2022, Bulgarian athletes have won 230 Olympic medals, 55 of them gold. A female shooter, Mariya Grozdeva, has won the most Olympic medals for Bulgaria, with five in all, and two golds.

Bulgaria’s first competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 1936 and it has participated at all celebrations since, for 21 appearances in all. They have competed in 11 of the current 15 Winter disciplines.

Bulgarian Winter Olympians have won six medals, one of them gold, at the Olympic Winter Games. Evgeniya Radanova has been their greatest Winter Olympian, winning three medals in short-track speedskating in 2002-2006: two silver in the 500 metres in both years, and a bronze in the 1,500 metres in 2002. Ekaterina Dafovska has won the only Bulgarian gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games, in the 1998 15 kilometre biathlon. Ivan Lebanov won the first Winter medal for Bulgaria at Lake Placid 1980, when he took bronze in the 30 kilometre cross-country skiing. Their other medal was a bronze by Irina Nikulchina, in 2002 biathlon pursuit.

In 1974, the Olympic Committee of Bulgaria was awarded with the Olympic Cup.

Participations by edition

Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
1896 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 1 0 1 Results
1924 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 24 0 24 Results
1928 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 5 0 5 Results
1932 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 2 0 2 Results
1936 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 26 0 26 Results
1936 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 7 0 7 Results
1948 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 4 0 4 Results
1952 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 54 9 63 Results
1952 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 9 0 9 Results
1956 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 40 3 43 Results
1956 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 6 1 7 Results
1956 Equestrian Olympics Bulgaria 4 0 4 Results
1960 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 89 9 98 Results
1960 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 4 3 7 Results
1964 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 56 7 63 Results
1964 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 3 4 7 Results
1968 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 102 10 112 Results
1968 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 2 4 6 Results
1972 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 106 24 130 Results
1972 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 4 0 4 Results
1976 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 105 53 158 Results
1976 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 29 0 29 Results
1980 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 183 88 271 Results
1980 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 8 0 8 Results
1984 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 15 1 16 Results
1988 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 104 68 172 Results
1988 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 24 2 26 Results
1992 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 87 51 138 Results
1992 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 22 8 30 Results
1994 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 10 7 17 Results
1996 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 74 36 110 Results
1998 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 8 11 19 Results
2000 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 52 39 91 Results
2002 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 13 10 23 Results
2004 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 49 46 95 Results
2006 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 11 10 21 Results
2008 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 43 27 70 Results
2010 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 12 7 19 Results
2012 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 37 26 63 Results
2014 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 13 5 18 Results
2016 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 29 21 50 Results
2018 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 11 9 20 Results
2020 Summer Olympics Bulgaria 14 28 42 Results
2022 Winter Olympics Bulgaria 9 6 15 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Bulgaria 11 10 21 Results
2012 Winter Youth Olympics Bulgaria 7 4 11 Results
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Bulgaria 13 14 27 Results
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Bulgaria 6 6 12 Results
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Bulgaria 12 12 24 Results
2020 Winter Youth Olympics Bulgaria 10 7 17 Results

Participations by discipline

Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 37 3 40 Results
Archery 5 1 6 Results
Art Competitions 4 0 4 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 60 50 110 Results
Artistic Swimming (Aquatics) 0 2 2 Results
Athletics 87 97 184 Results
Badminton 5 9 14 Results
Basketball (Basketball) 37 26 63 Results
Beach Volleyball (Volleyball) 0 2 2 Results
Biathlon 22 18 40 Results
Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) 11 0 11 Results
Boxing 73 2 75 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 48 16 64 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 34 11 45 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 31 0 31 Results
Cycling Track (Cycling) 22 1 23 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 3 1 4 Results
Equestrian Dressage (Equestrian) 5 0 5 Results
Equestrian Eventing (Equestrian) 21 0 21 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 6 1 7 Results
Fencing 19 3 22 Results
Figure Skating (Skating) 5 8 13 Results
Football (Football) 57 0 57 Results
Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 18 0 18 Results
Judo 18 3 21 Results
Karate 0 1 1 Results
Luge 8 2 10 Results
Marathon Swimming (Aquatics) 2 0 2 Results
Modern Pentathlon 14 0 14 Results
Nordic Combined (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Rhythmic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 0 43 43 Results
Rowing 63 59 122 Results
Sailing 7 1 8 Results
Shooting 37 12 49 Results
Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) 3 4 7 Results
Ski Jumping (Skiing) 8 0 8 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 2 3 5 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 32 19 51 Results
Table Tennis 1 2 3 Results
Tennis 1 5 6 Results
Volleyball (Volleyball) 74 10 84 Results
Water Polo (Aquatics) 21 0 21 Results
Weightlifting 66 7 73 Results
Wrestling 158 7 165 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
3-on-3 Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 1 1 2 Results
Acrobatic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 1 1 2 Results
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 3 3 6 Results
Archery 2 1 3 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 1 0 1 Results
Athletics 5 4 9 Results
Badminton 1 2 3 Results
Biathlon 7 7 14 Results
Boxing 4 1 5 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 1 0 1 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 3 2 5 Results
Fencing 0 1 1 Results
Figure Skating (Skating) 0 1 1 Results
Judo 1 3 4 Results
Luge 4 1 5 Results
Mixed Sports 5 5 10 Results
Modern Pentathlon 3 2 5 Results
Rhythmic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 0 8 8 Results
Rowing 2 3 5 Results
Sailing 0 1 1 Results
Shooting 4 1 5 Results
Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) 1 1 2 Results
Ski Jumping (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 3 1 4 Results
Sport Climbing 1 0 1 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 4 4 8 Results
Tennis 1 0 1 Results
Weightlifting 3 3 6 Results
Wrestling 2 1 3 Results

Medals by Games

Edition Competition Type Gold Silver Bronze Total
1988 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 10 12 13 35
1980 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 8 16 17 41
1972 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 6 10 5 21
1976 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 6 9 7 22
2000 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 6 2 13
1992 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 7 6 16
1996 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 7 5 15
1964 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 5 2 10
2020 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 1 2 6
1968 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 4 3 9
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 2 4 0 6
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 2 2 2 6
2004 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 1 9 12
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 2 0 1 3
1960 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 3 3 7
1956 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 3 1 5
2008 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 3 5
1998 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
2012 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 2 1 3
2002 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 2 3
2016 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 2 3
2006 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1952 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1
1980 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 0 0 1 1

Medals by sport

Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Wrestling 16 32 23 71
Weightlifting 12 17 8 37
Athletics 5 8 6 19
Boxing 5 5 9 19
Shooting 4 7 6 17
Canoe Sprint 4 5 8 17
Rowing 3 4 7 14
Artistic Gymnastics 2 2 6 10
Rhythmic Gymnastics 1 2 2 5
Swimming 1 1 1 3
Biathlon 1 0 1 2
Karate 1 0 0 1
Short Track Speed Skating 0 2 1 3
Judo 0 1 2 3
Basketball 0 1 1 2
Football 0 1 1 2
Volleyball 0 1 1 2
Equestrian Dressage 0 1 0 1
Cross Country Skiing 0 0 1 1
Tennis 0 0 1 1

Youth Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Weightlifting 3 1 1 5
Athletics 1 1 1 3
Boxing 1 1 0 2
Acrobatic Gymnastics 1 0 0 1
Wrestling 0 1 1 2
Judo 0 1 0 1
Rhythmic Gymnastics 0 1 0 1
Short Track Speed Skating 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Includes medals won as part of mixed teams.

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Mariya Grozdeva BUL 2 0 3 5
Nikolay Buhalov BUL 2 0 1 3
Tanyu Kiryakov BUL 2 0 1 3
Norayr Nurikyan BUL 2 0 0 2
Petar Kirov BUL 2 0 0 2
Boyan Radev BUL 2 0 0 2
Vanya Gesheva BUL 1 2 1 4
Rumyana Dzhadzharova-Neykova BUL 1 1 1 3
Enyu Valchev BUL 1 1 1 3
Daniel Bozhinov BUL 1 1 0 2
Lyubomir Lyubenov BUL 1 1 0 2
Dimitar Dobrev BUL 1 1 0 2
Stefka Kostadinova BUL 1 1 0 2

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Panayot Dimitrov BUL 2 0 0 2
Mariela Kostadinova BUL 2 0 0 2
Boyanka Kostova AZE
BUL
1 0 0 1
Georgi Shikov BUL 1 0 0 1
Lidiya Nencheva BUL 1 0 0 1
Blagoy Naydenov BUL 1 0 0 1
Bozhidar Dimitrov Andreev BUL 1 0 0 1
Kiril Kirov BUL 1 0 0 1
Aleksandra Nacheva BUL 1 0 0 1
Mariya Delcheva BUL 1 0 0 1

IOC Members

Dimitar Tzokov 1906—1912
Dimitar Stanchov 1913—1929
Stepan Shaprachikov 1929—1944
Vladimir Stoychev 1952—1987
Vladimir Stoychev 1987—1990
Ivan Slavkov 1987—2005