site.btaFormer Olympic Champion Asen Zlatev Elected as Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation President

Asen Zlatev was elected as the new president of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation at an extraordinary General Assembly on Monday. The Olympic champion from Moscow 1980 and three-time world champion will replace Stefan Botev, who was elected to the post in November 2024. A total of 33 clubs took part in the vote.

Zlatev and Botev were the only two candidates for the position, with the former receiving the support of 20 delegates and the latter of ten. The remaining delegates abstained.

Among those who supported Zlatev was Paris 2024 Olympic champion and multiple world champion Karlos Nasar. In recent months, tensions had existed between Nasar and Botev, with the star of Bulgarian weightlifting refusing for a long time to sign his contract with the federation, before this eventually happened earlier this month.

Marieta Hristova was elected as the federation’s Secretary General.

In his address to participants in the General Assembly, Zlatev called for the voting results not to be contested and added that he hopes the financial assistance the federation receives to cover its debts will continue. The funds were secured by Stefan Botev, who negotiated them following a meeting with MRF – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski. In August this year, Botev said he would seek to convene a General Assembly, but warned that if he failed to secure the necessary support, funding for the federation’s headquarters from Peevski would be halted.