site.btaVesela Lecheva Holds High-Level Meetings with IOC Leaders, Heads of Major Sports Federations in Milan

Bulgarian Olympic Committee President-elect Vesela Lecheva held working meetings in Milan with members of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee and with the presidents of three of the world’s largest international federations – in figure skating, boxing and gymnastics.

Lecheva met with Kim Jae-youl, President of the International Skating Union and an IOC member. During the 145th Session of the IOC, held shortly before the start of the Milano Cortina 2026, Kim was elected to the IOC Executive Board.

Kim, who is President of Samsung Global Research, previously served as Vice Chair of the Organising Committee of the PyeongChang 2018 and as head of the South Korean delegation at the Sochi 2014.

Kim Jae-youl welcomed Lecheva at the ISU House, where Olympic guests can watch highlights from ice sports on large screens.

The BOC President-elect presented her host with an honorary plaque. They discussed the strong global interest in figure skating, the major surprises at the Olympic tournament, development opportunities for the sport, the role of media platforms and digitalisation, athletes’ presence on social networks, and ways of promoting sport through them. Lecheva also shared personal memories and experiences from her visits to the Republic of Korea.

Earlier, Lecheva met with the new President of World Boxing, Gennady Golovkin, who took over the organization in November 2025. Golovkin is also President of the Kazakhstan Olympic Committee. World Boxing is a newly established body whose main goal is to keep boxing in the Olympic programme.

Lecheva also held talks with IOC Vice President Nawal El Moutawakel, as well as with the President of the International Gymnastics Federation and IOC member Morinari Watanabe.

On Saturday, Lecheva will travel again to Antholz-Anterselva to follow the final Bulgarian participation at the Milano Cortina 2026, with Lora Hristova and Milena Todorova competing in the women’s mass start biathlon event.

The race begins at 15:15 p.m. Bulgaria’s caretaker Minister of Youth and Sport Dimitar Iliev, who arrived in Italy on Friday, is also expected to attend. On Sunday, he will be among the official guests at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Verona.