site.btaOlympic Champions Grozdeva, Kiryakov Criticize Turmoil in Bulgarian Olympic Committee

Bulgarian shooting legends Maria Grozdeva and Tanyu Kiryakov voiced strong criticism over the ongoing turmoil in the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC). The newly elected President, Vesela Lecheva, has been unable to take office due to eight court appeals filed against the decisions of the General Assembly held on March 19. Until the court issues a final ruling, the BOC remains under the leadership of acting President Stefka Kostadinova.

Tanyu Kiryakov, a two-time Olympic champion, compared the situation to the infamous split of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church: "We had two synods, now we will probably have two Olympic committees. To me, this is shameful and immoral. I do not know if the IOC has commented – surely the Olympic Charter says something about such cases. The BOC needs someone who can manage the situation. For me, and for many colleagues, Ivan Slavkov was the best BOC president. He was not a great athlete, but he had managerial experience. A person at the top must know what they are doing."

Maria Grozdeva, also a two-time Olympic gold medallist, described the situation as "a bit of a circus": "It is really a strange situation. I am part of the current Executive Committee with Stefka Kostadinova as President. I attended an Executive Committee meeting last week. Work must continue – you cannot just stop everything. Until the court makes a decision, the current leadership remains in charge. We will see what happens after that. To me, this is a bit of a circus, but in our country, circuses of all kinds happen constantly, so it is not all that surprising," she said.