The Museum of sport – a walk among medals, victories and fame

Sport is a source of health and discipline. However, for us Bulgarians it is often a ground for national unification and pride. The full history of Bulgarian sport is shown in the National Museum of Physical education and Sport. Situated in the central body of the National Football Stadium-“ Vassil Levski”, the museum is now among the 100 national places of interest. Who gave the start of the modern sports in Bulgaria? After the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Yoke, which lasted for 5 centuries, in 1878 our country began to gain experience from Europe in the creation of its institutions. In the sport field the Swiss system was implemented.

The Swiss teachers who laid the foundations of the Bulgarian sporting traditions after the Liberation in 1878.

“In May 1894, 10 Swiss body instructors arrived in Bulgaria at the invitation of the Bulgarian Minister of Culture Georgi Zhivkov. The instructors were spread among the biggest schools in this country, says for an interview for RB the manager of the museum Katia Ivanova. Then they began to teach physical education and showed local people how to play some sport games. One of them- Charles Champaud represented Bulgaria at the Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. These people set the foundations of the Bulgarian sport schools. Those schools brought world fame to many Bulgarian sportsmen and coaches.”

Which sport could be classified as typically Bulgarian?

Nikola Stanchev (on the left) was the first Bulgarian Olympic champion with his title in wresting from Melbourne 1956.

“Wrestling is traditionally a Bulgarian sport. This is the sport discipline that brought the biggest fame to Bulgaria. The first Olympic Champion in Bulgarian History was the wrestler Nikola Stanchev, who won the Olympic gold medal in Melbourne in 1956. Wrestling is the only sport which has been developing evenly over the years, without periods of great crisis. Other traditional sports are the rifle practice, boxing, weightlifting and rhythmic gymnastcs. Bulgaria is traditionally good at the sport gymnastics, where we had representatives in almost all Olympic Games. The most popular Bulgarian gymnast is Yordan Yovchev who remained in the history of the world gymnastics with his record sixth Olympic quota.”

When looking at the window-displays of the museum, visitors often ask why three of them are dedicated to cycling?

“Cycling is the first mass sport in Bulgaria. The first cycling association was founded in 1888. Its task was not only to organize competitions but also to write special sports literature, and translate different statute-books. Cycling was the most popular sport in Bulgaria until mid-60ies of last century, when King Football stepped in.”

We remember some good moments of the Bulgarian football history, accompanied by loud shouts of football fans calling the footballers - ”Bulgarian Heroes” from the tribunes. Where did this phrase come from ?

“In 1895, again with the help of the Swiss gymnasts, the so-called Heroes Association was founded at the First Male Secondary School in Sofia. The revolutionary moods remained strong many years after the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman yoke. That’s why the official uniform of young people was strongly reminiscent of the uniform worn by the revolutionaries of the detachment led by the national hero Hristo Botev during the April Uprising in 1876.This is how sport became connected with Bulgarian history. Later on the so-called “’Heroic” gymnastic associations were founded in many Bulgarian towns. At that time the term gymnastics was interpreted as sport. Thus in 1898, the Union of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Associations-“ Yunak(Hero)” was established. The Union was the biggest sports organization at that time. Since then on all sport events Bulgarian audience shouts “Bulgarian Heroes”

A showcase of Bulgarian football glory.

Without a doubt, Football is the sport Bulgarians are most interested in. We all remember Bulgaria’s biggest achievement in this sport at the World Cup finals in USA in 1994. Bulgarian football has marked two more significant successes, yet at Olympic Games. Few people know that our national football team won bronze medals at the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956. A bigger success was marked at the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, where the national squad won silver medals.

Bulgarian sportsmen have shown high sports skills, winning medals at the biggest sport contest- the Olympic Games. What is the Olympic history of Bulgaria?

“Bulgaria was among the 14 countries, which founded the modern Olympic Games in 1896, when French nobleman Pierre de Coubertin re-established the ancient games. This is a fact that should make us proud, because the Olympic idea is humane. It is a matter of pride and honor to be an Olympic champion. Bulgaria has a few double Olympic champions- wrestlers Petar Kirov and Boyan Radev, weightlifter Norair Nourikyan, shooters Maria Grozdeva and Tanyu Kiryakov. Another Bulgarian Olympic hero is the kanuist Nikolay Buhalov who won 2 gold medals in the 500 and 1000 meter races in Barcelona in 1992. Vanya Gesheva( Canoe-Kayak discipline) is the only Bulgarian who won a full set of medals at Olympic games. For every sportsman, the Olympic Games are the peak of their career and they all aim at winning medals at this event. There is no such word as former Olympic champion. Once you win the title you always remain in the history of sports.

Translated by: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: Maria Peeva

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The Museum of sport – a walk among medals, victories and fame

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