Biathletes are most numerous in Bulgaria's Winter Olympics team

Bulgaria will take part with a full team in biathlon at the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo, which open on February 6. The Bulgarian athletes have secured the maximum number of quotas - four for men and four for women. And although achievements from previous years fuel optimism for podium finishes, the results from the start of the World Cup season rather suggest that a place among the top twenty would be a major success.

In the men’s competition, Bulgaria will be represented by Vladimir Iliev, Blagoy Todev, Konstantin Vasilev, and Anton Sinapov.

The most experienced athlete on the Bulgarian team - 38-year-old Vladimir Iliev - takes to the Olympic track with the ambition of a strong performance with which to say goodbye to his career as an active athlete. “All my strength and concentration are directed there,” says the biathlete.

Vladimir Iliev has been competing since 1997 and has been part of Bulgaria’s national team since 2004. His achievements include a silver medal in the individual event at the World Championships in Östersund in 2019, a European title in the sprint at the championships in Duszniki-Zdrój in 2017, and two more third-place finishes at European Championships. With his participation in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo 2026, he will become the first Bulgarian athlete to compete in five consecutive Winter Olympic Games. His best Olympic performance was in PyeongChang in 2018, where he placed 19th in the individual event.

Blagoy Todev is one of the young hopes in Bulgarian biathlon. His best result so far is 20th place in the 10 km sprint at the World Cup in Hochfilzen. And although his sporting successes still lie ahead, on a purely human level he has already recorded important victories. After winning the European youth title in the 15 km individual event in 2022 in Pokljuka, Blagoy Todev put his gold medal up for an auction to help fund the treatment of a nurse with cancer from his hometown of Bansko.

A year later, at the medal ceremony of the European Youth Championships in Latvia - where he finished second in the 15 km individual event - he stepped onto the podium wrapped in the Ukrainian flag. In this way, he not only expressed support for the people of Ukraine, but also gratitude to the Ukrainian team that had helped him in recent months with training and recovery from a serious injury that had nearly ended his season.

Konstantin Vasilev made a promising start to the Olympic year, impressing with the fastest shooting and excellent skiing at the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. His sniper-like accuracy - knocking down all ten targets in 48.3 seconds - together with his excellent physical condition, secured 12th place for the Bulgarian relay team, while his individual performance ranked him third on his leg.

Less than a month before the Olympic Games, Vasilev who was born in 2003 also reached a personal career high, finishing 30th in the 12.5 km pursuit at the World Cup in Oberhof. Right behind him was his teammate Blagoy Todev.

Anton Sinapov has Olympic appearances in PyeongChang and Beijing behind him, finishing 71st and 85th respectively. His best performance at World Championships is 29th place in the 20 km individual event at Oberhof in 2023.

Milena Todorova, Lora Hristova, Maria Zdravkova, and Valentina Dimitrova are the Bulgarian women in biathlon who in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo will try to surpass their achievements so far.

Milena Todorova chose biathlon with a clear goal - one day to win an Olympic medal. “I started as a joke because of a health issue, but today I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she says. At the start of her career, she achieved Bulgaria’s greatest success in youth biathlon, winning one silver and two bronze medals in three different disciplines at the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

At the beginning of last year, Milena revived hopes for a top result by stepping onto the podium with third place in the 7.5 km sprint at the World Cup in Oberhof. A month later, she recorded her best-ever result - a silver medal in the 12.5 km mass start at the World Cup in Pokljuka.

Milena Todorova competed at the Olympic Games in PyeongChang and Beijing, finishing a prestigious 17th place in the sprint in the Chinese capital. She draws inspiration from her parnet, Vladimir Iliev, whose gaze is always directed at the top.

A world champion in summer biathlon among juniors, Lora Hristova is heading to the Winter Olympic Games in just a few days. She started practicing the sport at the age of eleven because in her hometown of Troyan “every second person trains biathlon.” What she likes most is the psychological element - besides running, there is shooting, where athletes have about half a minute to calm their pulse and pull the trigger.

In the pre-Olympic month, Lora Hristova placed 43rd in the 7.5 km sprint and 44th in the 10 km pursuit at the World Cup in Oberhof, while at the World Cup in Ruhpolding she finished 48th in the sprint and 43rd in the pursuit.

The Bulgarian flag bearer of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, Maria Zdravkova, contributed to the strong performance of the women’s relay team, which made a powerful start to the new season with ninth place at the World Cup in Östersund - thus achieving Bulgaria’s best relay result since the Olympic Games in Turin 20 years ago.

“Our team is very united - we are always smiling and attentive to one another. In difficult moments, we support and motivate each other, which makes competitions much easier,” she told bTV. In the pre-Olympic season, the Bulgarian women achieved top-20 finishes at World Cups with the participation of Maria Zdravkova as well.

Valentina Dimitrova knows what it feels like to stand on the top step. She won the European junior title in the 12.5 km individual event in Altenberg in 2025, and a year earlier became world champion in summer biathlon at the championships in Estonia. In the most recent season, she contributed to the strong performance of the relay team and achieved a prestigious 24th place in the 7.5 km sprint at the first World Cup of the season in Östersund.

At just eight years old, Valentina Dimitrova showed an interest in biathlon and began nurturing her dream of competing in major events. Today she realizes that, in addition to the thrill of measuring herself against the best in her sport, she also gains other opportunities - to travel, meet many people, learn about different customs, and strengthen her will and mental resilience. She finds calm in a childhood hobby: solving the Rubik’s Cube.

The Bulgarian team skipped the latest Biathlon World Cup in Nové Město (Czech Republic) before the Olympic Games, as they are preparing at a high-altitude camp in the Italian winter center of Val Martello. The goal is for the athletes to adapt to the specific conditions in Antholz, where the biathlon competitions will be held. From February 8 to 21, fans of the sport will be able to follow the competitions in the various disciplines - and who knows, perhaps witness a miracle and a Bulgarian Olympic medal.

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Bulgaria sends its strongest team in recent decades to the Winter Olympics

Edited by Elena Karkalanova
English version: R. Petkova