Bulgaria at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Bulgaria competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 130 competitors, 106 men and 24 women, took part in 92 events in 15 sports.

Medalists

Gold

• Georgi Kostadinov — Boxing, Men's Flyweight
• Norair Nurikyan — Weightlifting, Men's Featherweight
• Yordan Bikov — Weightlifting, Men's Middleweight
• Andon Nikolov — Weightlifting, Men's Middle-Heavyweight
• Petar Kirov — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Flyweight
• Georgi Markov — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Featherweight

Silver

• Yordanka Blagoeva — Athletics, Women's High Jump
• Diana Yorgova — Athletics, Women's Long Jump
• Angel Angelov — Boxing, Men's Welterweight
• Mladen Kutchev — Weightlifting, Men's Lightweight
• Atanas Shopov — Weightlifting, Men's Middle-Heavyweight
• Aleksandar Kraitchev — Weightlifting, Men's Heavyweight
• Osman Duraliev — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Super Heavyweight
• Ognian Nikolov — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Light-Flyweight
• Stoyan Apostolov — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Lightweight
• Aleksandr Tomov — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Super Heavyweight

Bronze

• Vasilka Stoeva — Athletics, Women's Discus Throw
• Ivanka Khristova — Athletics, Women's Shot Put
• Fedia Damianov & Ivan Burtchin — Canoe / Kayak, Men's Flatwater C-2 1000m (canoe double)
• Ivan Krastev — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Featherweight
• Stefan Angelov — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Light-Flyweight

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men's 5000 metres

• Mikhail Jelev
  • Heat — DNS (→ did not advance)

Men's High Jump

• Petar Bogdanov
  • Qualification Round — 2.12m (→ did not advance)

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men's Light Middleweight (– 71 kg)

• Nayden Stanchev
  • First Round — Bye
  • Second Round — Defeated John Opio (UGA), 3:2
  • Third Round — Lost to Wiesław Rudkowski (POL), 0:5

Men's Heavyweight (+ 81 kg)

• Atanas Suvandzhiev
  • First Round — Lost to Jürgen Fanghänel (GDR), KO-1

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Sprint

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechages		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Boris Lyubenov	C-1 1000 m	4:32.03	2 Q	—		BYE		4:14.65	6
Ivan Burchin Fedia Damianov	C-2 1000 m	4:14.47	3 Q	BYE		3:53.72	3 Q	3:58.10
Vasil Chilingrov	K-1 1000 m	DSQ		Did not advance
Vasil Chilingrov Aleksandar Donkov	K-2 1000 m	3:45.06	3 Q	BYE		3:36.39	3 Q	3:45.40	9

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechages		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Natasha Petrova	K-1 500 m	2:25.49	7 Q	2:19.66	4	Did not advance
Petrana Koleva Natasha Petrova	K-2 500 m	2:05.16	5 Q	—		1:57.31	2 Q	1:59.40	8

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Four cyclists represented Bulgaria in 1972.

1000m time trial

• Dimo Angelov Tonchev
  • Final — 1:07.55 (→ 6th place)

Individual pursuit

• Ivan Tsvetkov

Team pursuit

• Nikifor Petrov Minchev
• Plamen Timchev
• Dimo Angelov Tonchev
• Ivan Tsvetkov

Equestrianism

Main article: Equestrianism at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Five fencers, all men, represented Bulgaria in 1972.

Men's sabre

• Boris Stavrev
• Stoyko Lipchev
• Anani Mikhaylov

Men's team sabre

• Khristo Khristov, Stoyko Lipchev, Anani Mikhaylov, Valentin Nikolov, Boris Stavrev

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Modern pentathlon

Main article: Modern pentathlon at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Three male pentathletes represented Bulgaria in 1972.

Men's Individual Competition:

• Georgi Stoyanov — 4695 points (→ 26th place)
• Velko Bratanov — 4339 points (→ 50th place)
• Angel Pepelyankov — 3971 points (→ 57th place)

Men's Team Competition:

• Stoyanov, Bratanov, and Pepelyankov — 12957 points (→ 16th place)

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Repechage		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Yordan Valtchev	Single sculls	7:50.29	1 Q	BYE		8:17.64	4 FB	7:59.55	8
Dimitar Valov Dimitar Yanakiev Nenko Dobrev	Coxed pair	8:01.01	2 R	8:10.94	1 Q	8:20.21	4 FB	8:01.86	10
Biser Boyadzhiev Borislav Vasilev Nikolay Kolev Metodi Khalvadzhiski	Coxless Four	6:47.99	3 R	7:02.69	2 Q	7:24.93	6 FB	6:54.54	8

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Six male shooters represented Bulgaria in 1972.

Open

Athlete	Event	Final
		Score	Rank
Dencho Denev	50 m pistol	554	11
	25 m pistol	590	7
Ratcho Kossev	Skeet	DNS
Ivan Mandov	50 m pistol	544	29
	25 m pistol	576	42
Anton Manolov	Skeet	187	33
Stefan Vasilev	50 m rifle three positions	1130	34
	50 m rifle prone	594	21
Emiliyan Vergov	300 m rifle three positions	DNS
	50 m rifle three positions	1143	13
	50 m rifle prone	594	19

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Angel Chakarov	100 metre breaststroke	1:10.34	30	Did not advance
	200 metre breaststroke	2:30.27	19	Did not advance
Vasil Dobrev	100 metre butterfly	1:00.07	27	Did not advance
	200 metre butterfly	2:11.28	22	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Khriska Peycheva	100 metre freestyle	1:03.43	43	Did not advance

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men's Team Competition

• Preliminary Round (Group A)
  • Defeated South Korea (3-1)
  • Defeated Czechoslovakia (3-2)
  • Lost to Soviet Union (1-3)
  • Defeated Poland (3-2)
  • Defeated Tunisia (3-0)
• Semifinals
  • Lost to Japan (2-3)
• Bronze Medal Match
  • Lost to Soviet Union (0-3) → Fourth place
• Team Roster
  • Dimiter Karov
  • Brunko Iliev
  • Alex Trenev
  • Ivan Ivanov
  • Dimiter Zlatanov
  • Zdravko Simeonov
  • Tsano Tsanov
  • Kiril Slavov
  • Emil Vulchev
  • Emil Trenev
  • Luchezar Soyanov
  • Ivan Dimitrov

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men's Team Competition

• Preliminary Round (Group C)
  • Lost to Italy (5-8)
  • Lost to Soviet Union (2-7)
  • Defeated Japan (7-4)
  • Lost to Spain (4-6)
• Final Round (Group II)
  • Lost to the Netherlands (2-5)
  • Lost to Romania (3-4)
  • Drew with Australia (4-4)
  • Drew with Cuba (4-4) → 11th place
• Team Roster
  • Bisser Naoumov
  • Ivan Kovatchev
  • Alexander Chpitzer
  • Toma Tomov
  • Plamen Brankov
  • Mladen Khristov
  • Nedeltcho Yordanov
  • Vassil Tomov
  • Andrei Konstantinov
  • Matei Popov
  • Lubomir Rountov

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Men

Athlete	Event	Military press		Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Atanas Kiroy	56 kg	117.5	7	105	5	140	4	362.5	5
Georgi Todorov		110	12	100	10	140	5	350	8
Norair Nurikyan	60 kg	127.5 OR	2	117.5	4	157.5 WR	1	402.5 WR
Mladen Kuchev	67,5 kg	157.5 WR	1	125	4	167.5	2	450
Yordan Bikov	75 kg	160	3	140	4	185	1	485 WR
Andon Nikolov	90 kg	180	3	155	1	190	6	525 OR
Atanas Shopov		180	4	145	7	192.5	3	517.5
Aleksandar Kraychev	110 kg	197.5	2	162.5	5	202.5	5	562.5
Stancho Penchev		0	NVL	DNS		DNS		0	AC

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 1972 Summer Olympics