2024-02-18 13:10:32
The last year has turned out to be a real nightmare for one of our greatest sporting hopes – he was caught with cannabis, banned from competing, sanctioned, but still he is preparing for the Olympics in Paris
He had severe covid and things went downhill, he was punished because of three missed doping tests, the head of the federation, Georgi Avramchev, told “24 Chasa – 168 Stories”
The life of one of our greatest hopes in swimming in the last year has been saturated with so many dramas of a different nature that his sports career is at the “freezing point”.
After Anthony Ivanov was banned from competing for 2 years, he recently got another 3 after a sanction from the Bulgarian Swimming Federation. He entered into a series of scandals with the institution, and a few days ago he was caught with 0.4 grams of marijuana.
Ivanov himself had one of the most glamorous starts
in the history of swimming. In 2016, aged just 17, he won a silver medal at the European Junior Championships. The following year he also received bronze after finishing 8th in the 200m butterfly at the world championships in Budapest, where he broke the national record with a time of 1:55.55 minutes in the heats. In this way, Anthony “secured” the first medal for Bulgaria in 2010, and a little later in 2021 he reached the final, winning sixth place at the world championship in a small pool in Abu Dhabi. Thanks to all these achievements, Anthony Ivanov was named sportsman No. 4, and twice he was named “Young Sportsman of the Year”.
Despite the difficulties he has faced in recent months,
he doesn’t stop training and is in the pool every day at 6 am,
preparing for the Olympics in Paris in the summer, although according to the rules he is not allowed to appear. Along with this, he also gives lessons to children. Just before another dive, Anthony Ivanov announced on his Facebook profile that the news about the marijuana found in his home was not presented correctly. It was initially reported that he and his good friend Boris Panayotov were stopped for a check-up. At Boris, the police found a glass pipe with cannabis, and at Anthony – a plastic grinder with traces of the same narcotic substance. A field test was performed that tested positive for cannabis with a total weight of about 0.4 grams.
“It was a child’s mistake by two slightly older children – Ivanov explained from the pool to journalists the day after the incident. – Nothing special happened. They questioned us and told us that it was a minor case and let us go. I did not use cannabis. We were going to smoke, but the police saw us in the street and flogged us beforehand. I had put one of the things in me, I didn’t know what it was – it was something glassy. I don’t know where the cannabis was taken from. I have no explanation why I did it. I realize I didn’t is correct.
I also feel sorry for the boy with me who studies at the Academy,
he will most likely be expelled. It was a ridiculous mistake, not a good example, but I keep working, training.”
He himself also specified that he made this blunder because of “nasty and bad decisions” that pushed him to it. In the US, he had to use marijuana on medical advice because of shoulder problems.
Meanwhile, Anthony Ivanov on his Facebook profile
tried to defend himself by sharing a photo of the best swimmer
with the most Olympic gold medals of all time Michael Phelps smoking marijuana from a glass pipe. Of course, the photo is accompanied by a comment that there were hardly any epithets directed at Phelps that Anthony heard about himself.
“Only in Bulgaria weed is a drug, and we make our alcohol in the basement,” Ivanov said ironically.
In fact, the problems of the young hope began already in the fall of 2022, when he was punished by the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA for a violation of inspection. The official reason is that, according to them, Anthony Ivanov
did not provide his location correctly
several times in a row so that it can be tested by surprise. According to the institution, in this way he prevented the possibility of being tested for prohibited substances for stimulating physical and mental activity.
Gradually, his conflict with the leadership of the Bulgarian Swimming Federation escalated, with Ivanov hiring a lawyer, Georgi Gradev, to represent him in the court in Lausanne, where he appealed the 2-year ban from competing.
“Despite the ban, I train every day, starting at 6 in the morning – Anthony Ivanov explained to “24 Chasa”. – But I still don’t have an official decision to compete. Besides, I don’t think I have any problems, I just have a lot “well-wishers”.
The swimmer began to publish various critical posts on his Facebook profile against the management of the BFPS, and they decided to deprive him of competitive rights for another 3 years.
“Anthony Ivanov has been punished for 2 years by the Anti-Doping Commission WADA, which expires in September this year – the president of the Swimming Federation, Georgi Avramchev, told “24 Chasa”. – Separately, however, because of all his statements against the Swimming Federation, the Ministry of Sports, other institutions and competitors such as Vesela Lecheva and Stefka Kostadinova, last September the management board decided to punish him with a 3-year ban from competitions and a fine of BGN 2,000.
He appealed, but nothing happened
Now he can do it again until March and if that doesn’t happen, the punishment comes into effect.”
In front of our newspaper, Ivanov countered that these problems hindered his career, but that was the goal.
“The swimming federation is a complete misunderstanding, as can be seen from the last 3-4 major championships, where I am not present – noted the swimmer. – Nothing can be done to continue to have something to do with the Bulgarian swimming federation.”
Nevertheless, Anthony Ivanov explained that he trains every day because he wants to compete at the Olympics in Paris.
“My participation there is God’s work,” said Ivanov. I don’t want to have it. I don’t think I will compete from the Federation, but it will be under the Bulgarian flag.”
However, Georgi Avramchev noted that Ivanov cannot participate in the Olympics, because they end in August.
“He, together with his legal adviser, Georgi Gradev, because he is not a lawyer, does not have a license, are trying to appeal somewhere against the WADA ban, but this cannot happen – the president of the BFPS is categorical. – Anthony Be
one of the greatest talents
of Bulgaria until 2019. Then, of his own accord, he went to train in the States and his results went downhill. In 2020, the Olympics were postponed due to covid, but he then caused some problems. We had specially opened the pool in the “Dianabad” quarter with the Minister of Sports Krasen Kralev so that everyone could train, and he went to a prom and came back with covid and infected half of his teammates. He came down with a bad virus and things got worse from there. He just didn’t practice enough. He was punished for three missed doping tests.”
In this matter, however, Anthony Ivanov believes that he was appointed and that is why they wanted to test him so often. On his Facebook profile, he uploaded documents from these checks, where he claims there is a discrepancy.
“A missed test and a negative test in one day? Plus a negative 3 days before that. I guess I’m not hiding. Maybe someone else is hiding something else – Ivanov wrote then. – I was looking forward to seeing this thing. Now how will it be covered up and this thing explained? Both missed in Sofia between 7 and 8 a.m., and negative in Varna between 12 and 1 p.m. On the same day? Both tests are from the same institution. In the end, am I punished?”
The president of the Swimming Federation said that nothing related to these inspections depends on them.
“That’s how it is in Varna, but a missed check is a missed check – points out Avramchev. – These 3 checks have the right to do them in one calendar year, whenever they want. There was an overlap and one check was dropped for Anthony, but the Federation has not nothing to do with it because he is on individual doping control and has a special code and only he can go into that portal and submit his location details and the times he is there.After every missed test WADA notifies us and the athlete. The Federation does not specify anything in the case of the inspections. Two of the inspections are not in Bulgaria at all, one was in the States and the other in Italy. He
he just thought he was above the law
and above things. Moreover, at the appeal in the Lausanne court on this matter, he did not defend himself in any way and did not explain why this happened. He was silent, and now he is pulling out some documents and false things. If he had shown them there. The same thing happened at the general meeting of the Federation. He did not appear and did not express his position. And then he starts to explain things on the Internet that are far from the truth.
We made a lot of compromises to him. Anthony broke up badly with his first coach, who got him into world swimming, went to Nikolay Vakareev, now she treats him the same way. I met with Ivanov and Gradev twice. Our last meeting was in the spring of 2023, we supposedly agreed that I would swim and prepare, and the next day I received requests from Anthony that could not be fulfilled. He wanted his coach from the USA and his father, who is his personal trainer, to be everywhere with him in training and competitions at the expense of the Federation. That can’t happen.
He didn’t want to sign the contract,
He didn’t care much about the money, and it is not determined by us, but by the Ministry of Sports based on results.”
For Anthony Ivanov, however, things are completely different. He believes he is being punished because he defended three athletes found guilty of doping in 2021, and from there the institutional war against him began.
“Lately, he hasn’t been training – explains Georgi Avramchev. – He had a famous quote: “I came, I saw and I won”, but he came fifth at the national championship. He didn’t meet the standards for the world championships and that’s why he didn’t go, he didn’t meet for the Olympics either. This it’s due to the fact that he doesn’t work out. The results show it. And the recent things that have happened with marijuana, for me personally, explains some of his manifestations in the media and social networks, especially in the evening when he gets active. Do you know how many people ask me how long will we put up with him. I have filed a suit against him for insult and defamation.”
What will happen from now on with Anthony Ivanov’s sports career is not at all clear. He has decided that he will take revenge for the punishments he has received, and the Federation advises him to humble himself and seek answers for his mistakes within himself.
“My big dream is for sport in Bulgaria to be revived and all the leeches in it to be cleaned out, expelled, maybe even sent to prison. Then our sport will go up”, Anthony Ivanov is categorical.