2024-08-13 17:17:40
– Mrs. Kostadinova, what is your assessment of the finished Olympics?
– She can’t be anything other than excellent. Even if it can, more than excellent. Bulgarian sport has proven that it has a place on the world stage, where it has been and I hope it will be. We have won medals against countries that are superior to us in everything. Both as development and as means allocated to sports. I can boldly state that there was not a single tourist in our delegation at this Olympics either.
Fantastic Carlos Nassar, phenomenal fighters. The gymnasts showed us their class. I don’t see anyone who has failed. Even those who didn’t make it. I have to mention Toni Kostadinova, who came injured and still narrowly missed the final in the shooting. Stiliyana Nikolova had no chance, but the future is ahead of her. The same applies to our athletes Bozhidar Sarboyukov and Plamena Mitkova. Our gymnast Valentina Georgieva entered the vault final, and she is still a teenager.
Each of the Bulgarian competitors is fighting at the limits of their abilities. We had a fairly young squad, which is a guarantee for the future. They just need to be given a little more attention, the state should help the sport a little more.
I am most happy that it is about young people who can inspire others to try to break into the sport. Yes, times have changed, children are different. Prefer computers, games. But the emotion of competing in front of 80,000 in the stadium cannot be replaced by anything in this world. And looking at the feedback from our performance, I am glad that there will certainly be young men and women who want to become great athletes. And to glorify Bulgaria.
– Could you have done more?
– Of course it can always be more. How can you not be angry with Javier Ibanez, who was stripped of his Olympic title. The whole hall booed the judges for their decision. He simply beat his opponent in the third round, but in boxing, apparently, the old schemes still work. Who hasn’t been mad at our lovely rhythmic gymnasts? And there were few judges curtseys, and the girls left their hearts on the carpet. Or our two girls in boxing, who gave themselves in the ring to the last drop of their strength. Therefore, a bow to each one of our delegation.
– Do you regret anything?
– Yes, because there was no way for me to be at every single competition, next to every one of the Bulgarian delegation and support him. It’s just that the program was very dense. That’s why I want to say once again – a bow to all competitors, coaches, doctors, massage therapists, to the team in the Olympic village. Thanks to Bulgaria for being with us all the time. I hadn’t received so many messages, and nice ones, for a long time. Sport has once again shown that it is a phenomenon and can unite the nation in the toughest of times. We only have him left. That is why we must help him, support him and love him. Regardless of any other biases we have in our lives.
– But some complain that only naturalized Bulgarians get the medals.
– Naturalization is a worldwide phenomenon. Especially in some sports such as wrestling, boxing, rhythmic gymnastics. What makes a non-Bulgarian, for example, a Semen Novikov? Or Magomed Ramazanov? Chemistry? Javier? On the contrary, we should congratulate these federation heads and their sponsors for being able to attract such talent. When 100 years have passed, the annals will be looked at and it will say – BULGARIA. Not Cuba or Iran. And Bulgaria.
We used to regret that our athletes were going to compete for other countries. Now we are embarrassed that foreigners come to win medals for Bulgaria. We are already in the 21st century. And what can we say, for example, about the Cubans. There were four in the men’s triple jump final and the one competing for Cuba finished eighth. The other three were on the ladder of honor.
Perhaps the fact that top athletes such as Semen Novikov, Magomed Ramazanov, Kimiya Alizade and others are coming to Bulgaria means that we have become a little more developed, more attractive to others. I don’t know.
– What impressed you the most in Paris?
– Perhaps the most impressive sight was the audience. It has been a long time since there have been such full halls and stadiums. The fans were everywhere. This also shows the value of the Olympic Games. The Olympics is the biggest competition, there is no other like it. Because of this, I understand both the trepidation before the start and the pressure to perform at your best. I have experienced it for so many years. After all, sport is my life. But now it’s a lot more emotional. At every race, I tried to give our guys a little more confidence, to give them peace of mind. I feel really quite emotional after this Olympics. And at the same time satisfied with our performance in Paris.
– There were too many scandals, as it were?
– There have always been scandals. But now we live in an overly connected world. Social networks, artificial intelligence, you name it. And so they come to light. On the other hand, they seem to inflate more and faster.
Yes, there were strange things and decisions in this Olympics. But something that few have noticed should be noted. Do you remember the howl about the beds, about the food, about what not in the Olympic village? Not a single Bulgarian athlete said a word. Don’t look outside yourself for an excuse. This shows exactly what strain the Bulgarian is. Firm, steadfast. Determined to do anything to glorify the motherland. Some of them must have had an uncomfortable bed, they waited a long time in line for food, but they didn’t complain. And we usually look for blame outside of ourselves. This is typical.
– The opening seemed to be overshadowed after that by the boxing scandal with the two contestants who were identified as men but became Olympic champions.
– The discovery was a typical French madness. As for the second scandal, we tried to do everything in our power. Our general secretary Belcho Goranov and team doctor Stefan Strugarov had meetings at the IOC on this occasion. As an Olympic committee, we tried to help. But we did not meet understanding.
However, the problem is more serious. Actually, at the moment boxing, one of the most beautiful sports, is out of the program of the Olympics. This is quite a serious scandal that is yet to develop. Let’s not forget that it also seriously affects Bulgaria. Still, this sport has brought us so much joy in the history of the Olympic Games. And we have always been a force.
– Jaroslava Maguchich thanked you for the inspiration before she won the Olympic title.
– I am very happy for her. Already in Rome I saw the potential of this girl. Once again, what he did just goes to show that human possibilities are endless. And that there is nothing eternal in this world. No one can take away our 209 cm. I am sure that one day there will be another Bulgarian woman who will improve this record as well. Because we have a tradition in this discipline. Our time will come again. Many did not believe that we would do well in Paris, but these wonderful boys and girls proved them wrong.
– After the first week, it was even calculated that the Olympic federations were financed with 100 million from the state for the last 3 years, which were spent in vain.
– I cannot understand the negativity and outright malice of some people. It’s like it’s good to fail. As for the amount, whoever calculated it would do well to check what it answers to. 50 million euros are the budgets of individual federations in countries such as Turkey and Azerbaijan. For a year. And now let’s check where they are in the medal standings. Behind Bulgaria.
– Before the Olympics, the Gracenote supercomputer gave us 9 medals, but without a single title and Carlos Nassar’s third place, based on the development of artificial intelligence. You were more optimistic – 6 gold awards. Maybe the natural one was better than the artificial one.
– Taking into account what the judges took away from us, natural is really closer as a prediction. For the first time in a long time, I went into the Olympics in a rather optimistic mood, and I’m glad that these wonderful boys and girls did not disprove me.