Balgarianovinite.com Stefka Kostadinova, who served as President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) from 2005 to 2025, along with members of her team, is contesting in court the election of the new president, Vesela Lecheva. So far, there have been differing court rulings, with the most recent one overturning Lecheva’s election, although a new appeal against the Sofia City Court’s decision is expected. Kostadinova shared her views on the difficult situation in which the institution currently finds itself. She was among those attending the memorial service for Olympic and world wrestling champion Boyan Radev on Monday.
“What is happening in the BOC is that the International Olympic Committee imposed a sanction on the Bulgarian committee and suspended its funding, and that happened in June. The court cases are ongoing, as you all know. About 80% of the equipment for the Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina has already arrived, and this week we are only expecting the shoes, after which the delegation will begin to be outfitted. The state has fully helped to ensure the participation of our Olympic delegation, so everything is proceeding normally,” she told the media.
“As you can see, I do not appear in the media, I do not attack anyone, and I do not insult anyone. But the person who personally insults me and throws dirt on my name, I will meet him in a Bulgarian court, in which I have complete trust as a Bulgarian citizen. I am talking about Danail Dimov,” Kostadinova added.
“The delegation is secured, everything has been paid for. There is only a small amount left to be paid in January. These insinuations that the Bulgarian flag will be banned and that athletes will compete without a national anthem, are complete nonsense. This is just insinuation meant to scare people in sport, because if there were anything like that, the IOC would have written to the BOC. There is nothing of the sort, people are simply being frightened,” she said further.
Asked whether she is ready for a compromise and talks with the current BOC president-elect, Vesela Lecheva, Kostadinova replied: “I am absolutely open at all times, but they do not respond. No one has called me, no one has sought a conversation with me. I remain at the Olympic Committee, I do not appear in the media, and above all, I do not attack anyone.”
“Because, as this gentleman said, that I am ‘erased’, I am an Olympic champion. I have held a world record for 37 years and am a seven-time world champion. I would need to ask the IOC whether I am ‘erased,’ or maybe they will take my medals. This is complete nonsense. This was said by Mr. ‘Nobody’ about Stefka Kostadinova. There will be a Bulgarian delegation, there will be the Bulgarian national anthem, and quite a few people will travel. They have already sent the list. President Radev will travel with six people. At previous Olympics, President Plevneliev travelled with one person, President Parvanov travelled with one person, and now President Radev is travelling with six people. Everything is secured, I thank the state,” she explained.
Olympic shooting medallist Vesela Lecheva was elected Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) President after a secret ballot at the General Assembly of the organization on March 19, defeating world high jump legend Stefka Kostadinova by 48:33 votes. Kostadinova had led the BOC since 2005 and was seeking to be re-elected for a sixth consecutive term. Despite Lecheva’s election as BOC President, the procedure for electing a new BOC leadership is far from complete. The newly elected BOC leadership has not yet been registered in the Commercial Register due to ongoing court appeals. On May 17, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it had provisionally recognized the results of the BOC Elective General Assembly on March 19, 2025, confirming that Lecheva and her team are the only individuals authorized to represent the BOC to the IOC, within the Olympic Movement, and at all IOC-recognized events and Games.
Stefka Kostadinova: I Should Ask IOC Whether I Have Been Erased 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-22 14:11:33 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law