Balgarianovinite.com Bulgarian snowboarder Tervel Zamfirov won the bronze medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Sunday after he and his opponent in the small final, Tim Mastnak of Slovenia, appeared to cross the finish line simultaneously and the timing system initially failed to determine the winner. The jury had to review the video, and it awarded the victory to the Bulgarian talent.
Thus Zamfirov delivered Bulgaria’s first distinction from a Winter Olympics in 20 years.
He admitted that waiting for the result of the photo finish was one of the most nerve-racking moments of his life.
“It was very tense. A photo finish for third place. Either you leave with a medal or you do not. Overall, it was definitely one of the most stressful moments of my life, but sport has taught me patience and respect. If I had finished fourth, I would not have been unhappy. I am glad that things turned out as they did today, because I brought a medal for Bulgaria, which in the end is the most important goal,” he said.
This is Bulgaria’s seventh medal in the history of the Winter Olympic Games, and only the second for sports governed by the Bulgarian Ski Federation, after cross-country skier Ivan Lebanov won the country’s debut Winter Games distinction with the bronze in the 30 kilometres at Lake Placid 1980.
Zamfirov commented: “I am extremely happy that I had this chance. I feel blessed to have brought home a medal. It is a huge joy and a great success for our entire team and for Bulgarian sport as a whole.”
He chose the red course during the eliminations, even though the results on the blue course in the qualification suggested it was the faster one.
“I liked it more. The lower part of the course was very fast. In general I am strong on steep sections, while the flat parts are where I struggle a bit. I will work with my team to develop that. I knew that the flat section of the red course was the faster one, and I wanted to have the slower part where I am stronger – on the steep section – so that I could build a lead and then not be overtaken on the flat. I managed it every time; only the Korean beat me,” the Bulgarian snowboarder explained.
“It was not pleasant to lose in the semi-final. I was leading and I could hear him behind me; I knew he was fast. I made a small mistake. At the delay gate I did not set up properly for the flat, which I corrected in the race for third place,” he added.
Zamfirov believes that today’s competition will convince the IOC leadership to keep alpine snowboarding in the Olympic programme.
“This competition was unique, with extremely well-matched courses, long and beautiful. This is what our sport should look like. This is its true form. Many people, a sunny day, a long course with tension to the very last moment. Alpine snowboarding will definitely gain many points with the IOC. And so many countries took part. In the women’s top 16 there were 10 different countries, in the men’s – eight. An extraordinary achievement,” he said.
Zamfirov also received special congratulations from the Bulgarian alpine skiing legend Petar Popangelov shortly after the finish.
Zamfirov, who is also the reigning world champion in parallel slalom from Engadin 2025, believes that his generation can achieve much more.
“Our generation is highly motivated. There are so many young Bulgarian athletes who are performing in a unique and impressive way in world sport. I think we are seeing a good crop coming through, and I am glad to be part of it. The others are really happy for me. I am a bit like the kid from kindergarten,” he said.
“Here we achieved a historic result for Bulgaria with three Bulgarians in the finals and four in total at the Olympics. For us, as a non-alpine nation without typical traditions in winter sports, this is a great success and a major breakthrough, because it shows that there is a school. We have a system that produces good young athletes, and it will continue to do so. We are actively involved in preparing children and future champions. I am extremely happy and grateful to be part of such a strong team as the Bulgarian one,” the snowboarder added.
He believes that all Olympic participants deserve the highest mark. “At the Olympic Games everyone deserves top marks. After all, the whole world is competing for 30 seats in the examination hall; every person who has made it here deserves top marks. And yet, only three leave with medals,” Zamfirov said. Tervel Zamfirov Wins Snowboard Bronze, Bulgaria’s Seventh Medal in Winter Olympics History 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-02-08 16:49:00 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