A Brighter Future for Bulgarian Sports?

Athletics in Bulgaria have shaken off their Communist-era bearded-lady image and gangster phase. Can Bulgaria score in future Olympics?

By Boyko Vassilev

Money isn't everything, don't muscle your way into discos, stick with the people who were with you in hard times, and don't chase rock stars and models.

The lifestyle of a politician? The principles of a humble intellectual or a lowly public servant? No. It's the credo of Detelin Dalakliev of Bulgaria, a new world champion in boxing.

An astonishingly pacific figure for a boxer, Dalakliev, 26, came by success the hard way. He grew up modestly in the northern city of Pleven, allowing himself neither Nike sneakers nor designer jeans. He went to Sofia with 7 leva (3.50 euros) in his pocket to train in boxing and became an amateur world champion in the bantamweight category in Milan on 12 September, all the while suffering from a double discal hernia. Of his longtime girlfriend, this underdog champion says, "She was with me when times were hard, so I'm happy to marry her. I'll do this when I collect some money."

We might expect something different from the first really big boxing title holder from Bulgaria in 14 years. Communism helped to bring world fame for Bulgarian boxers, with at least one champion in every Olympics. But during the transition, power sports became associated with rude guys with shadowy connections who dated nipped, tucked, and peroxided fans. Against this backdrop, Dalakliev's star shines much brighter.

But he's not the only unlikely sports hero from Bulgaria these days. The national men's volleyball team took the bronze medal at the European Championship in Istanbul in September after defeating Italy, Serbia, and Russia. Its members play for the best clubs in Europe. This despite the fact that they represent a country whose capital of nearly 2 million people does not have even one volleyball arena. The national team plays in the coastal city of Varna.

Under-financing, neglect, underworld links, a lack of facilities, foreign transfers, and bright exceptions: these are the characteristics of Bulgarian sports during the transition, embodied in the stories of Dalakliev and the national volleyball team. In the darkness, there are glimmers of hope.

FREE-MARKET FREE-FOR-ALL

Before 1989 it was simple. The state invested extravagantly in sports in order to show its supremacy over the rotten capitalist system. These investments were intended not to boost participatory sports but to yield medals. And Bulgaria won a lot – in wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, shooting, rowing, and athletics. This was a chance for sportsmen and women to taste national fame and the forbidden fruit of traveling west.

For the public, it was a moment of glory when the national anthem awoke national pride – and, oh yes, athletes were allowed to beat even the Soviets. Those who did, notably rhythmic gymnast Neshka Robeva and weightlifter Ivan Abadjiev, became public intellectuals, wrapped in popular legends about firmness of principle and tenacity of will. TV viewers could forget for one moment the humiliations of daily life under socialism: why worry about bananas, when banners are flying high?

But there were humiliations in so-called socialist sports as well, particularly the scandals over using banned substances. TV viewers' patriotism turned to a preoccupation with nasty jokes about sportswomen who turned out to be men. But conspiracy theories were always at the ready to help us explain away such things, so the feelings of the audience were left almost intact. Bulgaria celebrated its champions; people became instant specialists in sports trivia and medal-tracking, and at the Olympics any finish below eighth place was deemed highly disappointing.

The transition changed that: state money dried up and market principles took over. Many more athletes were allowed to seek success in the West: the more profitable the sport, the greater the success. Football players benefited most, stars in volleyball and tennis followed suit. The triumph of the national football team in the 1994 World Cup, when it took fourth place with wins over Argentina and Germany, was the culmination.

Business Exchange

Track and share business topics across the Web.