Blagoy Blagoev

Blagoy Blagoev (; born 4 December 1956) is a retired Bulgarian weightlifter. Between 1976 and 1984 he claimed seven gold and five silver medals at the Summer Olympics and World and European championships. He set 18 world records. 13 of them were in the snatch. His last snatch world record was 195.5 kg in the 90 kg weight class, set on 1 May 1983 in Varna and remains the heaviest weight ever snatched by a middle heavyweight. Blagoev was twice declared the Best Weightlifter in the World by the International Weightlifting Federation - in 1982 and 1983. Blagoev was named Sportsperson of the Year in Bulgaria for 1982.

Blagoev was a two time Olympian. He represented his native country Bulgaria at the Summer Olympics in Montreal (1976) and in Moscow (1980). He won a silver Olympic medal in the light heavyweight 1980. Blagoy Blagoev competed in the 82.5 kg and 90 kg weight classes. He was a 3x World Champion (1981, 1982, 1983) in the middle heavyweight. He won 4 gold European medals – as a light heavyweight in 1979 and as a middle heavyweight in 1981-1983. Blagoev also won three consecutive World Cups in Varna, Bulgaria in 1982-1984 and 5 Bulgarian Championships (1979, 1981-1984). He later coached the Australian Paralympic Powerlifting Team in the 1990s to early 2000s. Provided by Wikipedia