Bulgarian Wrestling Legend Boyan Radev Dies Aged 83

Boyan Radev, one of the greatest figures in the history of Bulgarian sport, has died at the age of 83.

Radev was Bulgaria’s first two-time Olympic champion, winning gold medals at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, and at the 1968 Games in Mexico City. He was also crowned world champion in 1966 in Toledo, Spain, and was named Bulgaria’s Sportsman of the Year in 1964, 1967 and 1968.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to wrestling and the Olympic movement, Radev received the International Wrestling Federation’s Golden Collar award on 31 May 2009, as well as the Pierre de Coubertin special medal from the International Olympic Committee on 18 September 2009. He was inducted into the International Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame in Oklahoma, United States, on 24 September 2009.

Boyan Radev was the recipient of Bulgaria’s highest state honour, the Stara Planina Order, First Class, awarded on 14 February 2002 for his exceptional contribution to the development of Bulgarian sport. He also received the Ministry of Culture’s Golden Age necklace award for major contributions to culture and collecting (25 February 2014), the IOC’s Sport and Art award (1 December 2014), the St Saints Cyril and Methodius Order, First Class (18 June 2010), and the honorary Wreath of the Victor award from the Ministry of Youth and Sports (31 January 2016), among many others.

He was named an honorary citizen of Sofia in 2004.

Radev was also recognised as the number one donor to Bulgaria’s National History Museum, where a special hall bears his name. It houses nearly 170 exhibits from his personal collection, including icons, church artefacts, wood carvings, stone sculptures and other works of cultural significance.

Tributes have poured in across the country as Bulgaria bows its head in respect to the memory of Boyan Radev.