President Iliana Iotova Congratulates Bulgaria’s First Medallist at the Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics

President Iliana Iotova on February 8 congratulated Bulgaria’s first medallist at the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina.

In a post on Facebook, Iotova wrote: “Tervel Zamfirov is Bulgaria’s hero today. We are proud of his outstanding achievement, which has brought our country its first Winter Olympic medal in 20 years.”

Bulgarian snowboarder Tervel Zamfirov won the bronze medal in the men's parallel giant slalom at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Sunday. 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.

Zamfirov delivered Bulgaria’s first distinction from a Winter Olympics in 20 years.