This coming weekend, Bulgaria will hold their domestic championship tournament in Vratsa. Entry lists for each weight category are as of yet unavailable (along with streaming information). Event roster selection implications tend to accompany winter national competitions for European countries, especially with regards to continental championships (which for Europe this year will take place April 7-13 in Bratislava, Slovakia).
Bulgaria will also play host to an important international tournament later in the month. Beginning on the 23rd, the annual Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Memorial unfolds in Varna. Nearly each year, the Petrov event attracts a sizable number of top Senior Greco-Roman competitors from around the region and elsewhere. However, in ’25, the tournament precedes Croatia’s Grand Prix Zagreb Open by a mere two weeks. Zagreb is the first United World Wrestling “Ranking Series” event of the season.
At the Paris Olympiad this past August, former Ukrainian national team athlete Semyon Novikov (87 kg) delivered to Bulgaria their first Olympic medalist since Yavor Yanikiev earned bronze in ’08 (Beijing). Perhaps more importantly, Novikov also became the country’s first Olympic gold medalist dating back to ‘Sydney ’00, when the legendary Armen Nazaryan defeated Korean Kim In-Sub in the final to capture his second title.
Sweden Completes Impressive Staff
Last month, it was reported that Germany, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, and Poland had all selected new national coaches to lead their respective programs entering the New Year. As it turns out, one more solid Greco-Roman country is also going in a different direction. Sweden, too, has tabbed a new head coach as Neno Jovanovic officially snared the reigns effective January 1. Jovanovic had most recently been at the helm of Spårvägens Brottningsklubb in addition to occasionally serving on various national staffs through the years.
Along with Jovanovic, Sweden is led by ’12 Olympic/’13 World bronze Johan Euren, ’14 World bronze Jim Pettersson, and Daniel Soini. Pettersson, who retired following his quest to qualify 75 kilograms for the ’16 Rio Olympics, holds the distinction of having been the subject of the very first interview conducted on this platform.
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