Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

made its

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

début at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, sending three competitors in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and a men's

goalball Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded inside of it into the opponents' goal. The ball is thrown by hand a ...

team. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

. It made its

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

début in 1994, and has taken part in every edition of the Winter Games since then. Bulgarian athletes have won a total of five gold medals, nine silver and three bronze. All these medals have been won at the Summer Games, and all but one in track and field; the exception is Polina Dzhurova's silver medal in swimming in 1996, in the women's 100m backstroke (S6 category). 1988 was Bulgaria's most successful year. Gueorgui Sakelarov became the country's first Paralympic champion when he took gold in both the discus and the shot put (B2 category). Compatriot Donko Angelov won Bulgaria's third medal of the Games, a silver, in the triple jump (B3). Ivan Hristov narrowly missed out on a medal when he finished fourth in the high jump (B1). Sakelarov has won three of Bulgaria's five Paralympic gold medals. He successfully defended his title in the shot put in 1992, though he won "only" silver in the discus that year. Bulgaria's fifth and most recent gold medal was won by Ruzhdi Ruzhdi in the men's shot put (F54-55) in 2016.Bulgaria at the Paralympics
International Paralympic Committee

Medal tallies

Summer Paralympics

Winter Paralympics

Medallists

Summer Games

Winter Games

See also

References