Vladimir Velichkov ( bg, Владимир Величков; born 24 May 1959) is a

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 Macedo ...

n former

biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

. He was among the best biathletes during the 1980s and he is generally recognised as the greatest male Bulgarian biathlete of all time.

Life and career

Born in the village of Stambolovo in the southwestern part of

, Velichkov started his active sports career in sixth grade, when he joined the local cross-country skiing club. He later switched to biathlon. Velichkov participated in his first Olympics in 1980 and he debuted at the World Championship-level at the World Championships in Minsk in 1982. He also participated in the Olympics in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and the World Championships in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

for

. His best individual finish at the Olympics came in the 20 km individual in 1984, he finished 13th. His best, and only, relay finish came in

, an 8th place. His best individual finish at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

came in 1982 in Minsk where Velichkov finished 5th, a feat he copied three years later in Ruhpolding, both in the sprint. His best relay finish at the World Championships was a 10th which came in

in Feistritz, where his best, and only, team event finish also came, a 12th place. In the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, Velichkov debuted in the first round of the 1979–80 World Cup in

Ruhpolding Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps and next to the Austrian border. Ruhpolding has a biathlon track. ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. Over his career he finished twice on the podium. Both came in

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') ...

in the last round of his debut season, a second place in the 20 km individual and a third in the 10 km sprint. These podium finishes were the first for a Bulgarian biathlete, and, as of the end of the 2014–15 season, the last by a male Bulgarian biathlete. He also finished in the top ten in multiple other races. These finishes were not matched by any other male Bulgarian biathlete but his contemporary Spas Slatev until the 2014–15 season, where

Krasimir Anev Krasimir Anev ( bg, Красимир Анев); born 16 June 1987 in Samokov) is a Bulgarian former biathlete. His best result for the World Cup is a 4th place in the mass start in Oberhof, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal R ...

finished 4th in a mass start race in Oberhof, and

Vladimir Iliev Vladimir Iliev ( bg, Владимир Илиев; born 17 March 1987) is a Bulgarian biathlete. Career He competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics for Bulgaria. His best performance was 16th, as part of the Bulgarian relay team. His best individual p ...

finished 6th twice during the 2015 World Championships in

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and ...

. Velichkov was a part of the relay team that finished 6th in the World Cup race in Ruhpolding in

, which is still the best relay finish by a male Bulgarian relay team. Velichkov's best overall finish came in the 1981–82 World Cup where he finished 9th, the best overall finish by any male Bulgarian biathlete. Velichkov retired as an athlete after the 1989–90 season. After his retirement from professional sports, Velichkov opened his own carpentry workshop. In 2014, he entered the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian Biathlon Federation.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games

World Championships

:''*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.'' :''**Team was added as an event in 1989.''

References

External links

Владимир Величков
at the Bulgarian Biathlon Federation

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Velichkov, Vladimir 1959 births Living people Bulgarian male biathletes Biathletes at the 1980 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1984 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1988 Winter Olympics Olympic biathletes for Bulgaria People from Ihtiman Sportspeople from Sofia Province 20th-century Bulgarian people 21st-century Bulgarian people