Charles Champaud ( bg, Шарл Шампо), also spelled Sharl Shampov (), was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

. He represented Bulgaria at the First

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

. Champaud competed in the

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

, and

pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...

events. Although the rest of his placings in each competition are unknown, he occupies the prestigious fifth place on vault and earned the first two points for Bulgaria. Champaud was a Swiss national working as a gymnastics teacher at a

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

high school when he represented Bulgaria at the first modern Olympics. Bulgaria is thus often included in the figure of participating nations. In Bulgaria, Charles Champaud also played an important role in introducing

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

to the country and was the person to bring the sport to the capital city of Sofia in 1895 (the first football game in Bulgaria being in Varna in 1894, organized by another Swiss teacher, Georges de Regibus).

References

External links

* Swiss male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century sportsmen Olympic gymnasts of Bulgaria Bulgarian male artistic gymnasts Year of death missing Swiss expatriates in Bulgaria 1865 births Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{Bulgaria-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub