Velichko Cholakov ( bg, Величко Чолаков, 12 January 1982 20 August 2017) was a Bulgarian

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

Career

He competed in the over 105 kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

, his first Olympics, winning an Olympic bronze medal. After missing two clean and jerk attempts at 245 kg, he managed to lift a total of 447.5 kg, placing him behind Latvia's

Viktors Ščerbatihs Viktors Ščerbatihs (born 6 October 1974 in Dobele) is a former Latvian weightlifter and politician and a three-time Olympian for his native country. He is 181 cm tall. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal in the over 105&n ...

and Iran's Hossein Reza Zadeh. Velichko won the European weightlifting title in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in 2004, and finished second at the World championship in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 2003. In 2002, he won gold medals at both the European and World Youth Weightlifting championships. He was once measured during competition as 2.05 meters tall, thus making lifting more difficult both in regard to distance of elevation and less than ideal limb proportions. Cholakov tested positive for a steroid in 2008 during an out-of-competition test, along with ten other weightlifters, and therefore Bulgaria's weightlifting federation withdrew its team from the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. Apart from Cholakov the athletes who tested positive were Ivailo Filev, Alan Tsagaev, Mehmed Fikretov,

Ivan Stoitsov Ivan Stoitsov (Иван Стоицов, born in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian male weightlifter, competing in the 77 kg category and representing Bulgaria at international competitions. He participated at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 77 kg event. H ...

, Ivan Markov,

Georgi Markov Georgi Ivanov Markov ( bg, Георги Иванов Марков ; 1 March 1929 – 11 September 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident writer. He originally worked as a novelist, screenwriter and playwright in his native country, the People's Repub ...

, Demir Demirev, Milka Maneva, Donka Mincheva and Gergana Kirilova. He was supposed to compete for

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

during the 2012 Summer Olympics, but withdrew before the 105+ kg competition due to health issues.

Career bests

* Snatch: 207.5 kg in 2004 Summer Olympics. * Clean and jerk: 245.0 kg 2004 European Weightlifting Championships. * Total: 447.5 kg (205.0+242.5) 2003 World Weightlifting Championships.

Death

Velichko Cholakov died in Smolyan on 20 August 2017, aged 35, after a recent history of heart problems.Former European champion Velichko Cholakov dies at 35
''The Indian Express''. Retrieved 20 August 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cholakov, Velichko 1982 births 2017 deaths People from Smolyan Bulgarian male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters of Bulgaria Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria Bulgarian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in weightlifting Olympic medalists in weightlifting Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Bulgarian emigrants to Azerbaijan European Weightlifting Championships medalists World Weightlifting Championships medalists