Our celebrity birthday boy: Nikolay Bukhalov turns 50. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today, 20 March, our great canoeing champion – Nikolay Bukhalov – is celebrating his 50th birthday. He was born in 1967 in the village of Dabene, near Karlovo, and is now recognised as the most successful Bulgarian canoeist in history.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he won two gold medals, and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he won a silver. In addition, he has five world titles in the single canoe, won in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Find out some interesting facts about Nikolay Bukhalov’s life and career:

He is a graduate of the “Vasil Levski” Secondary Sports School (Plovdiv), where his illustrious career effectively began.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree from “Paisii Hilendarski” University in Plovdiv and a master’s degree from the “Vasil Levski” National Sports Academy.

He is the only Bulgarian athlete to have won two gold medals at a single Olympic Games.

He was voted Bulgaria’s No. 1 athlete for 1992.

He finished second in the Sportsman of the Year rankings on two occasions – in 1994 and 1995. Interestingly, he was pipped to the post on both occasions by two other Plovdiv natives – Hristo Stoichkov and Stefka Kostadinova.

His last major triumph came in front of a home crowd – at the European Championships in Plovdiv in 1997.

He is married to the renowned double-kayak canoeist Bonka Pindzheva.

He is currently chairman of the “Trakiya” Canoe Club in Plovdiv.