Stefan Khristov Botev (Bulgarian: Стефан Христов Ботев, born February 14, 1968, in Harmanli) is an Olympicweightlifter who represented Bulgaria and later competed for Australia. He was coached by Ivan Abadzhiev. Botev is a two-time world and European champion, winner of the World Cup in 1988 and was voted as Bulgaria's Sportsperson of the Year in 1990. Stefan is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist - once for Bulgaria in 1992 and once for Australia in 1996. Botev is a three-time gold medalist from the Goodwill Games in Seattle in 1990.
Botev was originally intended to represent Bulgaria at the 1988 Olympic Games in the heavyweight category.[1] Two of his teammates who had won gold medals in their weight classes tested positive for banned substances, and the Bulgarian weightlifting federation pulled the rest of the team out of the competition the day before Botev was scheduled to compete. At the time, Botev was two-time European Vice-champion, and a heavy favorite for the gold medal.[1]
