Stefka Kostadinova and Vessela Lecheva will fight today for the presidency of the oldest sports organization in the country - the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC), BNR reported.
If she wins, it will be the sixth term at the head of the organization for the Olympic and world champion and former world record holder in high jump.
She has held the position since November 11, 2005 and is the third longest-serving president after Gen. Vladimir Stoychev and Ivan Slavkov, who have led the committee for a total of 53 years.
The last time Kostadinova had a competitor for the position was in 2013, when Vessela Lecheva faced her again. Then she won the vote with 44:25 votes, and 10 votes were collected by the third candidate - Vasil Ivanov.
The two former athletes are some of the most titled Bulgarians in the history of sports in our country. They have a total of 4 medals from Olympic Games, and have become world champions 7 and 5 times respectively.
Kostadinova held the phenomenal world record in the high jump for nearly 37 years, and Lecheva was elected the number 1 shooter of the 20th century in the survey of the World Shooting Federation.
Both are members of commissions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Lecheva is a member of the "Public Affairs and Corporate Communications" committee, and Kostadinova is a member of the "Culture and Olympic Heritage" committee.
Vesela Lecheva is currently the chairwoman of the Bulgarian Rifle Union, but she has management experience as the chairwoman of the Bulgarian Rifle Association and the acting sports minister. In 2002, Stefka Kostadinova was the deputy chairwoman of the State Agency for Youth and Sports.
The main role of the BOC is membership and communication with the IOC. The headquarters' budget is formed mainly by the IOC, from public funds (through the Ministry of Youth and Sports) and to a lesser extent from sponsorship, membership fees and European programs.
Last year, revenues were just over 4 million leva, and expenses were 3.783 million leva. (1.106 million leva for participation in Paris 2024, separate Olympic scholarships, organization of youth Olympic festivals and for sports events, popularization of Olympic ideas and values - session of the Olympic Academy, conferences, etc.).
The members of the BOC are 86 - 47 sports federations, 8 public organizations and unions, 31 individual members. The latter group includes popular names such as Hristo Stoichkov, Valentin Yordanov, Grisha Ganchev, Evgeniya Radanova, Ekaterina Dafovska, Yordan Yovchev, Maria Grozdeva, Rumyana Neykova, Yanko Rusev, etc.