List of flag bearers for Bulgaria at the Olympics
Table:
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Event year
Season
Flag bearer
Sport

25
2018
Winter
Radoslav Yankov
Snowboarding

24
2016
Summer
Ivet Lalova
Athletics

23
2014
Winter
Maria Kirkova
Alpine skiing

22
2012
Summer
Yordan Yovchev
Gymnastics

21
2010
Winter
Aleksandra Zhekova
Snowboarding

20
2008
Summer
Petar Stoychev
Swimming

19
2006
Winter
Ekaterina Dafovska
Biathlon

18
2004
Summer
Mariya Grozdeva
Shooting

17
2002
Winter
Stefan Georgiev
Alpine skiing

16
2000
Summer
Ivo Yanakiev
Rowing

15
1998
Winter
Lyubomir Popov
Alpine skiing

14
1996
Summer
Dimo Tonev
Volleyball

13
1994
Winter
Nadezhda Aleksieva
Biathlon

12
1992
Summer
Ivaylo Yordanov
Football

11
1992
Winter
Iva Karagiozova-Shkodreva
Biathlon

10
1988
Summer
Vasil Etropolski
Fencing

9
1988
Winter
Vladimir Velichkov
Biathlon

8
1984
Winter
Vladimir Velichkov
Biathlon

7
1980
Summer
Aleksandar Tomov
Wrestling

6
1980
Winter
Petar Popangelov
Downhill skiing

Taking into account the tabular data and the textual context listed below.

Solve the question: How many Olympics did the Bulgarian flag bearer at the 2016 Summer Olympics participate in ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

The 2018 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ; Korean : 제23회 동계 올림픽 , romanized : Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpik ) and commonly known as PyeongChang 2018 , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County , Gangwon Province , South Korea , with the opening rounds for certain events held on 8 February 2018 , the day before the opening ceremony . Pyeongchang was elected as the host city in July 2011 , at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban , South Africa . This was the second time that South Korea had hosted the Olympic Games , having previously hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul , but it was only the first Winter Olympics to be held in the country . It was the first of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia , the following two being Tokyo 2020 ( summer ) and Beijing 2022 ( winter ) . It was the third time that an East Asian country had hosted the Winter Games , after Sapporo ( 1972 ) and Nagano ( 1998 ) , both of these cities in Japan . It was also the first Winter Olympics to be held in mainland Asia . The Games featured 102 events over 15 disciplines , a record number of events for the Winter Games . Four events made their Olympic debut in 2018 : big air snowboarding , mass start speed skating , mixed doubles curling , and mixed team alpine skiing . A total of 2,914 athletes from 92 NOCs competed , including the national debuts of Ecuador , Eritrea , Kosovo , Malaysia , Nigeria and Singapore . After a state-sponsored doping program was exposed following the 2014 Winter Olympics , the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended , but selected athletes were allowed to compete neutrally under the special IOC designation of Olympic Athletes from Russia ( OAR ) . North Korea agreed to participate in the Games despite tense relations with South Korea ; the two nations paraded together at the opening ceremony as a unified Korea , and fielded a unified team ( COR ) in the women 's ice hockey . Norway led the total medal tally with 39 , followed by Germany 's 31 and Canada 's 29 .
Radoslav Yankov ( Bulgarian : Радослав Янков ; born January 26 , 1990 ) is a snowboarder from Bulgaria . He competed for Bulgaria at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the alpine snowboarding events ( parallel and giant slalom ) . Yankov 's first World Cup win came at the Men 's Parallel Giant Slalom ( PGS ) event held in Carezza on December 12 , 2015 . During the 2016-17 season he made great results in PGS , winning the overall title for that season .
Snowboarding is a recreational activity and Winter Olympic and Paralympic sport that involves descending a snow-covered slope while standing on a snowboard attached to a rider 's feet . The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding , sledding , surfing and skiing . It was developed in the United States in the 1960s , became a Winter Olympic Sport at Nagano in 1998 and eventually was featured in the Winter Paralympics at Sochi in 2014 . Its popularity ( as measured by equipment sales ) in the United States peaked in 2007 and has been in a decline since .
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( Portuguese : Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016 ) , [ a ] officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( Portuguese : Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada ) and commonly known as Rio 2016 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , with preliminary events in some sports beginning on 3 August . These were the first Olympic Games ever to be held in South America and the fourth to be held in a developing country , after the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico , the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union , and the 2008 Summer Olympics in China . More than 11,000 athletes from 205 National Olympic Committees took part , including first time entrants Kosovo , South Sudan , and the Refugee Olympic Team . With 306 sets of medals , the games featured 28 Olympic sports , including rugby sevens and golf , which were added to the Olympic program in 2009 . These sporting events took place at 33 venues in the host city and at five separate venues in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo , Belo Horizonte , Salvador , Brasília , and Manaus . These were the first Summer Olympic Games to take place under the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) presidency of Thomas Bach . The host city Rio de Janeiro was announced at the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen , Denmark , on 2 October 2009 . Rio became the first South American city ever to host the Olympic Games . These were the first games to be held in a Portuguese-speaking country , the first summer edition to be held entirely in the host country 's winter season , the first since 1968 to be held in Latin America , and the first since 2000 to be held in the Southern Hemisphere . The United States topped the medal table , winning the most gold and overall medals , 46 and 121 , as well as its 1,000th Summer Olympic gold medal overall . Great Britain finished second and became only the second country in modern Olympic history to increase its tally of medals in the Olympiad immediately after it had been host nation . China finished third .
Ivet Miroslavova Lalova-Collio ( Bulgarian : Ивет Мирославова Лалова-Колио , born 18 May 1984 in Sofia ) is a Bulgarian athlete who specialises in the 100 metres and 200 metres sprint events . She is the 12th-fastest woman in the history of the 100 metres and is tied with Irina Privalova for the fastest time by a sprinter not of West African descent . She finished fourth in the 100 metres and fifth in the 200 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics . Her career was interrupted for two years between June 2005 and May 2007 due to a leg injury . In June 2012 she won gold at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in the Women 's 100 metres . In July 2016 she won two silver medals at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in both the Women 's 100 and 200 metres . She has participated at four editions of the Olympic Games .
Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running , jumping , throwing , and walking . The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field , road running , cross country running , and race walking . The results of racing events are decided by finishing position ( or time , where measured ) , while the jumps and throws are won by the athlete that achieves the highest or furthest measurement from a series of attempts . The simplicity of the competitions , and the lack of a need for expensive equipment , makes athletics one of the most common types of sports in the world . Athletics is mostly an individual sport , with the exception of relay races and competitions which combine athletes ' performances for a team score , such as cross country . Organized athletics are traced back to the Ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC . The rules and format of the modern events in athletics were defined in Western Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th century , and were then spread to other parts of the world . Most modern top level meetings are held under the auspices of World Athletics , the global governing body for the sport of athletics , or its member continental and national federations . The athletics meeting forms the backbone of the Summer Olympics . The foremost international athletics meeting is the World Athletics Championships , which incorporates track and field , marathon running and race walking . Other top level competitions in athletics include the World Athletics Cross Country Championships and the World Half Marathon Championships . Athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the World Para Athletics Championships .
The 2014 Winter Olympics , officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( Russian : XXII Олимпийские зимние игры , tr . XXII Olimpiyskiye zimniye igry ) and commonly known as Sochi 2014 , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi , Krasnodar Krai , Russia , with opening rounds in certain events held on the eve of the opening ceremony , 6 February 2014 . Both the Olympics and 2014 Winter Paralympics were organized by the Sochi Organizing Committee ( SOOC ) . Sochi was selected as the host city in July 2007 , during the 119th IOC Session held in Guatemala City . It was the first Olympics to be held in a CIS state since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 . The Soviet Union was previously the host nation for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow . These were the first Olympic Games under the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) presidency of Thomas Bach . A record 98 events in fifteen winter sport disciplines were held during the Games . A number of new competitions - a total of twelve accounting for gender - were held during the Games , including biathlon mixed relay , women 's ski jumping , mixed-team figure skating , mixed-team luge , half-pipe skiing , ski and snowboard slopestyle , and snowboard parallel slalom . The events were held around two clusters of new venues : an Olympic Park constructed in Sochi 's Imeretinsky Valley on the coast of the Black Sea , with Fisht Olympic Stadium , and the Games ' indoor venues located within walking distance , and snow events in the resort settlement of Krasnaya Polyana . The 2014 Winter Olympics were the most expensive Games in the history of the Olympics . While originally budgeted at US $ 12 billion , major cost overruns , caused this figure to expand to US $ 51 billion , more than three times the cost of the 2012 London Olympics and even surpassing the estimated $ 44 billion cost of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing .
Maria Kirkova ( Bulgarian : Мария Киркова ; born 2 January 1986 ) is a Bulgarian female skier . She was the flagbearer for Bulgaria and a competitor during the 2014 Winter Olympics and took part in the Alpine skiing events at all four Winter Olympics between 2006 and 2018 as well as the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2003 and six championship from 2007 to 2017 .
Alpine skiing , or downhill skiing , is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings , unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country , Telemark , or ski jumping ) , which use skis with free-heel bindings . Whether for recreation or for sport , it is typically practised at ski resorts , which provide such services as ski lifts , artificial snow making , snow grooming , restaurants , and ski patrol . Off-piste skiers - those skiing outside ski area boundaries - may employ snowmobiles , helicopters or snowcats to deliver them to the top of a slope . Back-country skiers may use specialized equipment with a free-heel mode , including 'sticky ' skins on the bottoms of the skis to stop them sliding backwards during an ascent , then locking the heel and removing the skins for their descent . Alpine skiing has been an event at the Winter Olympic Games since 1936 .
The 2012 Summer Olympics , formally the Games of the XXX Olympiad and commonly known as London 2012 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London , United Kingdom . The first event , the group stage in women 's football , began on 25 July at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff , followed by the opening ceremony on 27 July . 10,768 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) participated . Following a bid headed by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe and then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone , London was selected as the host city on 6 July 2005 during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore , defeating bids from Moscow , New York City , Madrid , and Paris . London became the first city to host the modern Olympics three times , having previously hosted the Summer Games in 1908 and in 1948 . Construction for the Games involved considerable redevelopment , with an emphasis on sustainability . The main focus was a new 200-hectare ( 490-acre ) Olympic Park , constructed on a former industrial site at Stratford , East London . The Games also made use of venues that already existed before the bid . The Games received general praise for their organisation , with the volunteers , the British military and public enthusiasm praised particularly highly . The opening ceremony , directed by Danny Boyle , received widespread acclaim throughout the world , particular praise from the British public and a minority of widely ranging criticisms from some social media sites . During the Games , Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time , winning his 22nd medal . Saudi Arabia , Qatar , and Brunei entered female athletes for the first time , so that every currently eligible country has sent a female competitor to at least one Olympic Games .
Yordan Yovchev Yovchev ( Bulgarian : Йордан Йовчев Йовчев ; born February 24 , 1973 ) , also spelled Jordan Jovtchev , is a retired Bulgarian gymnast . He took part in six consecutive Olympic Games , more than any other Bulgarian athlete in Olympic history . He is president of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation and also serves as a sports commentator .
Gymnastics is a sport that includes exercises requiring balance , strength , flexibility , agility , coordination , and endurance . The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms , legs , shoulders , back , chest , and abdominal muscle groups . Alertness , precision , daring , self-confidence , and self-discipline are mental traits that can also be developed through gymnastics . Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse and from circus performance skills . The most common form of competitive gymnastics is artistic gymnastics , which consists of ( for women ) the events floor , vault , uneven bars and beam . For men , it consists of the events floor , vault , rings , pommel , parallel bars , and horizontal bar . The governing body for gymnastics through out the world is the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique ( FIG ) . Eight sports are governed by the FIG , which include Gymnastics for All , Men 's and Womens Artistic Gymnastics , Rhythmic Gymnastics , Trampoline ( including Double Mini-trampoline ) , Tumbling , Aerobics , Acrobatics , and Parkour . Disciplines not currently recognized by FIG include wheel gymnastics , aesthetic group gymnastics , men 's rhythmic gymnastics , TeamGym and mallakhamba . Participants in gymnastics-related sports can include young children , recreational-level athletes , and competitive athletes at varying levels of skill , including world-class athletes .
The 2010 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XXIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) and commonly known as Vancouver 2010 , informally the 21st Winter Olympics , was an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 12 to 28 February 2010 in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada , with some events held in the surrounding suburbs of Richmond , West Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands , and in the nearby resort town of Whistler . Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines . Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games were organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee ( VANOC ) , headed by John Furlong . The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada and the first by the province of British Columbia . Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , Quebec , and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary , Alberta . Metro Vancouver is the largest metropolitan area to host the Winter Olympics , although Calgary is the largest city to host the Winter Olympics . They will both be surpassed by Beijing in 2022 . Following Olympic tradition , the incumbent mayor of Vancouver Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . The flag was raised on February 28 , 2006 , in a special ceremony and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony . The event was officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean , who was accompanied by the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge . For the first time , Canada won gold in an official sport at an Olympic Games hosted at home , having failed to do so at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary ( although Canada won the woman 's curling event in Calgary when it was still only a demonstration sport ) . Canada clinched their first gold medal on the second day of the competition and first topped the gold medal tally on the second to last day of competition and went on to become the first host nation since Norway in 1952 to lead the gold medal count .
Alexandra Zhekova ( Bulgarian : Александра Жекова ) ( born October 5 , 1987 ) is a snowboarder from Bulgaria . She competed for Bulgaria at the 2010 Winter Olympics in snowboard cross and parallel giant slalom . Zhekova was Bulgaria 's flag bearer during the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony . She finished 5th in the 2014 Olympics cross event , and 6th at the 2018 Olympics one . At Winter X Games XVI , Zhekova became the first Bulgarian to win a medal at the X Games , capturing silver in Snowboard X .
The 2008 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad ( Chinese : 第二十九届夏季奥林匹克运动会 ; pinyin : Dì Èrshíjiǔ Jiè Xiàjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì ) and commonly known as Beijing 2008 , was an international multi-sport event that was held from 8 to 24 August 2008 in Beijing , China . [ b ] A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees ( NOCs ) competed in 28 sports and 302 events ( one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics ) . This was the first time that China had hosted the Summer Olympics , but the third time that the Games had been held in East Asia , following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo , Japan , and the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics . These were the second summer Olympic Games staged in a Communist country , after the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics and the third in a developing country after the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union and the first overall Olympics to be hosted by a Communist state since the former Yugoslavia hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo . Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001 , having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) after two rounds of voting . The Government of the People 's Republic of China promoted the Games and invested heavily in new facilities and transport systems . A total of 37 venues were used to host the events , including twelve constructed specifically for the 2008 Olympics . The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong , making this the third Olympics for which the events were held under the jurisdiction of two different NOCs . [ c ] The sailing events were contested in Qingdao , while the football events took place across several different cities . The official logo for the 2008 Games , titled Dancing Beijing , featured a stylised calligraphic character jīng ( 京 , means capital ) in reference to the host city . The Beijing Olympics was watched by 3,500,000,000 people worldwide and featured the longest distance for an Olympic Torch relay . The event sets numerous world and Olympics records in the history of sports , and is also the most expensive Summer Olympics of all time and second-most expensive overall , after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi .
Petar Stoychev ( Bulgarian : Петър Стойчев ; born 24 October 1976 in Momchilgrad ) is a Bulgarian swimmer who is one of the most successful long distance marathon swimmers in history . He is one of the greatest marathon swimmers of all time and an honor swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame . Stoychev has 11 consecutive titles of a major international open water marathon swimming FINA series since 2001 ( World Cup winner 2001-2006 , Grand Prix winner 2007-2011 ) with more than 60 wins in individual swimming marathons . So far , he has swum over 60,000 km in pools , rivers , lakes , seas and oceans . Petar Stoychev has won 11 consecutive victories at the Traversée Internationale du Lac Memphrémagog in Magog , Canada ( 34 km ) and at Lac Saint-Jean in Roberval , Canada ( 32 km ) . Also , he has won the Ohrid Lake , Macedonia swimming marathon 11 consecutive times ( 30 km ) . His swimming achievements include swimming around the Manhattan Island in 2010 and winning the extreme Cadiz Freedom Swim in 2011 . In addition to his numerous achievements in marathon swimming , he has participated in four Olympics - 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney , 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens , 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing , where he was the flag bearer for the Bulgarian Olympic team , and finished 6th in 10km at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London . Petar Stoychev was formerly the holder of the world record for crossing the English Channel ( 24 August 2007 ) and the first swimmer to make the crossing in less than 7 hours ( 6:57:50 ) . The previous record from 2005 ( 7:03:50 ) belonged to Christoph Wandratch ( Germany ) . His record was broken by Australian swimmer Trent Grimsey on 8 September 2012 . English Channel Swims
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one 's entire body to move through water . The sport takes place in pools or open water ( e.g. , in a sea or lake ) . Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports , with varied distance events in butterfly , backstroke , breaststroke , freestyle , and individual medley . In addition to these individual events , four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle or medley relay . A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke , ordered as backstroke , breaststroke , butterfly and freestyle . Swimming each stroke requires a set of specific techniques ; in competition , there are distinct regulations concerning the acceptable form for each individual stroke . There are also regulations on what types of swimsuits , caps , jewelry and injury tape that are allowed at competitions . Although it is possible for competitive swimmers to incur several injuries from the sport , such as tendinitis in the shoulders or knees , there are also multiple health benefits associated with the sport .
The 2006 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games ( Italian : XX Giochi olimpici invernali ) and commonly known as Turin 2006 or Torino 2006 , was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin , Piedmont , Italy from February 10 to 26 , 2006 . This marked the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Olympic Games , the first being the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo . Italy also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome . Turin was selected as the host city for the 2006 Games in June 1999 . The official motto of the XX Olympic Winter Games was Passion lives here . The official logo depicts a stylized profile of the Mole Antonelliana building , drawn in white and blue ice crystals , signifying the snow and the sky . The crystal web was also meant to portray the web of new technologies and the Olympic spirit of community . The Olympic mascots of the Games were Neve ( snow in Italian ) , a female snowball , and Gliz , a male ice cube . Italy will host the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo 20 years after these games .
Ekaterina Dafovska ( Bulgarian : Екатерина Дафовска ) ( born 28 November 1975 , Chepelare , Bulgaria ) is a Bulgarian biathlete . She did not take up the biathlon until 1992 . She made the national team in 1993 and came in 29th in the 15-kilometer competition at the Lillehammer Olympics the following year . She won a gold Olympic medal at the 15 km Individual event during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano . As of 2018 [ update ] , her gold medal is the only one won by a Bulgarian at a Winter Olympic games . Dafovska is an administrator from Chepelare .
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting . It is treated as a race where the contestant with the shortest total time wins . Depending on the competition , missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant 's total .
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( Greek : Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004 , Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 2004 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad and commonly known as Athens 2004 , was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens , Greece , from 13 to 29 August 2004 with the motto Welcome Home . The Games saw 10,625 athletes compete , some 600 more than expected , accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries . There were 301 medal events in 28 different sports . Athens 2004 marked the first time since the 1996 Summer Olympics that all countries with a National Olympic Committee were in attendance . 2004 also marked the return of the Olympic Games to the city where they began . Having previously hosted the Olympics in 1896 , Athens became one of only four cities to have hosted the Summer Olympic Games on two separate occasions at the time ( together with Paris , London , and Los Angeles ) . A new medal obverse was introduced at these Games , replacing the design by Giuseppe Cassioli that had been used since the 1928 Games . This rectified the long lasting mistake of using a depiction of the Roman Colosseum rather than a Greek venue . The new design features the Panathenaic Stadium . The 2004 Summer Games were hailed as unforgettable , dream games by IOC President Jacques Rogge , and left Athens with a significantly improved infrastructure , including a new airport , ring road , and subway system . There have been arguments ( mostly in popular media ) regarding the cost of the 2004 Athens Summer Games and their possible contribution to the 2010-2018 Greek government-debt crisis , however , there is little or no evidence for such a correlation . The 2004 Olympics were generally deemed to be a success , with the rising standard of competition amongst nations across the world .
Maria Zdravkova Grozdeva ( Bulgarian : Мария Здравкова Гроздева , née Григорова , Grigorova ; born on 23 June 1972 ) is a Bulgarian sport shooter , concentrating on both 25 metre pistol and 10 metre air pistol . She is the only woman to have successfully defended 25 metre pistol title at the Olympic Games . Apart from her five Olympic medals including two gold medals , she also has been successful at CISM World Championships and ISSF World Cups . She is also the current holder of the final world record in 25 metre pistol . Grozdeva was born in Sofia .
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon ( such as a gun , slingshot , crossbow , or bow ) . Even the acts of launching/discharging artillery , darts , grenades , rockets and guided missiles can be considered acts of shooting . When using a firearm , the act of shooting is often called firing as it involves initiating a combustion process ( deflagration ) . Shooting can take place in a shooting range or in the field , in shooting sports , hunting or in combat . The person involved in the shooting activity is called a shooter . A skilled , accurate shooter is a marksman or sharpshooter , and a person 's level of shooting proficiency is referred to as their marksmanship .
The 2002 Winter Olympics , officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 , was a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 8 to 24 February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City , Utah , United States . 2,399 athletes from 78 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines , held throughout 165 sporting sessions . The 2002 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Paralympic Games were both organized by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee ( SLOC ) , the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history that both events were organized by a single committee . Utah became the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games , after Missouri , New York , California , and Georgia . These were the first Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Jacques Rogge . The opening ceremony was held on February 8 , 2002 , and sporting competitions were held up until the closing ceremony on February 24 , 2002 . Production for both ceremonies was designed by Seven Nielsen , and music for both ceremonies was directed by Mark Watters . Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics , although the two subsequent host cities ' populations were larger . Following a trend , the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were also larger than all prior Winter Games , with 10 more events than the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan . Norway won the most gold medals while Germany won the most number of medals . The Salt Lake Games faced a bribery scandal and some local opposition during the bid . Nevertheless , from sporting and business standpoints , this was one of the most successful Winter Olympiads in history ; records were set in both the broadcasting and marketing programs .
Stefan Georgiev ( Bulgarian : Стефан Георгиев ) ( born 20 May 1977 ) is an alpine skier from Bulgaria . He competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics , 2002 Winter Olympics , 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics . His best result was a 16th place in the combined in 2002 .
The 2000 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and commonly known as Sydney 2000 or the Millennium Olympic Games/Games of the New Millennium , was an international multi-sport event held between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . It was the second time the Summer Olympics were held in Australia , and also the Southern Hemisphere , the first being in Melbourne , Victoria , in 1956 .
Ivo Yanakiev ( Bulgarian : Иво Янакиев ) ( born 12 October 1975 ) is an Olympic medal-winning rower from Bulgaria . He competed at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens . He won the bronze medal in the single sculls . He competed at the 2008 Olympic Games alongside his brother - Martin in the double sculls .
Rowing , sometimes referred to as crew in the United States , is a sport whose origins reach back to Ancient Egyptian times . It involves propelling a boat ( racing shell ) on water using oars . By pushing against the water with an oar , a force is generated to move the boat . The sport can be either recreational for enjoyment or fitness , or competitive , when athletes race against each other in boats . There are a number of different boat classes in which athletes compete , ranging from an individual shell ( called a single scull ) to an eight-person shell with a coxswain ( called a coxed eight ) . Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 17th century when races ( regattas ) were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London , United Kingdom . Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies . Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of boat clubs at the British public schools of Eton College , Shrewsbury School , Durham School , and Westminster School . Similarly , clubs were formed at the University of Oxford , with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815 . At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827 . Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time ; in England Leander Club was founded in 1818 , in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839 . In 1843 , the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University .
The 1998 Winter Olympics , officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) ( Japanese : 第十八回オリンピック冬季競技大会 , Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai ) , and commonly known as Nagano 1998 , was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 that were centered in Nagano , Japan . The Games also took place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba , Karuizawa , Nozawa Onsen , and Yamanouuchi . The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics ( which were later cancelled ) , as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics , but each time Nagano was eliminated at the national level by Sapporo . The games hosted 2,176 athletes from 72 nations competing in 7 sports and 68 events . The number of athletes and participating nations were a record at the time . The Games saw the introduction of women 's ice hockey , curling and snowboarding . National Hockey League players were allowed to participate in the men 's ice hockey for the first time . Five countries , Azerbaijan , Kenya , Macedonia , Uruguay , and Venezuela made their debut at the Winter Olympics . The athlete who won the most medals at these games was the Russian cross-country skier Larisa Lazutina who won five medals , including three gold . The Norwegian cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie won four medals , including three gold , which took his total Olympic medal total to 12 , including eight gold , which is a record for Winter Olympics . In ice hockey , professionals from the North American National Hockey League participated for the first time . Despite their participation , the Czech men 's ice hockey team won the gold medal .
Lyubomir Popov ( Bulgarian : Любомир Попов , born 15 June 1967 ) is a Bulgarian alpine skier . He competed at the 1988 , 1992 , 1994 and the 1998 Winter Olympics .
The 1996 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad , commonly known as Atlanta 1996 , and also referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event that was held from July 19 to August 4 , 1996 , in Atlanta , Georgia , U.S . These Games , which were the fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States , marked the centennial of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens - the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games . They were also the first since 1924 to be held in a different year from a Winter Olympics , under a new IOC practice implemented in 1994 to hold the Summer and Winter Games in alternating , even-numbered years . More than 10,000 athletes from 197 National Olympic Committees competed in 26 sports , including the Olympic debuts of beach volleyball , mountain biking , and softball , as well as the new disciplines of lightweight rowing and women 's football ( soccer ) . 24 countries made their Summer Olympic debut in Atlanta , including eleven former Soviet republics participating for the first time as independent nations . The hosting United States led the medal count with a total of 101 medals , and the most gold ( 44 ) and silver ( 32 ) medals out of all countries . The U.S. topped the medal count for the first time since 1984 , and for the first time since 1968 in a non-boycotted Summer Olympics . Notable performances during competition included those of Andre Agassi - who became the first men 's singles tennis player to combine a career Grand Slam with an Olympic gold medal , Donovan Bailey - who set a new world record of 9.84 for the men 's 100 meters , and Lilia Podkopayeva - who became the second gymnast to win an individual event gold after winning the all-round title in the same Olympics . The festivities were marred by violence on July 27 , when Eric Rudolph detonated pipe bombs at Centennial Olympic Park - a downtown park that was built to serve as a public focal point for the Games ' festivities , killing 1 and injuring 111 . In 2003 , Rudolph confessed to the bombing and a series of related attacks on abortion centers and a gay bar , and was sentenced to life in prison . He claimed that the bombing was meant to protest the U.S. government 's sanctioning of abortion on demand . The Games turned a profit , helped by record revenue from sponsorship deals and broadcast rights , and reliance on private funding ( as opposed to the extensive public funding used on later Olympics ) , among other factors .
Dimo Tonev ( Bulgarian : Димо Тонев ) ( born ( 1964-07-02 ) 2 July 1964 ) is a former Bulgarian male volleyball player . He was part of the Bulgaria men 's national volleyball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics , 1994 FIVB Volleyball Men 's World Championship and 1996 Summer Olympics . During the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics he was the flag bearer for Bulgaria . He played for Olympiacos in Greece .
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net . Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team 's court under organized rules . It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964 . The complete set of rules are extensive , but play essentially proceeds as follows : a player on one of the teams begins a 'rally ' by serving the ball ( tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm ) , from behind the back boundary line of the court , over the net , and into the receiving team 's court . The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court . The team may touch the ball up to 3 times , but individual players may not touch the ball twice consecutively . Typically , the first two touches are used to set up for an attack , an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court . The rally continues , with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches , until either ( 1 ) : a team makes a kill , grounding the ball on the opponent 's court and winning the rally ; or ( 2 ) : a team commits a fault and loses the rally . The team that wins the rally is awarded a point and serves the ball to start the next rally . A few of the most common faults include :
The 1994 Winter Olympics ( Norwegian : Olympiske vinterleker 1994 ) , officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games , was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer , Norway . Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event , losing to Albertville . Lillehammer was awarded the 1994 Winter Olympics in 1988 , after beating Anchorage , United States ; Östersund , Sweden ; and Sofia , Bulgaria . Lillehammer is the northernmost city to ever host the Winter Games and the Olympic Games overall . The Games were the first to be held in a different year from the Summer Olympics , the first and only one to be held two years after the previous winter games . The Games were the second Winter Olympics hosted in Norway , after the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo , and the fourth Olympics in the Nordic countries , after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm , Sweden , and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki , Finland . Although many events took place in Lillehammer , skating took place in Hamar , some ice hockey matches were placed in Gjøvik , while Alpine skiing was held in Øyer and Ringebu . Sixty-seven countries and 1,737 athletes participated in six sports and sixty-one events . Fourteen countries made their debut in the Winter Olympics , of which nine were former Soviet republics . The Games also saw the introduction of stricter qualifying rules , reducing the number of under-performing participants from warm-weather countries . New events were two new distances in short track speed skating and aerials , while speed skating was moved indoors . Nearly two million people spectated the games , which were the first to have the Olympic truce in effect .
Nadezhda Aleksieva ( Bulgarian : Надежда Алексиева , born 14 August 1969 ) is a Bulgarian biathlete . She competed at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1994 Winter Olympics .
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( Spanish : Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992 , Catalan : Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992 ) , officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event held in Barcelona , Spain from 25 July to 9 August 1992 . Beginning in 1994 , the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years . The 1992 Summer Olympics was the last occasion for the Summer and Winter Olympics to be staged in the same year . This Olympiad was the first since the end of the Cold War , and was unaffected by boycotts for the first time since the 1972 Olympiad . The Unified Team topped the medal table , winning 45 gold and 112 overall medals .
Ivaylo Stoimenov Yordanov ( Bulgarian : Ивайло Йорданов ; born 22 April 1968 ) is a Bulgarian retired footballer . Known for his professional approach to the game , he played mainly as a striker . During his career , he represented mainly Sporting in Portugal , appearing in more than 250 official games in one full decade and winning two major titles . A Bulgarian international for nine years , Yordanov represented the nation in two World Cups and Euro 1996 .
Association football , more commonly known as football or soccer , [ a ] is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of 11 players . It is played by approximately 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies , making it the world 's most popular sport . The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end . The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal . Football is played in accordance with a set of rules known as the Laws of the Game . The ball is 68-70 cm ( 27-28 in ) in circumference and known as the football . The two teams each compete to get the ball into the other team 's goal ( between the posts and under the bar ) , thereby scoring a goal . The team that has scored more goals at the end of the game is the winner ; if both teams have scored an equal number of goals then the game is a draw . Each team is led by a captain who has only one official responsibility as mandated by the Laws of the Game : to represent their team in the coin toss prior to kick-off or penalty kicks . Players are not allowed to touch the ball with hands or arms while it is in play , except for the goalkeepers within the penalty area . Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball , but may also use any other part of their body except the hands and the arms . The team that scores most goals by the end of the match wins .
The 1992 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville , France . They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics , and the first where the Winter Paralympics were held at the same site . Albertville was selected as host in 1986 , beating Sofia , Falun , Lillehammer , Cortina d'Ampezzo , Anchorage and Berchtesgaden . The games were the third Winter Olympics held in France , after Chamonix in 1924 and Grenoble in 1968 , and the fifth Olympics overall in the country . Only some of the skating and the opening and closing ceremonies took place in Albertville , while the rest of the events took place in the villages of Courchevel , La Plagne , Les Arcs , Les Menuires , Les Saisies , Méribel , Pralognan-la-Vanoise , Tignes and Val d'Isère . Sixty-four nations with 1,801 athletes participated in the games , including the Unified Team which represented non-Baltic former Soviet republics . Germany participated as a unified team following reunification in 1990 , while five newly independent European countries debuted , as did six warm-weather countries . Short track speed skating , moguls and women 's biathlon made their debut as an Olympic sport . The games were the last Winter Games until 2014 to have demonstration sports , consisting of curling , aerials , ski ballet and speed skiing . It was the last Olympics to have an outdoor speed skating rink . The games were succeeded by the 1992 Winter Paralympics from 25 March to 1 April . Norwegians won every male cross-country skiing race , with Bjørn Dæhlie and Vegard Ulvang both collecting three gold .
Iva Karagiozova-Shkodreva ( Bulgarian : Ива Карагьозова-Шкодрева ) ( born September 21 , 1971 , Samokov , Bulgaria ) is a former Bulgarian biathlete . She competed at the 1992 , 1994 and 2002 Winter Olympics .
The 1988 Summer Olympics ( Korean : 서울 하계 올림픽 ; RR : Seoul Hagye Ollimpik [ sʌ.ul ɦaɡje olːimpʰik ] ) , officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad , was an international multi-sport event celebrated from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul , South Korea . In the Seoul Games , 159 nations were represented by a total of 8,391 athletes : 6,197 men and 2,194 women . 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics . 11,331 media ( 4,978 written press and 6,353 broadcasters ) showed the Games all over the world . These were the last Olympic Games for the Soviet Union and East Germany , as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games . The Soviets utterly dominated the medal table , winning 55 gold and 132 total medals . No country came close to this result after 1988 . The games were boycotted by North Korea and its ally , Cuba . Ethiopia , Albania and the Seychelles did not respond to the invitations sent by the IOC . Nicaragua did not participate due to athletic and financial considerations . The participation of Madagascar had been expected , and their team was expected at the opening ceremony of 160 nations . However , the country withdrew because of financial reasons .
Vasil Etropolski ( born 18 March 1959 ) is a Bulgarian fencer . He competed in the individual and team sabre events at the 1980 and 1988 Summer Olympics . He is the twin brother of Khristo Etropolski , who also fenced for Bulgaria at the Olympics .
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports . The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil , the épée , and the sabre ( also saber ) ; winning points are made through the weapon 's contact with an opponent . A fourth discipline , singlestick , appeared in the 1904 Olympics but was dropped after that , and is not a part of modern fencing . Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics . Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship , the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century , with the Italian school having modified the historical European martial art of classical fencing , and the French school later refining the Italian system . There are three forms of modern fencing , each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules ; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes : foil , épée , and sabre . Most competitive fencers choose to specialize in one weapon only . Competitive fencing is one of the five activities which have been featured in every modern Olympic Games , the other four being athletics , cycling , swimming , and gymnastics .
The 1988 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games ( French : Les XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) , was a multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary , Alberta , Canada , between February 13 and 28 , 1988 and were the first Winter Olympics to be held over a whole two week period . The host city was selected in 1981 over Falun , Sweden , and Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy . Most events took place in Calgary while several skiing events were held in the mountain resorts of Nakiska and Canmore , west of the city . A then-record 57 nations competed and 1,423 athletes participated . As it had in Montreal in 1976 , Canada again failed to win a gold medal in an official medal event as the host nation . Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen and Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip were individual medal leaders with each winning three gold medals . The games are also remembered for the heroic failure of British ski jumper Eddie The Eagle Edwards , and the Winter Olympic début of the Jamaica national bobsled team , both of which would be subjects of major feature films about their participation in the games . The Calgary games were at the time one of the most expensive Olympics ever held , but the organizing committee turned record television and sponsorship revenue into a net surplus that was used to maintain the facilities built for the Olympics and develop the Calgary region into the heart of Canada 's elite winter sports program . The five purpose-built venues continue to be used in their original functions , and have helped the country develop into one of the top nations in Winter Olympic competition ; Canada more than quintupled the five medals it won in Calgary at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics .
Vladimir Velichkov ( Bulgarian : Владимир Величков ; born 24 May 1959 ) is a Bulgarian former biathlete . He was among the best biathletes during the 1980s and he is generally recognised as the greatest male Bulgarian biathlete of all time .
The 1984 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( French : XIVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver ; Serbo-Croatian : XIV . zimske olimpijske igre / XIV Зимске олимпијске игре ; Macedonian : XIV Зимски олимписки игри ; Slovene : XIV olimpijske zimske igre ) , was a winter multi-sport event which took place from 8-19 February 1984 in Sarajevo , Yugoslavia , in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina . Other candidate cities were Sapporo , Japan ; and Gothenburg , Sweden . It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a socialist state and in a Slavic language-speaking country . It was also the second Olympics overall , as well as the second consecutive Olympics , to be held in a socialist and in a Slavic language-speaking country after the 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow , Soviet Union . Furthermore , it was the first Olympics held in the Balkans after the first modern Games in Athens . The Sarajevo games have also been the only Olympics so far to be hosted by a Non-Aligned Movement member .
The 1980 Summer Olympics , officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad ( Russian : И́гры XXII Олимпиа́ды , tr . Igry XXII Olimpiady ) , was an international multi-sport event held in Moscow , Soviet Union , in present-day Russia . The 1980 Games were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Eastern Europe , and remain the only Summer Olympics held there , as well as the first Olympic Games to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country . They were also the only Olympic Games to be held in a communist country until 2008 in China . These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris , 3rd Baron Killanin . Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games - the smallest number since 1956 . Led by the United States , 66 countries boycotted the games entirely because of the Soviet-Afghan War . Some athletes from some of the boycotting countries ( they are not included in the list of 66 countries that boycotted the games entirely ) participated in the games under the Olympic Flag . The Soviet Union would later boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics . The Soviet Union won the most gold and overall medals , with the USSR and East Germany winning 127 out of 204 available golds .
Aleksandar Tomov Lazarov ( Bulgarian : Александър Томов Лазаров , born April 3 , 1949 ) is a Bulgarian wrestler , in the heaviest weight class .
Wrestling is a combat sport involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting , throws and takedowns , joint locks , pins and other grappling holds . The sport can either be theatrical for entertainment ( see professional wrestling ) , or genuinely competitive . A wrestling bout is a physical competition , between two ( occasionally more ) competitors or sparring partners , who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position . There are a wide range of styles with varying rules with both traditional historic and modern styles . Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into other martial arts as well as military hand-to-hand combat systems . The term wrestling is attested in late Old English , as wræstlunge ( glossing palestram ) .
The 1980 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games , was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13 to February 24 , 1980 , in Lake Placid , New York , United States . This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games , after 1932 . The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi , British Columbia , Canada , which withdrew before the final vote ( though Vancouver would eventually win the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics . ) The mascot of the Games was Roni , a raccoon . The mask-like rings on a raccoon 's face recall the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports . The sports were played at the Olympic Center , Whiteface Mountain , Mt . Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run , the Olympic Ski Jumps , the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center , and the Lake Placid High School Speed Skating Oval .
Petar Popangelov ( Bulgarian : Петър Попангелов , born January 31 , 1959 in the city of Samokov ) is a Bulgarian alpine skier known at home by his nickname Pepe Popangelov . He won the 1977 European Cup in slalom World Cup in Lenggries , Germany . He continued racing in World Cup events for more than a decade from 1977 through 1988 , finishing eleven times in first , second , or third place . Pepe Popangelov competed in four Winter Olympiads . He took sixth place in two of those outings at the 1980 games in Lake Placid and at the 1984 games in Sarajevo . He won 26 Bulgarian national championships during his career . Popangelov 's father , the late Petar Popangelov Senior , was Pepe 's trainer and was a famous Bulgarian ski champion in his own right who competed in five Winter Olympiads . After earning such distinctions , the Popangelov family was awarded property in the Bulgarian ski resort of Borovets where they built their own bed & breakfast lodge and ski school known as the Hotel Popangelov . Pepe runs it with his wife Zoya . They have two daughters . The fireplace mantel and an entire wall in the hotel restaurant display a collection of photos and memorabilia chronicling Pepe Popangelov 's ski career from toddler to champion , including a few of his 128 cups and 180 medals . He remains Bulgaria 's best skier of all time .
Alpine skiing , or downhill skiing , is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings , unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country , Telemark , or ski jumping ) , which use skis with free-heel bindings . Whether for recreation or for sport , it is typically practised at ski resorts , which provide such services as ski lifts , artificial snow making , snow grooming , restaurants , and ski patrol . Off-piste skiers - those skiing outside ski area boundaries - may employ snowmobiles , helicopters or snowcats to deliver them to the top of a slope . Back-country skiers may use specialized equipment with a free-heel mode , including 'sticky ' skins on the bottoms of the skis to stop them sliding backwards during an ascent , then locking the heel and removing the skins for their descent . Alpine skiing has been an event at the Winter Olympic Games since 1936 .