The mayor honored five-time European champion Angel Rusev with a gold "Ruse" badge

Wednesday, 23 April 2025

Mayor Pencho Milkov today awarded the five-time European weightlifting champion Angel Rusev with a gold badge "Ruse", a diploma and a cash prize. At the solemn ceremony, which took place in the training hall of the Weightlifting Sports Club (WSC) "Ruse" in the Sports Complex "Yalta", the mayor congratulated the Ruse athlete for his exceptional achievements and emphasized that the gold badge is an assessment, but also a challenge to the athlete. “The challenge for you is to become a leader both as an athlete, as a coach, and as a person. Your success is not only the sporting glory that you brought to Ruse and Bulgaria, but the example that you forever leave in the minds and hearts of these young people who follow you. This is already your huge responsibility, because you give courage and a future to young people who see how you achieve your successes with self-discipline and daily work. Thank you to you, the club and the coaches with whose support you win,” said the mayor.

After Moscow, Yerevan, Tirana and Sofia, in Chisinau Angel became the European champion in the men's 55 kg category for a record fifth time. He is the third athlete in Bulgaria to win a European title five times after Olympic champions Yanko Rusev and Ivan Ivanov. Rusev also received congratulatory addresses from the president of WSC - Ruse, Prof. Dr. Kiril Panayotov, MD, and from the deputy regional governor Georgi Georgiev.

The administrative director of the medical institutions "Medica" Alise Murtezova thanked both the coaches and the weightlifter's wife - Simona, who helped coaches and managers motivate Angel to continue the fight, despite the turmoil in the federation.

"Angel must work even harder and he will also win an Olympic title," said one of the first weightlifting coaches at the club, Kancho Marinov, who was the coach of Angel's current coach - Radoslav Atanasov. The ceremony was also attended by the competitor Deniz Danev, who took sixth place at the European Championship in Moldova. Together with Angel, they cut the festive cake with the inscription "Champions! Congratulations on the 5th European Title!".

The event was also attended by Deputy Mayor Borislav Rachev, the director of the Municipal Enterprise "Sports Properties" Lachezar Ivanov, the director of the Student Sports School Maya Petrova, and directors of educational institutions.

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