Lubomir Gueraskov (, born 27 December 1968) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

and Olympic champion. He competed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

where he won Olympic gold on pommel horse. He also won two bronze medals at the 1987 World Championships, along with assisting his team to a third place finish at the 1989 European Championships.

Early life

Lubomir Gueraskov was born on 27 December 1968 in his hometown, near the outskirts of

's capital and largest city,

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. Under the communist law, he was appointed to the youth sports academy where his gymnastics talent grew popularity amongst top level coaches. As a result, he was moved into the top Bulgarian Youth Sports School at a very young age. His high talent and great progress was, from then on, revealed to the rest of the nation. Lubomir became very well known for being one of the greatest gymnasts of his time. He had won numerous regional and national titles to his name. During his teenage years, his hometown club,

Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 by a group of high sc ...

, recruited him to their squad, helping them win numerous championships along the way. At the same time, Lubomir was appointed to the Olympic national team where most of his talent and glory would come to be recognized worldwide.

Career

World Championships and Olympic Success

At 18, Lubomir Geraskov would earn the bronze medal on both the pommel horse and floor exercise at the

1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 24th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1987. Results Men Team final All-around Floor exercise Pommel horse Rings Vault Parallel bars Horizontal bar Women Team final ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. Two years prior he became individual champion at the 1985 Bulgarian National Gymnastics Championships. Lubomir also helped lead his team to a Balkan Championships in 1986. His peak of glory came two years later when he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, scoring a perfect 10.00. Lubomir became the second man in Bulgarian history to win a gold medal in the sport of gymnastics along with being the youngest, at 19. To top off his gymnastic career, Lubomir was inducted into the Bulgarian Sports Hall of Fame, becoming a very popular men's gymnastics figure in Bulgarian sports history."1988 Summer Olympics – Seoul, South Korea – Gymnastics"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on March 29, 2008)

Honours

Team Awards

World Championships *Fourth Place:

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

European Championships * Third Place:

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

Balkan Cup * Gold medal with cup

First Place: 1986

Individual Awards

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

First Place: (Pommel Horse)

World Championships * Third Place: (Pommel Horse)

* Third Place: (Floor Exercise)

Balkan Cup * Gold medal with cup

First Place: 1986 Gold medal with cup

Bulgarian Cup * Gold medal with cup

First Place: 1985

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geraskov, Lubomir 1968 births Living people Bulgarian male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Bulgaria Olympic gold medalists for Bulgaria Olympic medalists in gymnastics Bulgarian emigrants to the United States Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen