Nikola Petrov (), better known as Nikola Petroff, (19 December 1873 – 2 January 1925) 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 ...

n wrestler. He was born in the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa,

. On 20 July 1898, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he earned the title "Champion of America". In the next year in

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, he became the European Champion in

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

. In 1900, during the Exposition Universelle in

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, he defeated the Frenchman Paul Pons and became a world champion. He fought in the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

. In 1921, he established his own private school of wrestling in

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 ...

. He died in 1925 and was buried in his home town of Gorna Oryahovitsa. Since 1963, a yearly tournament in the name of Nikola Petrov has been organized in Bulgaria. In 1998, he was proclaimed an Honoured Citizen of Gorna Oryahovitsa. In his 25-year wrestling career, he was defeated once by Marijan Matijević.

References

Nikola Petrov – the first Bulgarian Champion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petroff, Nikola 1873 births 1925 deaths Bulgarian male sport wrestlers Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars People associated with physical culture People from Gorna Oryahovitsa Sportspeople from Veliko Tarnovo Province 19th-century Bulgarian people 20th-century Bulgarian people 20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen