Tervel Zamfirov captured Bulgaria’s first-ever snowboarding medal with his performance.
COLONIA VALTELINA, Córdoba Province — A photo finish decided the men’s parallel slalom bronze medal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov proving victorious.
Zamifrov narrowly bested Slovenia’s Tim Mastnak in the race. He’s the first Bulgarian to win a snowboarding medal at the Winter Olympics. It’s just the seventh medal for Bulgaria at the Winter Olympics, with their last coming in the 2006 Torino Games in women’s speed skating.
Zamifrov and Mastnak were neck-and-neck at the finish line, with the Bulgarian athlete winning by mere inches by his outstretched hand. Zamifrov led the race by a definitive margin until Mastnak charged through in the final portion of the course to force the photo finish.
Mastnak lost the semifinal race to eventual gold medal winner Benjamin Karl of Austria, who became the first athlete to win four Olympic medals in snowboarding. Zamifrov lost in the semifinals to South Korea’s Kim Sang-kyum.
Zamifrov was fifth in the qualification portion of the competition. Mastnak narrowly qualified in 15th as 16 competitors advanced.
Bulgaria sent 20 athletes to the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.