Matey Nikolov from Veliko Tarnovo won three gold medals and one silver at the "Burgas Swims" tournament at Park Arena OZK last weekend. He swam in four events and finished on the podium in all of them.
Nikolov won the 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m backstroke. He was second in the 100m backstroke.
He swims for the Olimpik club of Sandanski, at its Pavlikeni branch. He studies at the "V. Drumev" maths high school in Veliko Tarnovo but trains in Pavlikeni, and travels there every day because Veliko Tarnovo has no suitable conditions for training. The daily trips strain his schedule as he balances sport and school.
His coach is his father, Kaloyan Nikolov, who is happy with the results at this stage of his preparation.
"I know it is not easy to combine school, training and daily travel, but Matey does not give up and keeps chasing his dreams," he said.
At the same tournament, which we reported on 20 October, Ivo Ilarionov from Tsarevets won four silver medals. More than 640 swimmers from 38 clubs took part.
The national championship starts in a month. Kaloyan Nikolov hopes his son will be fully prepared and will show what he can do. "I believe his hard work deserves a reward," he said. As a father and coach, he will keep backing him.