Georgi Raykov
Georgi Petkov Rajkow, Bulgarian Георги Райков, ( born October 18, 1953 in Sofia, † 12 August 2006 Koprivshtitsa ) was a Bulgarian wrestler.
Career
Georgi Rajkow grew up in Sofia and began at a young age with the rings. He showed a lot of talent and even more strength and endurance, and managed a 19-year jump in the Bulgarian national team. At a size of 1.78 meters, he weighed about 100 kilograms soon. He was an immensely powerful wrestler and preferred the Greco- Roman wrestling style. In the National his coach Petko Sirakow led him target and approach the top.
His debut at international championships he gave at the European Championship 1975 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. With its massive attack actions and an almost impenetrable defense, he won five victories superior to the European title at light heavyweight. Despite this victory, he came back in 1977 to an international application, as an exceedingly great width of outstanding wrestlers was present in Bulgaria. For the Olympic Games 1976, the Bulgarian coach sat therefore still Stojan Nikolov and Kamen Losanow Goranow.
From 1977 Georgi Rajkow but was then reinstated. In that year he became vice European champion first at the European Championships in Bursa. He started it for the first time in the heavyweight class and was defeated in the final battle the Soviet Olympic champion and multiple world champion Nikolai Balboschin. Also at the World Championships the same year in Gothenburg he found in Balboschin his master. Moreover, since he also lost against Refik Memišević from Yugoslavia, was only the third place for him.
1978 Georgi was in Oslo Vice - European Champion and in Mexico City Vice World Champion, both times beaten by Nikolai Balboschin, against whom he still had no answer.
1979 Georgi Rajkow was only used at the World Championships in San Diego and again he lost the final against Nikolai Balboschin.
At the European Championships 1980 in Prievidza Nikolai Balboschin was not at the start. Georgi did not miss this chance and was in a superior style of European champions. At the Olympic Games in 1980 Balboschin was there again. Olympic champion was this time but still Georgi Rajkow. He had to thank the Romanian Vasile Andrei this in the first place, the Balboschin defeated in the second round, whereupon he gave up injured. In the third round Georgi won sure about Andrei and defeated in the finals also the poles novel Bierła. This Georgi had but are fortunate in that the judges after they had already considered two wrestlers with two warnings for passivity, granted the third warning shortly before the end of the fight Bierła Rajkow and so did the winner.
After his Olympic victory Georgi Rajkow withdrew from active competition scene back, attended an academy coach and then was a coach in the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.
The results of international championships and some other tournaments that Georgi Rajkow participated are to be seen in the following section.
International success
(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, European Championship EM =, GR = Greek and Roman. Styles, Hs = light heavyweight, S = Heavy weight, then up to 90 kg or 100 kg body weight)