A Bulgarian is fighting for his life. © AFP / CHRISTOF STACHE

Shock in the biathlon scene: ex-athlete in danger of death

The biathlon world is holding its breath: Former Bulgarian biathlete Krasimir Anev is in mortal danger after he shot himself in the stomach with a pistol. The circumstances are still unclear.

05 November 2023

From: leo

Like the Bulgarian daily newspaper Diary reported that the incident occurred this Wednesday in Kyustendil in southwestern Bulgaria. Anev then had to be taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and put into an artificial coma. It is not yet clear whether this was an accident. Anev owned the weapon because he is part of the Bulgarian military as a sports soldier. His second great passion is sport shooting, as he revealed in an interview with the International Biathlon Federation IBU.

The 36-year-old announced his retirement in 2020. He then accused the Bulgarian association of an insulting attitude towards him. He explained that the president, Ekaterina Dafovska, runs it alone and that he has no future in the team as long as she is in charge.

A successful career

Anev celebrated his greatest success in Minsk in 2019 when he was crowned European singles champion. He left none other than Tarjei Bø behind. He competed in three Olympic Games and missed a World Cup podium by a whisker: in 2014 he finished fourth in the Oberhof mass start.