Lubomir Geraskov

Lubomir Gueraskov
Full nameLubomir Gueraskov
Born (1968-12-27) 27 December 1968 (age 55)
Sofia, People's Republic of Bulgaria
HometownSofia
Gymnastics career
Country represented Bulgaria
Years on national teamBulgaria (9)
ClubLevski Sofia
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Pommel horse
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Rotterdam Pommel horse
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Rotterdam Floor exercise

Lubomir Geraskov (Bulgarian: Любомир Герасков, born 27 December 1968) is a Bulgarian gymnast and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul where he won Olympic gold on pommel horse.[1]

Early life

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Lyubomir Geraskov was born on 27 December 1968 in his hometown, near the outskirts of Bulgaria's capital and largest city, Sofia. Under the communist law, Lubomir was forced into strict schooling. This though, was where his gymnastics talent began to become very noticeable to many people.

As a result, he was taken into a Bulgarian Youth Sports School at a very young age. His high talent and great progress was, from then on, revealed to the rest of the nation. He became very well known for being one of the greatest gymnasts of his time. At such a young age, Lyubomir had won numerous regional and national titles to his name. He was mostly dominant on the Pommel Horse, which many would say, he could not be beaten at. During his teenage years, his hometown club, Levski Sofia, recruited him to their squad, helping them win numerous championships along the way. At the same time, Lubomir was taken into the Olympic national team where most of his talent and glory would come to be recognized worldwide.

Career

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Bulgaria in 1988, Geraskov to the left with teammates and captain Stoytcho Gotchev furthest to the right

World Championships and Olympic Success

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At only the age of 18, Lyubomir Geraskov would earn the bronze medal on both the pommel horse and floor exercise at the 1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam. His climax of glory came a year later when he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul Korea, scoring a perfect 10.00. He became the second man in Bulgarian history to win a gold medal in the sport of gymnastics along with being the youngest, at only age 19. To top off his gymnastic career, Lyubomir was inducted into the Bulgarian Sports Hall of Fame, becoming a very popular men's gymnastics figure in Bulgarian sports history.

[2] He received two bronze medals at the 1987 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam.

Honours

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Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
Olympics 1 0 0 1
World Cup 0 0 2 2
Balkan Cup 1 0 0 1
Bulgarian Cup 1 0 0 1
Total 3 0 2 5
  • Olympics
    • First Place (1) Pommel Horse: 1988
  • World Championships
    • Third Place (2) Floor, Pommel Horse: 1987
  • Balkan Cup
    • First Place (1): 1986
  • Bulgarian Cup
    • First Place (1): 1985

References

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  1. ^ online[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "1988 Summer Olympics – Seoul, South Korea – Gymnastics" Archived 2008-05-31 at the Wayback Machine databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on March 29, 2008)
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