French
DeutschPetar Merkov
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's canoe sprint | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
 | 2000 Sydney | K-1 500 m |
| 2000 Sydney | K-1 1000 m |
| World Championships | ||
| 1999 Milan | K-1 500 m |
| 2002 Seville | K-1 500 m |
 | 2002 Seville | K-4 1000 m |
Petar Hristov Merkov (Bulgarian: Петър Христов Мерков, born 3 November 1976 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian sprint canoeist who competed in the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade). Competing in three Summer Olympics, he who won two silver medals at Sydney in 2000 (K-1 500 m, K-1 1000 m). Prior to those games, Merkov was subjected to controversy for failing a doping test in Bulgaria which led to over a dozen canoeing nations petitioning the International Canoe Federation for an investigation, only to have Bulgarian officials stonewall on his behalf to compete. He would later refuse to attend the post-race press conference of K-1 1000 m in the wake of those allegations.
Merkov was K-1 500 m European champion in 1999.
At the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Merkov won silver medals in the K-1 500 m event in 1999 and 2002. In 2002, he also won a bronze in K-4 1000 m.
Merkov is 188 cm (6'2") tall and weighs 95 kg (209 lbs). He is currently a member of the Levski Canoe/Kayak Club in Sofia.
References
[edit]- ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936–2007 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2010-01-05)
- ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships – Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936–2007 at WebCite (archived 2009-11-09)
- Sports-reference.com profile
- Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition, London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 470, 473.
  | This article about a Bulgarian Olympic medalist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a Bulgarian canoeist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |