~ As the nine Bulgarian Olympic rowing medallists from Montreal 1976 gathered at the Nations Dinner in Plovdiv on Saturday evening, World Rowing and the Plovdiv Rowing Organizing Committee honoured the pioneers who transformed women's rowing—and announced that the next generation of the sport's stars will return to Bulgaria in 2027.
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 09.08.2026) :: Fifty years after Bulgarian women's rowing made Olympic history, the country is set to add another chapter to its rich rowing story.
At the Nations Dinner during the 2026 World Rowing Under 19 Championships, World Rowing announced that Plovdiv, Bulgaria, will host both the 2027 World Rowing Under 19 and Under 23 Championships. This brings the next generation of rowing talent back to one of the sport’s most well-known venues.
The announcement comes as World Rowing, Plovdiv Rowing OC and the Bulgarian Rowing Federation celebrate the women who changed Bulgarian rowing at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games. That year, women competed in Olympic rowing for the first time, and Bulgaria made its mark by winning two gold medals and one silver, establishing itself as a rising power in the sport.
One of those pioneers was Svetla Otsetova, who teamed up with Zdravka Yordanova in the women’s double sculls. They took an early lead in the first 1,000 metres, rowing into a headwind, and held off their competitors to become Olympic champions.
Minutes later, Stoyanka Gruycheva and Siyka Kelbecheva won Olympic gold in women's pair. Meanwhile, Ginka Gyurova, Lilyana Vaseva, Reni Yordanova, Maria Modeva and Kapka Panayotova earned silver medals in the coxed four.
But Svetla Otsetova and Zdravka Yordanova have gone down in history forever, because they won Bulgaria's first Olympic medal in rowing. A gold one!
Fifty years on, Otsetova’s rowing legacy goes far beyond the medals she earned on the water.
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