







The Most Famous
Athletes from Bulgaria
Top 10 Bulgarian Athletes
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Bulgarians Athletes of all time. This list of famous Bulgarians Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Bulgarians Athletes.
- #1

Stefka Kostadinova
b. 1965
HPI 60.9050 langsBulgarian high jumper
- #2

Naim Süleymanoğlu
1967 - 2017
HPI 60.8137 langsTurkish weightlifter
- #3

Norair Nurikyan
1948 - 2025
HPI 60.8017 langsBulgarian weightlifter
- #4

Ivanka Khristova
1941 - 2022
HPI 59.4126 langsBulgarian shot putter
- #5

Mariya Petkova
b. 1950
HPI 56.2524 langsBulgarian discus thrower
- #6

Yordanka Donkova
b. 1961
HPI 55.5131 langsBulgarian hurdler
- #7

Diana Yorgova
b. 1942
HPI 55.2219 langsBulgarian long jumper
- #8

Tsvetanka Khristova
1962 - 2008
HPI 55.1724 langsBulgarian discus thrower
- #9

Yordanka Blagoeva
b. 1947
HPI 54.4323 langsBulgarian high jumper
- #10

Khristo Markov
b. 1965
HPI 51.8028 langsBulgarian triple jumper
People by Birth Decade
Browse notable Bulgarians Athletes grouped by birth decade. Each decade shows the top 10 by HPI; expand to see everyone.
1990s(15)
1980s(12)
1970s(19)
1960s(21)
1950s(8)
Overlapping Lives
Which Athletes were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Athletes since 1700.
















































