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The titled Ukrainian changed his citizenship in 2023 and won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics for Bulgaria
The famous athlete won the final bout
Bulgarian Semen Novikov won the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. The 26-year-old native of Kharkiv defeated Iranian Alireza Mohmadipiani 7-0 in the final of the Greco-Roman wrestling tournament in the weight category up to 87 kg.
Novikov is a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Championships, a two-time world champion among athletes under the age of 23, twice a silver medalist at the Ukrainian Championships, and a gold medalist at the 2020 European Championships. In 2023, Novikov changed his sports citizenship to Bulgarian.
"It was clear to me three months ago that Zhan Belenyuk and I would be in different grids. I imagined that it could happen and dreamed, probably... Was I upset that Jean lost in the semifinals? No, because my meeting was next after his, and I didn't have time to be upset. And after I got to the final, I was even more upset. This is an individual sport," Novikov commented on his performance.
Speaking about our country, Semen admitted that he still feels Ukrainian.
"I was born in Ukraine, I feel like a Ukrainian, and the fact that I changed my citizenship does not mean that I have stopped being a Ukrainian. My family lives in Ukraine, my friends are now defending Ukraine, and I help as much as I can. My relatives now live in a village near Kharkiv because it's not safe in the city. Why don't they leave? It's better for them there, it's their homeland and they're not of that age anymore," the wrestler said.
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