Sad news for Bulgarian sports days before Christmas!
At the age of 83, one of the greatest Bulgarian athletes - the two-time Olympic champion in wrestling Boyan Radev - passed away.
The news was announced by journalist Ivo Dimitrov on social networks.
"Farewell, teacher! You cannot be forgotten, because there are eternal things that cannot be erased by time. Thank you for opening the doors to the beauty of art for me and extending a hand to me many years ago. I will always keep you in my heart, Boyan!", he wrote.
Boyan Radev was born on February 25, 1942 in the village of Mosino (today the Mosino district of Pernik). A classical wrestler, competing for “Spartak“-Sofia. Two-time Olympic champion.
In addition to being a wrestler, Boyan Radev is also known as a prominent collector. After ending his career, he became the greatest patron of art in Bulgaria. According to experts, his remarkable collection of works by the greatest Bulgarian artists is unparalleled.
He was declared the No. 1 donor of the National History Museum. In the museum, there is a hall named after him “Boyan Radev Donation“. The exhibition displays valuable monuments from his collection, over 170 exhibits – icons, church utensils, wood carvings, stone sculptures, including three marble Roman portraits from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, executed by an unknown gifted sculptor.
Among the votive reliefs, the dedicatory monuments of Artemis, represented in archaic iconography as the protector of nature and life, predominate.
Radev donated all his awards and distinctions from the struggle to the National Museum.