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An article with this title came out in September in the United States and it is entirely dedicated to the Velingradan Georgi Popov. The occasion for the article is the extraordinary achievement of the Bulgarian who managed to win second place in the toughest sports competition in the world - a triathlon called IRON MEN (iron men) held on September 18 in Ohio state. The route includes 4 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42 km of running. Born in 1984. in Velingrad Georgi Popov started to do swimming in the Belmeken PC under coaches Velko Kleshkov and Yordanka Penina. Later came his interest in triathlon, a sport that has no special traditions in our country, but is now with a very strong presence of Bulgaria after the series of strong performances of Georgi Popov. In the United States, our compatriot participates in competitions on behalf of Velingrad, making an advertisement of his hometown and promoting it everywhere.
The author of the article is the lawyer Jim Conchin, the man who is most associated with Georgi's successes, as the American is the main supporter and mentor of the Bulgarian. Georgi Popov has been living and working in the United States on a student program for some time. The article also noted one telling fact from the life of George, who worked as a lifeguard in Cleveland on the shore of Lake Erie. Georgi deserves admiration for the self-denying attempt to save a 13-year-old child whose leg was dragged by the propeller of a motor boat. For 20 minutes, George tries to bring the child back to life. Despite his commitments as a rescuer, the Bulgarian did not stop training and preparing for the heavy triathlon competitions. For this he is helped by the Bulgarians who are close to him in the United States. These are Stanimir Kachakov, Nikolay Todorov and Ivan Madolev, who were also competitors of PK Belmeken and with their support and advice help Georgi Popov.
For the outstanding form of the Bulgarian triathlete before the competition, IRON MEN are indicative of his victories in 6 consecutive starts between 11 July and 22 August. Invariably first place and improving on the best times on the trails in Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland. Thus comes the long-awaited start of the "iron men".
83 people started, but finished only 50, and Georgi Popov came in second. He emerged first from the waters of Lake Deer Creek by more than 4 minutes after swimming 4 km (2.4 miles). The stopwatch reads 56 minutes and 17 seconds. 180 km of cycling followed on steep farm roads around the lake and the race ended with the extremely difficult 42 km, which Georgi ran for a time of 3:24:25 hours. The achievement is of even greater value, given that Georgi relies solely on himself throughout the race. For comparison, around the other participants there are whole teams made up of doctor, coach, helpers, etc.
The author of the article John Conchin also points out that this achievement will be recorded in the spa history as an exceptional manifestation of the first Bulgarian who participated and completed the toughest kind of sports competition - Iron Men. It is important to note that absolutely everyone who finishes in such a race is given the title "Iron Man".
Georgi Stoyanov