Sovetsky Sport. June 22, 1979. The first photograph: Vilnius, 1977 European Championships - gold medal on the horizontal bar. Second photograph: Strasbourg, 1978 World Championships - bronze medal on the same apparatus. Finally: Essen, 1979 European Championships - Delchev. On the chest of the 19-year-old champion is the more honorable award - a gold meadl. I remember his interview after Strasbourg, in which there was one significant phrase, or rather exclamation: "My competition with the big gymnasts is just beginning!"
Delchev is the same in all three pictures - serious and thoughtful. He is the same in life. Concentrated, deep in himself. To really get Stoyan to talk, a journalist has to sweat a lot. That's how he sat in front of me, with an open notebook full of questions, but not knowing how to approach the best gymnast in Europe.
Next to him is his coach, Nikola Nikolov, who is the exact opposite. He's cheerful and talkative. And he does not hide his great joy for his student. It was he, Nikolov who, when asked by journalists in Essen why he wasn't standing nearby when Delchev was doing his routine, simply answered: "The picture of his performance should be clear and crisp without my presence. He is either ready or not ready for such a big competition."
I felt that Delchev was already tired of the same questions from journalists. And suddenly I saw a beautiful blue tie with the Moscow-80 emblem on Stoyan. Catching my glance, Delchev smiled.
"I never give up on the Moscow Olympics. To perform at the Summer games in the Soviet capital is my cherished dream, as well as that of any athlete. But in order to qualify for the 1980 Olympics, the Bulgarian gymnasts must solve a difficult problem. At the World Championships in Dallas (USA) in December of this eyar, you have to be among the 12 best teams to receive a visa to Moscow from the FIG. And it's not just me who will have to compete. Our team's opponents are very serious - gymnasts from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Canada, and France."
Q: Well, how do you plan to perform in Moscow?
Stoyan fell silent after this question. Nikolov answered for him.
A: Frankly, we are aiming for one of the medals.
Q: How did your path to this cherished goal begin? How did Delchev become a gymnast?
A: I strated doing sports in Plovdiv in second grade.One day Nikola Angelov came to us, who selected several guys for the gymnastics section, including me (later he became my first coach). That's how my path to gymnastics began. And, I must admit, I never expected it to be so difficult. Gymnastics delighted me with its beauty, and even more so with the fact that the athletes here must rely notonly on his own strength as, incidentelly, in other individual sports.
But before continuing my conversation with Delchev, I will go back a little, to those three photographs. At the European Championships in Vilnius, Delchev's performance caused a fair dose of amazement. The routine on the horizontal bar was astounding and the "Delchev element" entered the gymnasts' repertoire. Strasbourg. The young Bulgarian gymnast was no longer a "green newcomer." Leading experts, without specifying, however, the time frame for the manifestation of his talent, predicted a great future for him, but still gave their attention to the stars: Andrianov, Gienger, and others. Meanwhile, Delchev showed his character by finishing eighth place in the all-around, after qualifying in eighteenth place.
And, finally, there was Essen. From this competition, Stoyan returned to his homeland with two gold, two silver, and one bronze medal. He captivated the audience not just with super-difficult elements - each routine was a complete image and in each one the creative hand of "producer/director" Nikolov was felt. By the way, Delchev turned out to be the only gymnast to qualify for all six apparatus finals.
Q: Well, how is life as a champion?
A: I won't hide that I'm very happy, and first of all because the enormous painstaking work was rewarded. I am happy that I was able to justify the trust placed in me.
Q: What is more difficult, the optional or compulsory program?
A: It is known that many gymnasts do not like the compulsory program. I treat it with equal respect and devote the same amount of time and effort to is as I do to the optional program. I believe that to be a world-class gymnast, it's necessary to perform strongly in both the compulsory and optional programs. My goal is to master all aspects of the all-around, because a gymnast with a capital "G" has no right to weakness. An athlete who relies on not more than one apparatus can sooner or later fall on it and then immediately lose everything.
Q: What do you imagine the ideal gymnast to be?
A: The standard for me is the Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin. I like his elegance and constant striving for perfection. In addition, he is an exceptionally modest athlete. I also like Andrianov, Markelov, and the young Makuts. Many Soviet athletes are my friends, and I want to be like each of them in some way.
Q: But it's a whole school, isn't it?
A: Figuratively speaking, I also came out of it. I studied Soviet gymnastics. Soviet specialists are still helping us to improve our skills Your school is of the highest quality.
Q: What do you value most in a gymnast?
A: Hard work and modesty. I respect goal-oriented and strong-willed people.
Q: You already have "personal" original elements that have entered the annals of world gymnastics. How are they created?
A: In different ways, but mainly because gymnastics, like any other sport, cannot stand still. The first original element on the horizontal bar was created by coach Milen Milenkov. The second one was born during training and, as you understand, I took an active part in it.
Q: How do you see the future of gymnastics? In particular, your favorite apparatus - the horizontal bar?
A: Of course, the difficulty of the elements and composition will grow, but with the compulsory combination of elegance and purity of execution. There may come a time when you may have to think about improving the apparatus itself, including the high bar.
Q: Delchev is alone in Bulgaria. Are there those behindhim who are capable of taking up the baton of sucesses of Bulgarian gymnastics?
A: We have quite a few talented guys. I would name Dantcho Iordanov, Toncho Todorov, Plamen Petkov, and Valentin Kolev.
Q: And the last question: who will Delchev be in, say, ten years?
A: I am devoted to gymnastics for life. I have already entered the Higher Institute of Physical Culture. I want to become a teacher.
V. VESKROMNY (TASS Correspondent)