Vessela Letcheva, President of the Bulgarian Shooting Union and member of the IOC Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Commission, arrived in Paris for the opening of the XXXII Summer Olympic Games.
For the first time in history, the ceremony, which brings together heads of state, sports leaders and Olympians, will not be in a stadium but along the River Seine and will end in the French capital’s iconic Place du Trocadero.
After Paris, Letcheva will travel to the city of Châteauroux. The shooting competitions will take place at the National Shooting Centre in the centre of mainland France and more than 230 kilometres from the capital. The first medal of the Olympic Games is awarded in shooting.
“Our athletes are detached from the big euphoria, which is probably a good thing. There is nothing more to be done in terms of their preparation in the literally hours left, so I can only wish them luck,” said Vessela Letcheva.
The Paris 2024 Olympic competition will see 340 shooters competing and distributing medals in 15 disciplines from 27 July to 5 August. Bulgaria is represented by Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Antoaneta Kostadinova, who is one of the most experienced athletes in our entire Olympic delegation, and Kiril Kirov.
For Vessela Letcheva this is her sixth Games, in four of which she competed and won two silver medals – Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.
“Although I have so many Olympic Games behind me, this will be the first opening I will attend because my schedule has never allowed it before. So I’m excited about the upcoming show,” Letcheva added.
