Ustina’s Olympic Gold Thief: A Boy’s Tragic Story
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At a glance
- The athlete you're referring to is Nezhdet Zalev,a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler from the village of Ustina,near Plovdiv.
Here’s a summary of the text,answering your initial question:
The athlete you’re referring to is Nezhdet Zalev,a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler from the village of Ustina,near Plovdiv. He literally went from working in the fields to competing at the Olympic Games. He won what was initially declared an Olympic gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics in the 57kg freestyle category, and was celebrated as a champion for 24 hours before a protest from the USA led to the decision being overturned and the gold medal being awarded to John Terence McCann. Zalev was left with the silver medal. After the Olympics, he returned to working in the fields.