Bulgarian snowboarder Tervel Zamfirov became the world champion in the men's parallel slalom, BTA reported.
At the championship in Engadin, Switzerland, the 20-year-old Bulgarian triumphed after winning the final with a 0.40 second lead over Austrian Arvid Auner. Thus he became the first Bulgarian in snow winter sports to become a world champion.
In the round of 16, Zamfirov defeated German Ole-Mikel Prantl with a lead of only 0.09 seconds. The Bulgarian was nearly half a second behind Prantl at the first control, but managed to catch up in the lower part of the course and reach the victory.
No less dramatic was his success in the quarterfinals over another German - Stefan Baumeister. In it, the two rode side by side, but the Bulgarian managed to overtake the world vice-champion in the parallel giant slalom by 0.11 seconds.
In the semifinals, Zamfirov won against the Italian Aaron Mark by 0.13 seconds. As in the round of 16 with Prantl, here too the young man from Sofia had to catch up at the intermediate control, but again showed excellent speed at the end.
The remaining Bulgarian competitors who took part in today's parallel slalom failed to advance to the qualifications. In the women's world championship, Japan's Tsubaki Miki became the champion, defeating Czech Ester Ledecka in the final. The bronze medal went to Netherlands' Michelle Dekker.