Bulgarian men’s double going to the Olympics

 Brothers Ivo and Martin Yanakiev of Bulgaria finished just 0.29 of a second out of qualifying and, when two Olympic spots became available from doubling-up, the Yanakiev’s were the obvious choice.

At the final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Poznan, Poland, a week ago, there were two qualifying positions available in the men’s double. China finished first with a time of 6:32.59. In second, Russia finished with a time of 6:36.10 to secure the remaining qualifying spot.

When one of the Olympic teams declared that they were racing with the same athletes in two boats, two qualifying places opened up. The International Rowing Federation, FISA, made the decision to choose the Bulgarian double on the grounds of their closeness in time to qualifying.

The Yanakiev brothers have been rowing together in the double since 2005. This follows Ivo’s success at the 2004 Olympics when he won bronze in the men’s single. The brothers tried to qualify in the double for the Olympics at last year’s World Rowing Championships, but illness prevented them from finishing racing.

This gives Bulgaria a second boat for the Beijing Olympics. Single sculler Rumyana Neykova has also qualified.