site.btaUPDATED Snowboardеr Tervel Zamfirov Achieves Career-best Result

Bulgarian Tervel Zamfirov recorded the best ranking in his career in the FIS Snowboard World Cup series here on Saturday. In the parallel giant slalom in Bansko, the 19-year-old Bulgarian placed fourth.

The other Bulgarian who reached the main part of the competition, Radoslav Yankov, placed fifth. Yankov was stopped in the quarter-finals by Zamfirov, with the battle between the two proving to be the most emotional moment of the day for the packed stands of the Alberto Tomba slope.

In the semi-finals Zamfirov was stopped by the three-time men's world champion Andreas Prommegger. The 44-year-old Austrian was only 0.13 seconds ahead of his Bulgarian rival. He later went on to secure the first place ahead of his fellow Austrian Benjamin Karl.

During his press conference after the success, Prommegger said that his victory in the semi-finals over the 19-year-old Zamfirov was very difficult and predicted a bright future for the Bulgarian talent. He added that he loves the Bansko area, that on Friday he climbed Todorka peak where he did a free ride. He defined the track this year as the best he has seen in Bansko so far. Prommegger paid more compliments to Zafirov and shared his expectation that it will be difficult to compete against him in the future.

In the battle for the third place Zamfirov lost to Gabriel Messner from Italy.

Zamfirov later told reporters that he rode at the limit of of his abilities to record the biggest success of his career. He added that he wanted to have fun and he achieved his goal, and for him, being among the top four is a huge success.

"Now I'm going to rest, prepare my board and, hopefully, tomorrow [Sunday] I can have fun again so I can be happy at the end. I hope tomorrow we will be five Bulgarians in the finals," he noted.

"I'm sorry I couldn't please the crowd with a podium, but for me personally it's a huge success. I really have great memories of this track. The fact that my family and friends were here today [Sunday] had a very positive influence on me. After every ride I got a big hug from the whole team. It gives you a very positive boost and you go for every ride more motivated. I think we're making a bid to have a very strong team," the young snowboarder concluded.