WHAT LEAD YOU TO YOU BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL SWIMMER?

“Except having talent, I remember sitting one day and watching a TV interview with the only Gold Olympic Medalist in swimming for Bulgaria. I must’ve been about 11 years old. She was talking about her journey, the ups and downs. The hard work and the feelings when she was winning or losing. That day I said: “I’ll be the next one!”. She inspired me to dream of becoming the best swimmer Bulgaria ever had!”

WHAT DOES SWIMMING MEAN TO YOU?

“Swimming for me is a way of life! It’s what I’ve been doing all my life and is what I do best… Because of the sport I grew up learning to be determined, never to take short cuts and to dream, because dreams DO come true when you put in the effort!”

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE?

“Currently I am a Double Olympian (London 2012 & Rio 2016). I am 5x Islamic Solidarity Gold Medalist from Baku 2017. European Championship Finalist, World Championship Semi-finalist. Turkish National Record Holder on all backstroke events and still holding all backstroke Bulgarian National Records. As well as Middlesex County and London Regional Record Holder.”

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRAINING TO REACH THE LEVEL YOU’RE AT NOW?

“Will be coming up to 20 years soon as I first entered the swimming pool. Professionally it will be 14 years in August.”

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT SWIMMING, TRAINING AND FITNESS IN GENERAL?

“Swimming is one of the hardest sports… not only because you’re alone… even though you swim with other people but because of the early mornings and long hours we have to train to just be able to shave off millionth of the second. No matter how hard my regime seems to be I simply love it! I love the fact that every session I’m able to push myself to the limits and beyond. I’m privileged to get to travel and see lots of different places and meet very interesting people along the way.”

HOW OFTEN DO YOU TRAIN?

“My season is 11 months long, in which I train everyday (7 days a week). Most of them twice a day. I have 10 swimming sessions per week and between 4 and 8 sessions in the gym (depending on the cycle of training).”

WHAT DOES A NORMAL DAILY WORKOUT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

“I get up at 4:30am to be ready at the pool for a 5:20am start. We swim until 7:30/8:30 (depends on the session) then I go to the gym for another one and a half hours of weights or a dry land session. I have 30 minutes of stretching and leave the pool no earlier than 10:30am. When I get home I have breakfast and go back to sleep for several hours. Second session starts at 5pm for land training for 6pm water, that’s until 8pm. Then is home time, dinner and bed! I repeat this on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays, Fridays , Saturdays and Sundays I only do the morning or evening part.”

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF TRAINING AND WHY?

“My favorite part of training is when I don’t feel particularly rested and ready to go but I overcome those feelings and I end up having a great session. For me, that means I’ve pushed myself, even though my mind and body weren’t ready and that’s the difference between being an average athlete and being great!”

WHAT DOES YOUR DIET LOOK LIKE DURING NORMAL TRAINING AND IN THE RUN UP TO A COMPETITION?

“As a swimmer I’m quite lucky to be able to eat pretty much anything I want, but I do be careful of course. During the start of the season, which is September I tend to eat more carbs because sessions are long and very aerobic based that’s why I need to load my body and prepare it for the season ahead. When I get closer to meets or the middle of my season I tend to eat more protein.”

WHAT GOALS HAVE YOU SET FOR THE FUTURE AND HOW DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE THEM?

“My main goal is to swim in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, until then I have many other important competitions that my coach and I are targeting. Swimming is not like many other sports, some months we have competitions almost every weekend. So keep improving my times and my world ranking until 2020 will be the best way of achieving my main goal.”

WHAT INSPIRES YOU? WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO WORKOUT/TRAIN AND IMPROVE EVERY DAY?

“To answer this question I usually use one simple example : success is like a drug, when you experience it once you never want to let it go. That is what gets me going. That’s what keeps me awake when the alarm rings at 4:30am and outside is a dark and cold winter morning!”

WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER 1 FITNESS TIP?

“For me the most important tip is : STRETCHING! No matter how hard you work in or out of the gym, you always have to find time to stretch after every session! If not, all the work you’ve put in might get wasted one day when suddenly you get injured.”

WHAT FACT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU? (CAN BE ANYTHING, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE TRAINING RELATED)

“As I mentioned before I am born in Bulgaria, in 2013 I changed my country of representation to Turkey. So my first Olympic Game was for Bulgaria and my second for Turkey.”

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A BLACKWOLF ATHLETE?

“I came across Blackwolf products and they were everything I’ve been looking for in only 3 simple formulas. To be able to consume all vitamins, protein and other substances usually I have to take more than 15 tablets and drink about 3 liters of liquids, but with Blackwolf I get everything in one!”

HOW DOES BLACKWOLF HELP YOU TAKE YOUR WORKOUTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND HOW DO YOU THINK IT WILL HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS?

“Blackwolf formula is unique and gives me everything I need from pre workout boost before morning session to keeping me going throughout the long hours and of course fully recover after each session. Being able to fully recharge day in and day out is one of advantages I get from Blackwolf. Keeping my body healthy and fit will always help me to improve and get me one step closer to achieving my goals.”

WHICH BLACKWOLF PRODUCT IS YOUR FAVOURITE AND WHY?

“My favorite product is Trail, the Pre-Workout drink. Gives me the boost I need to start my day fresh!”