Bulgaria’s new Parallel Slalom World Champion wants to inspire his younger sister and be like Djokovic

Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov stunned the snowboard alpine world in March when he outclassed his more experienced Parallel Slalom rivals in Engadin to become World Champion.

But the 20-year-old’s victory during the 2025 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in Switzerland is no surprise when considering the progress Zamfirov made during the 2024/25 World Cup season immediately preceding his first World Championships.

“The World Cup (season) helped me a lot in my preparation for the World Championships,” Zamfirov said.

Before Zamfirov’s victory in the men’s Parallel Slalom (PSL) final against 2024/25 Crystal Globe winner Arvid Auner (AUT) on 22 March, the Bulgarian’s best result in World Cup competition was fourth place in Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS).

In the event in which Zamfirov is now World Champion, the Bulgarian had never qualified for the round of 16 at World Cup level.

Among his age group, however, many signs pointed to Zamfirov’s upward trajectory.

Two weeks before the 2025 World Championships, Zamfirov took home three gold medals from the FIS Snowboard Junior World Championships: in PGS and PSL, and in the Parallel Slalom mixed team event with his 15-year-old sister Malena Zamfirova.

For 20-year-old Zamfirov, these victories – along with World Cup competition against the likes of 2025 overall men’s parallel Crystal Globe winner Maurizio Bormolini (ITA) and five-time Olympian Andreas Prommegger (AUT) – all contributed to his world title-winning form in Engadin.

Tervel said topping the men's PSL competition in Engadin – which followed his 12th place finish in the men’s Parallel Giant Slalom – was both an achievement and an important lesson.

“I've learned that anything is possible,” he said.

A day after claiming the men’s Parallel Slalom title, Tervel joined forces with Malena to contest the mixed team event where they qualified for the round of 16 to compete against Italian duo Maurizo Bormolini and Elisa Caffont.

While the Bulgarian siblings did not finish their round of 16 race and the Italians went on to win World Championships gold, Tervel and Malena did not walk away completely empty-handed.

“I learned to show my best every time, no matter if I'm about to make a mistake or not, just to send it full because when you’re at the World Championships, you don't have any other opportunity or any other chance,” Tervel said.

“So you have to give your best, and if you make a mistake, you make a mistake. If you don't, you don't.”

His 15-year-old younger sister agrees.

“I learned to lose but I also learned that racing is just to have fun,” Malena said.

“I didn't come here to win. I came just to have fun, to race, to give my best. And for the team event, working as a team with my brother.”

Like Tervel, Malena also left the FIS Junior World Championships with two individual podium finishes of her own as runner-up in the women’s PSL and PGS.

Leading up to her first senior World Championships in Engadin, Malena also bested women’s Parallel Giant Slalom legend and five-time Crystal Globe winner Ramona Theresia Hofmeister (GER) in the World Cup semifinals in Krynica, Poland on 2 March.

Malena’s semifinal success ended 29-year-old Hofmeister’s run for a sixth consecutive Globe, with the young Bulgarian ultimately claiming second place in the final behind Japan’s Tsubaki Miki, who walked away with the 2024/25 Globe insead of Hofmeister.

Even before the siblings claimed the junior Parallel Slalom team title, the pair had the advantage of a strong familial bond on which they developed their team dynamic.

Their father, Anatoliy, is the head coach of Bulgaria’s snowboard team and is credited with being a driving force behind the country’s snowboard development program.

Instead of sibling rivalry between Tervel and Malena, there is healthy competition and unconditional support.

“I think it's most important to trust in the other person and to trust yourself,” Malena said.

“If he makes a mistake, I can't be angry with him … just be accepting, we'll do this together.”

“And it works both ways,” Tervel said.

Tervel said training with his sister also pushes him to be a better athlete.

“For me it's really motivating, because I have to be on the highest level every day to be an inspiration and a role model for my sister.

“So for me, it helps a lot.”

Outside of snowboard alpine, the 20-year-old enjoys playing tennis and the way it helps him develop his mental resilience.

“Well, as you know, tennis is a really mental sport because the matches are really long, and it's constantly the highest pressure there,” Tervel said.

“So it really helps me to overcome my emotions in competition and to re-bounce from mistakes, or from a loss in a semifinal. It really helps me with the mentality.”

He is also a fan of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, whose 24 Grand Slam singles titles and resilience is a source of inspiration for Tervel.

“I admire his mental strength and the way he can bounce back.”

Malena doesn't need to look beyond Bulgaria for inspiration.

“I look up to my brother,” she said.