BRIEF-Wrestling-Bulgaria's first Olympic champion dies at 78

SOFIA, July 13 (Reuters) - Nikola Stanchev, Bulgaria's first Olympic champion, has died at the age of 78, the Bulgarian wrestling federation said on Monday.

Stanchev won the title in the freestyle wrestling in the 79 kilogram division at the 1956 Games in Melbourne.

Bulgarian wrestlers have won 16 Olympic titles since then, making wrestling the most successful sport in the Balkan country.

Stanchev also won 11 Bulgarian titles, eight in the freestyle and three in the Greco-Roman style.

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov, editing by Justin Palmer

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