Popangelow won the overall ranking of the Alpine Skiing Opportunities Cup in 1976/77 and was European Junior Champion in Slalom in 1976 and 1977 . In the following years he was the only Bulgarian to achieve top ranks in the World Cup , all of which he achieved in slalom without exception. In this discipline he was one of the world's best from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. In his career, Popangelow won a World Cup race, plus six second and four third places. The last time he was on the podium on March 6, 1984 with a second place behind the Austrian Robert Zoller in Vail . At the Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid in 1980 and four years later at the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo , he reached sixth place. After the 1986/87 season Popangelow ended his career.