Tania Dangalakova is a swimmer who has competed for Bulgaria. She competed at the 1980 and 1988 Summer Olympic Games. She was also selected to the Bulgarian team for Los Angeles 1984, but the Eastern Bloc boycott denied her the opportunity to participate.
After faring poorly at Moscow 1980 and missing the Games in 1984, Dangalakova returned to her second Games as a top medal favorite for the breaststroke double (100 and 200). She was expected to challenge Silke Hörner in the 200 metres breaststroke, but after seizing a solid lead through the initial length, she was conceded to Hörner for the gold. She could not recover her pace towards the final stretch, slipping off the podium to fourth behind her teammate Antoaneta Frenkeva. Two days later, she rebounded from her podium loss to snatch the 100 metres breaststroke title over Frenkeva and Hörner, breaking a new Olympic record of 1:07.95 and cracking the 1:08 barrier. She closed out her Olympic career as the first Bulgarian swimmer to win the gold medal.
She is married to Moscow 1980 swimmer Georgi Dangalakov and the mother of Athens 2004 swimmer Ana Dangalakova.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Women's 100m breaststroke | 12th |
| Women's 200m breaststroke | 13th | |
| Women's 4x100m medley relay | 8th | |
| 1988 | Women's 100m breaststroke | 
|
| Women's 200m breaststroke | 4th | |
| Women's 200m individual medley | DNS | |
| Women's 4x100m medley relay | 6th |
1980[]
| Discipline | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 100 metres breaststroke | Heats | 1:13.52 |
| Final | Did not advance | |
| 200 metres breaststroke | Heats | 2:39.11 |
| Final | Did not advance | |
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 4:23.69 (1:13.51 split) |
| Final | 4:22.38 (1:12.39 split) |
1988[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres breaststroke | Heats | 1:08.35 | OR |
| A Final | 1:07.95 | OR | |
| 200 metres breaststroke | Heats | 2:29.91 | |
| A Final | 2:28.43 | ||
| 200 metres individual medley | Heats | DNS | |
| Final | Did not advance | ||
| 4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 4:15.22 (1:09.31 split) |
|
| Final | 4:12.36 (1:07.95 split) |
||