(Beijing June 1) World No.18 Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria earned an Olympic berth after winning the gold of the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 Marathon Swimming Olympic Qualification today.

"I trained hard in the past two years for the Olympic qualification, so there's no secret of victory. I just made good preparation and seized the opportunity," said Stoychev, who clinched the title with a time of 1:59:13.8.

"The wind affected the race, but it was fair that everybody competed under the same circumstances. I didn't have any special strategy. I just slowed down when it blew hard," he noted.

Stoychev also gave thumbs up to Beijing's Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. "I took part in the World Championships in Spain three weeks ago and the venue there can't match this one. The water here is very clean and I can find the direction. The organizers and the volunteers did a brilliant job. Thanks to the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee for providing us with such good facilities," he added.