He claimed the gold medal in weightlifting at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 67.5 kg but was disqualified after he tested positive for furosemide, an IOC banned substance.

It became a scandal because earlier in the meet fellow Bulgarian weightlifter Mitko Grablev had also been disqualified, after claiming a gold medal in his division, when his drug test came back positive, also for furosemide.

[3][4][5][6] Of six athletes known to have lifted more than triple their bodyweight, Genchev's 202.5 kg world record was the heaviest ever performed in competition.

Genchev served some time in prison for shooting at a cab driver in Bulgaria in 2001.

[8] Genchev competed in the 2017 World Masters games in Auckland, New Zealand and won Gold in the M77kg division for the 50-54years age group.