sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Valentin Dimitrov Yordanov (Bulgarian: Валентин Димитров Йорданов; born January 26, 1960), also transliterated Jordanov, is a retired Bulgarian freestyle wrestler who competed in the up to 52 kg weight class. He is an Olympic gold medalist, seven-time world champion, seven-time European champion, and the only wrestler to hold 10 medals (seven gold, two silver and one bronze) from world championships.[1]

Valentin Yordanov

Yordanov in 2018
Personal information
Nationality	Bulgaria
Born	(1960-01-26) January 26, 1960 (age 62) Sandrovo, Ruse Municipality, Bulgaria
Height	156 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Sport
Country	Bulgaria
Sport	Freestyle Wrestling
Weight class	52 kg
Medal record Men's Freestyle Wrestling Representing  Bulgaria Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 - 1 World Championships 7 2 1 European Championships 7 1 1 Total 15 3 3 Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta 52 kg 1992 Barcelona 52 kg World Championships 1983 Kiev 52 kg 1985 Budapest 52 kg 1987 Clermont-Ferrand 52 kg 1989 Martigny 52 kg 1993 Toronto 52 kg 1994 Istanbul 52 kg 1995 Atlanta 52 kg 1990 Tokyo 52 kg 1991 Varna 52 kg 1986 Budapest 52 kg European Championships 1989 Ankara 52 kg 1988 Manchester 52 kg 1987 Veliko Tyrnowo 52 kg 1986 Piraeus 52 kg 1985 Leipzig 52 kg 1983 Budapest 52 kg 1982 Varna 52 kg 1984 Joenkoeping 52 kg 1981 Lodz 52 kg

Early life

He was born in the Bulgarian village of Sandrovo in the Ruse Municipality. He began wrestling at the age of 10, and was coached by Georgi Achev from 1970 to 1978. He did his military service at the sports school of the CSKA Sofia sports club from 1978 to 1980, where he worked with Yancho Patrikov.[2] He won his first European championship in 1980 in Bursa, Turkey, and his first world championship in 1983 in Kiev.[1] He continued to work at the CSKA sports club until 1990.[2] He was one of two people to be named the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year in 1989.

Team Foxcatcher

In 1990, Yordanov emigrated to the United States, training and living at multi-millionaire John du Pont's Foxcatcher Farm in Pennsylvania while continuing to wrestle for Bulgaria.[2][3] He won a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the Freestyle Flyweight 52 kg event and a gold medal in the same event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[4]

Post-retirement

He retired from wrestling after the 1996 Olympics. In 1997 he became a member of the Athletes' Commission of FILA, and has been the President of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation since 1998.[5] He has been a member of the board of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee since 2000. He is married and has two children.[2]

In 2010, multimillionaire John du Pont died in prison serving his sentence for murder; du Pont's most recent will had bequeathed 80 percent of his estate to Yordanov, his wife, Zdravka Moneta Atanosova Dimitrov, and their relatives.[6] Du Pont had been a Forbes 400 member worth an estimated US$200 million in 1986, about $490 million in current dollars.[7] The Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld a Delaware County Orphans Court order dismissing a challenge to the will from du Pont's family.[8]

In 2013, Yordanov returned his 1996 Olympic gold medal in protest of the International Olympic Committee's decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics.[9]

References

External links

• Official website
• Valentin Jordanov at the International Wrestling Database
• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Valentin Yordanov". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.

На других языках

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- [en] Valentin Yordanov

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[fr] Valentin Yordanov

Valentin Yordanov est un lutteur bulgare spécialiste de la lutte libre né le 26 janvier 1960.

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[it] Valentin Jordanov

Valentin Jordanov Dimitrov (in bulgaro: Валентин Йорданов Димитров?; Sandrovo, 26 gennaio 1960) è un ex lottatore bulgaro, specializzato nella lotta libera.

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[ru] Йорданов, Валентин

Валентин Димитров Йорданов (болг. Валентин Димитров Йорданов); 29 января 1960 (1960-01-29), село Сандрово, Болгария — болгарский борец вольного стиля, чемпион и призёр Олимпийских игр, семикратный чемпион мира, семикратный чемпион Европы[1][2]. Единственный борец мужчина — обладатель 10 наград чемпионатов мира.[3]

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