Ivan Dinev ( bg, Иван Динев; born November 8, 1978) is a Bulgarian former competitive

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

. He is a three-time

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

medalist, an 11-time Bulgarian national champion, and competed at three Olympics.

Career

In the 1997–98 season, Dinev won two gold medals on the ISU Junior Series and qualified for the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

where he took the silver medal. He competed at his first Olympics in 1998, finishing 11th. At the 1999 World Championships, Dinev became the first Bulgarian skater to land a quadruple toe loop in competition. He won bronze at the 1999 Trophée Lalique, becoming the first skater from his country to medal at a Grand Prix event. At the 2000 Sparkassen Cup, Dinev's blade broke during a warmup before the free skate; he bought a replacement of a different brand and finished 5th. He went on to win bronze at two other GP events, the

2001 Cup of Russia The 2001 Cup of Russia was the fifth event of six in the 2001–02 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg on November 22–25. Medals were a ...

and

2001 NHK Trophy The 2001 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2001–02 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Aqua Dome Kumamoto in Kumamoto on November 29 – December 2. Medal ...

. Dinev trained in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgaria until the end of the 2001–02 season. He finished 13th at his second Olympics in 2002. Dinev then moved to

Lake Arrowhead, California Lake Arrowhead is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in the San Bernardino Mountains of San Bernardino County, California, surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, and surrounding the eponymous Lake Arrowhead ...

to work with

Rafael Arutyunyan Rafael Arutyunyan ( hy, Ռաֆայել Հարությունյան, ''Harutyunyan''; russian: Рафаэль Владимирович Арутюнян; born July 5, 1957) is an Armenian-American figure skating coach. He has coached in Armenia, Rus ...

. He missed his 2002 Grand Prix events due to a broken leg. From 2004 to 2005, he was coached by

Igor Pashkevich Igor Anatolyevich Pashkevich (russian: Игорь Анатольевич Пашкевич; 1 July 1971 – 26 March 2016) was a figure skating coach and competitor. He was the 1990 World Junior champion for the Soviet Union and the 1996 European ...

in Los Angeles and Sofia. In the 2005–06 season, Dinev was coached by

Angela Nikodinov Angela Nikodinov ( bg, Анжела Никодинов; born May 9, 1980), is a Bulgarian-American former figure skater. She was the 2000 Four Continents champion and won four medals on the Grand Prix series, including gold at the 2004 Skate Amer ...

. He competed at his third Olympics, finishing 17th, and retired from competition at the end of the season. Dinev and Nikodinov coach together in Harbor City, California. In spring 2016, they became the coaches of Kaitlyn Nguyen, who won the 2017 U.S. junior ladies' title.

Personal life

Dinev was born on November 8, 1978 in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. His son, Ivan Jr., from his first marriage was born in spring 2002. He is currently married to

, an American of Bulgarian descent. Their daughter was born in May 2012.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''GP:

; JGP: Junior Series (Junior Grand Prix)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinev, Ivan 1978 births Living people Bulgarian male single skaters Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Bulgaria Figure skaters from Sofia Bulgarian emigrants to the United States