Valentin Dimitrov Yordanov ( bg, Валентин Димитров Йорданов; born January 26, 1960), also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

Jordanov, is a retired Bulgarian freestyle

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

who competed in the up to 52 kg

weight class Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Alte ...

. 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.

Early life

He was born in the Bulgarian village of Sandrovo in the

Ruse Municipality Ruse Municipality ( bg, Община Русе) is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Ruse Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located along the right bank of Danube river in the Danubian Plain. It is named after its administrative centre - the city ...

. 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 CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

sports club from 1978 to 1980, where he worked with Yancho Patrikov. He won his first European championship in 1980 in Bursa, Turkey, and his first world championship in 1983 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

. He continued to work at the CSKA sports club until 1990. He was one of two people to be named the

Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year ( bg, Спортист на годината на България, ''Sportist na godinata na Balgariya'') is an annual award given to the best Bulgarian sportsperson of the year. The winner is selected by author ...

in 1989.

Team Foxcatcher

In 1990, Yordanov emigrated to the United States, training and living at multi-millionaire

John du Pont John Eleuthère du Pont (November 22, 1938 – December 9, 2010) was an American convicted murderer and philanthropist. An heir to the du Pont family fortune, he was a published ornithologist, philatelist, conchologist, and sports enthusiast. Du ...

's Foxcatcher Farm in Pennsylvania while continuing to wrestle for Bulgaria. He won a bronze medal at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in the Freestyle Flyweight 52 kg event and a gold medal in the same event at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Post-retirement

He retired from wrestling after the 1996 Olympics. In 1997 he became a member of the Athletes' Commission of

FILA Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...

, and has been the President of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation since 1998. He has been a member of the board of the

Bulgarian Olympic Committee The Bulgarian Olympic Committee ( bg, Български олимпийски комитет, ''Balgarski olimpiyski komitet''; abbreviated as БОК, BOC) is a non-profit organization serving as the National Olympic Committee of Bulgaria and a pa ...

since 2000. He is married and has two children. In 2010, multimillionaire

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. Du Pont had been a ''Forbes'' 400 member worth an estimated US$200 million in 1986, about $ in current dollars. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld a Delaware County Orphans Court order dismissing a challenge to the will from du Pont's family. In 2013, Yordanov returned his 1996 Olympic gold medal in protest of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

's decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yordanov, Valentin Sportspeople from Ruse, Bulgaria Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Bulgarian male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of Bulgaria Olympic gold medalists for Bulgaria Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria Olympic medalists in wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists Bulgarian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Bulgarian people 21st-century Bulgarian people 1960 births Living people