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Valentin Yordanov - Wikipedia

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Valentin Yordanov

Yordanov in 2018

Personal information

Full name

Valentin Dimitrov Yordanov

Nationality

Bulgarian

Born

January 26, 1960 (age 64)
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

52 kg

52 kg

1987 Clermont-Ferrand

52 kg

52 kg

52 kg

52 kg

52 kg

52 kg

52 kg

52 kg

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

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 the World Wrestling Championships.^[1]

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 Kyiv.^[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] Following his death in 2010, John du Pont's will bequeathed 80 percent of his estate to Yordanov and his relatives.^[5]^[6]

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.^[7] 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 while serving his sentence for murder. du Pont's most recent will bequeathed 80 percent of his estate to Yordanov, his wife, Zdravka Moneta Atanosova Dimitrov, and their relatives.^[8] Du Pont had been a Forbes 400 member worth an estimated US$200 million in 1986, equivalent to $560 million in 2023.^[9] The Superior Court of Pennsylvania upheld a Delaware County Orphans Court order dismissing a challenge to the will from du Pont's family.^[10]

In 2013, Yordanov returned his 1996 Olympic gold medal in protest of the International Olympic Committee's decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b "Valentin Jordanov". Catalog for Bulgarian sport. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Biography". Valentin Yordanov's Official Web Page. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Знаменити борци, възпитаници на НСА [Famous Wrestlers from the National Sports Academy] (in Bulgarian). National Sports Academy "Vasil Levski". Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^ "Valentin Jordanov". databaseOlympics. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
^ "Valentin Yordanov DIMITROV".
^ "Bulgarian Wrestler Inherits Du Pont Estate, Relatives Cry Foul".
^ "Jordan reelected". kanal3.bg. Kanal 3 BG. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
^ "Du Pont Relatives Contest Validity of Late Killer's Will" Archived March 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Alex Rose, Delaware County Daily Times, June 15, 2011. Retrieved 2018.
^ "Death In Prison For Ex-Forbes 400 Member". Forbes. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on March 13, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^ "Superior Court: Du Pont relatives have no standing to contest will". Main Line Media News. December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
^ Chase, Chris (February 20, 2013). "Bulgarian wrestler gives up gold in protest of Olympic decision". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.

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.