 Yordanov in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Valentin Dimitrov Yordanov | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Bulgarian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1960-01-26)January 26, 1960 (age 65) Sandrovo,Ruse Municipality, Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 156 cm (5 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Freestyle Wrestling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | 52 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Valentin Dimitrov Yordanov (Bulgarian:Валентин Димитров Йорданов; born January 26, 1960), alsotransliteratedJordanov, is a retired Bulgarianfreestylewrestler who competed in the up to 52 kgweight 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 theWorld Wrestling Championships.[1]
He was born in the Bulgarian village of Sandrovo in theRuse 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 theCSKA Sofia sports club from 1978 to 1980, where he worked with Yancho Patrikov.[2]
He won his first European championship in 1980 inBursa, Turkey, and his first world championship in 1983 inKyiv.[1] He continued to work at the CSKA sports club until 1990.[2] He was one of two people to be named theBulgarian Sportsperson of the Year in 1989.
In 1990, Yordanov emigrated to the United States, training and living at multi-millionaireJohn du Pont'sFoxcatcher Farm in Pennsylvania while continuing to wrestle for Bulgaria.[2][3] He won a bronze medal at the1992 Barcelona Olympics in the Freestyle Flyweight 52 kg event and a gold medal in the same event at the1996 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]
He retired from wrestling after the 1996 Olympics. In 1997 he became a member of the Athletes' Commission ofFILA, and has been the President of the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation since 1998.[7] He has been a member of the board of theBulgarian Olympic Committee since 2000. He is married and has two children.[2]
In 2010, multimillionaireJohn 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 aForbes 400 member worth an estimated US$200 million in 1986, equivalent to $570 million in 2024.[9] TheSuperior 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 theInternational Olympic Committee's decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics.[11]
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