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Valentin Yordanov
Winning seven freestyle wrestling world titles and Olympic gold in 1996.
First world title · Olympic bronze
- Born
- 26 January 1960
- Birthplace
- Sandrovo, Bulgaria
More people
Valentin Yordanov
Valentin Yordanov is a Bulgarian former wrestler who specialised in the 52-kilogram freestyle division. His championship career extended across the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life
Village beginnings
Started wrestling at ten in Bulgaria.
Military sports training
Developed at CSKA Sofia while completing military service.
Career
- 1980s
World-level breakthrough
Established himself as a leading light-weight wrestler.
- 1990–1996
Training in America
Trained in the United States while continuing to represent Bulgaria.
- After 1996
Sports administration
Moved into wrestling leadership after retiring.
Achievements
First world title
Won the 52-kilogram freestyle championship.
Olympic bronze
Took a medal in Barcelona.
Olympic gold
Won in Atlanta after a career that included seven world titles.
Beyond sport
Family
Has two children.
Olympic protest
Returned his gold medal in 2013 to protest plans to remove wrestling from the Olympic programme.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Biography and achievements ↗Photo: Biser Todorov. CC BY 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
