Yordan Yovchev

Yordan Yovchev Yovchev (Bulgarian: Йордан Йовчев Йовчев; born February 24, 1973), also spelled Jordan Jovtchev, is a retired Bulgarian gymnast. He took part in six consecutive Olympic Games, more than any other Bulgarian athlete in Olympic history. He is president of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation and also serves as a sports commentator.^[1]

Yordan Yovchev
Personal information
Alternative name(s)	Iordan Iovtchev Jordan Jovtchev
Country represented	Bulgaria
Born	(1973-02-24) 24 February 1973 (age 51) Plovdiv
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Medal record Representing  Bulgaria Olympic Games 2004 Athens Rings 2000 Sydney Floor exercise 2000 Sydney Rings 2004 Athens Floor exercise World Championships 2001 Ghent Floor 2001 Ghent Rings 2003 Anaheim Floor 2003 Anaheim Rings 1996 San Juan Rings 2002 Debrecen Floor 2002 Debrecen Rings 2006 Aarhus Rings 2009 London Rings 1995 Sabae Rings 1999 Tianjin All Around 2001 Ghent All Around 2007 Stuttgart Rings European Men's Championships 2002 Patras Rings 2002 Patras All Around 2002 Patras Floor 2004 Ljubljana Floor 2006 Volos Rings 2008 Lausanne Rings 2010 Birmingham Rings European Individual Championships 2007 Amsterdam Rings 2009 Milan Rings European Team Championships 1997 Paris Team Goodwill Games 2001 Brisbane Floor 2001 Brisbane Rings

Biography

Yovchev was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He won silver in the men's rings at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with a score of 9.850. In the same Olympic Games, Yovchev won bronze in the men's floor exercise with a score of 9.775. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, he won the bronze on both floor exercise and still rings with 9.787 and 9.762 respectively. He also won two World Championship Bronze medals in the all around (1999, 2001).

Yovchev made his fifth Olympic team for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and qualified again for the Rings exercise. He qualified second with a score of 16.275 under the new scoring system, but missed a handstand and finished the final in last place with a score of 15.525.

He has competed in many SASUKE tournaments, reaching the final stage in the 8th competition; he did not pass the spider climb in the first 15 seconds, so the walls spread apart and he fell. He is the only competitor to not pass the spider climb in this version of the final stage, other than Shingo Yamamoto who did not complete it due to injury, but his early failure could be attributed to the heavy rain during the entire competition. Since then he has not passed the third stage.

He, Krasimir Dunev, and Ivan Ivankov moved to the United States after the 1996 Summer Olympics, staying in Detroit, Michigan as they wanted to compete professionally in the United States. During his career, he turned down proposals to change his sporting allegiance and compete for the United States.^[2]

He coached and trained in Norman, Oklahoma, and Houston, Texas, before moving back to Bulgaria in 2007. He and his wife, Boriana, have a son, Yordan Jr.^[3]

In 2009, he was elected president of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation.^[4]

Yordan Yovchev qualified and participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was his 6th appearance at the Olympic Games, a record at that time for a gymnast, along with Oksana Chusovitina who also made her 6th Olympic appearance in 2012 (she now holds the record alone, having competed in her 8th Olympics in 2021). He was also his country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony. Yovchev officially retired from the sport in February 2013.^[5]

In 2016, he was inducted in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.^[6]

Results on SASUKE

• 8th competition (59): Failed Spider Climb - Final Stage
• 12th competition (99): Failed Cliff Hanger Kai - Third Stage
• 14th competition (91): Failed Cliff Hanger Kai - Third Stage
• 15th competition (97): Failed Warped Wall - First Stage
• 16th competition (95): Failed Cliff Hanger Kai - Third Stage
• 20th competition (1993)*: Failed Warped Wall - First Stage
• 23rd competition (79): Failed Rope Ladder - First Stage
• *In the 20th competition, the numbering system for the contestants ran from 1901–2000 to indicate that 2000 competitors have attempted SASUKE. Instead of being number 93, Yovchev's number was 1993.

References

1. "Йордан Йовчев сложи край на кариерата си". bTV Новините (in Bulgarian). 24 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
2. "Йордан Йовчев: oтказах на американците, за да има кой да ги приземява. "Щастлив съм от своята кариера, простих за Атина" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg (originally published in 24 chasa). 11 August 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
3. "Йордан Йовчев: Не успях да запаля сина ми по гимнастиката" [Yordan Yovchev: I failed to get my son interested in gymnastics]. Blitz (in Bulgarian). 27 January 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
4. "Jordan Jovtchev elected head of Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation". Gym Media. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
5. "Куп звезди изпращат Йовчев, бенефисът е на 23-ти февруари" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
6. "Yordan Yovchev to be inducted into International Gymnastics Hall of Fame". Radio Bulgaria. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2024.

External links

• Iordan Iovtchev at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Jordan Jovtchev at the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
• Jordan Jovtchev at Olympics.com
• Yordan Yovchev at Olympedia

Olympic Games
Preceded by Petar Stoychev	Flagbearer for  Bulgaria London 2012	Succeeded by Ivet Lalova-Collio