Bulgarian Woman Tied to Russian-Linked Espionage Network in Europe
An extensive investigation by the Austrian publication "Profil" has uncovered the involvement of another Bulgarian, residing in Vienna
The living legend of Bulgarian sport, male gymnast Yordan Yovchev, has performed in a great manner his rings combination at the 2012 London Olympics qualifier, making it to the finals.
The finals will be held on August 6 at 4 pm.
Yovchev, 39, is the first ever male gymnast to take part in six Olympic Games. He received a score of 15.308 points and ranked eighth in the qualifier, which is the last spot allowing competitors to advance. He beat Ukraine's Igor Radivilov, who is ninth, by just 0.08 points.
The Bulgarian gymnast, who is a four-times Olympic medalist, received ovations from the audience gathered at North Greenwich Arena Friday evening.
2008 Beijing Olympics champ, China's Yibing Chen won the qualification with 15.858 points, followed by Matteo Morandi from Italy with 15.766 points and Aleksandr Balandin from Russia with15.666 points.
Yovchev was born in 1973 in Plovdiv. He won silver in the men's rings at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. In the same Olympic Games, Yovchev won bronze in the men's floor exercise. In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, he won the bronze on both floor exercise and still rings. 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.
The phenomenal gymnast, who is also the President of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation, was chosen to bear the national flag during the Parade of the Athletes, part of the Games' opening ceremony on July 27 2012.
Bulgaria's athletes won a total of three medals – two silver and one bronze - in this year's Paralympic summer games in London.
Bulgarian Stela Eneva won a second silver medal in the London 2012 Paralympics in the women's shot put discipline (F57/58).
Bulgarian Radoslav Zlatanov won a gold medal at the long jump (F13) contest at the London 2012 Paralympics.
Star US swimmer Michael Phelps might have his 6 medals from the London 2012 Summer Olympics taken away for having participated in a commercial photo shoot.
The Bulgarian flag that was carried by star veteran gymnast Yordan Yovchev at the London Olympics opening is being auctioned off by the organizers of the games.
Stefka Kostadinova, President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee, BOC, assesses the performance of the Bulgarian athletes at the 2012 London Olympics as "very weak.
Bulgaria's Perperikon: A European Counterpart to Peru's Machu Picchu
Bulgarians Among EU's Least Frequent Vacationers, Struggling with Affordability