Exhausted and deprived of faith by the long transition to democracy, Bulgaria today needs more than ever some bright personalities who could lead by their example and help this country move forward. Bulgarian gymnast Yordan Yovchev is a celebrated athlete who made a brilliant career and is now making great efforts aimed at restoring Bulgaria’s place in the world sports elite. Mr Yovchev views his job as a mission. Gymnastics did not start with Yordan Yovchev and would not finish with my retirement, says the renowned Bulgarian athlete who is a multiple world and European champion and also won medals at summer Olympic Games. He became the first man in the history of sports with 6 appearances at Summer Olympics. After the Olympics in Atlanta (USA) in 1996 he stayed for several years in this country, but continued to compete under the Bulgarian flag. Yovchev took part in gymnastics shows in USA which allowed him to stay in a perfect sports shape. That period was quite successful for Yordan, because he became a world champion twice in two different disciplines- on still rings and floor in Gent back in 2001 and later in Anaheim (USA) in 2003. His last Olympic appearance was at the 2012 London Olympics when he was 39. Yordan Yovchev told Radio Bulgaria how he remembered his last Olympic performance.

“All Olympic Games were unique and different. My last appearance at the London Olympics in 2012 was extremely difficult. This was so, because the pre-Olympic preparation did no go the way I wanted and was accompanied with a series of injuries and obstacles. However, my participation at the final at the still rings event was beyond my physical power and the support of the audience in the sports hall remained as a good memory and a satisfaction of what I had actually done.”

What is the most important medal in Yovchev’s sports career?

“In my view, the most significant moment of my sports career was back in 2001 when I became a double world champion in Gent, Belgium. This was my breakthrough. I did not have any significant sports achievement until that moment. No one expected from me to become a world champion on floor gymnastics and only one hour later - a world champion on still rings.”

What difficulties an athlete has to go through to build a long and successful career?

“There are always some difficulties in sports. The question is how badly you want to make your dream come true and how strong is your perseverance. One also needs a great deal of luck, in order to stay fit. Currently the professional sport is accompanied with various injuries. We did not practice in the best training conditions. However, we scored good results. It is very important to find the coach that you completely trust and build a team which believes in your own dreams.”

Despite his multiple sports achievements, Yordan Yovchev is an extremely ordinary man. That is why, the sports fans love and respect him a lot. I do not like to keep my chin up, because I know how bad it is to fall from the top. That is why it is better to be yourself”, Yordan Yovchev explained and went on:

“One should do good deeds without waiting for something in return”, Bulgaria’s top athlete says. “You must get the positive things from life and try to avoid the negative emotions.”

In 2013, Yordan Yovchev ended his remarkable sports career with a spectacular farewell show. He served as a President of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation for several years. Today he continues to help this federation. Bulgaria hosted successfully the European Gymnastics Championships in 2014 and is now getting ready for the 2015 Varna International Acro Cup. This competition will be held together with the Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup from May 4 until May 10 next year.

“We hope that many athletes will arrive for this sport event and the sports hall will be full and the audience will applaud the Bulgarian and the foreign sportsmen. This sports format is new and will be very interesting. Acrobatics has strong traditions in Bulgaria. We hope that our athletes will perform successfully. I also expect a very good Bulgarian performance at the gymnastics competition. It is high time we revealed our great potential in this sports discipline.”

English version Kostadin Atanasov