Jordan Bikow

Jordan Bikow ( Bulgarian Йордан Биков ; born October 17, 1950 in Pazardzhik ) is a former Bulgarian weightlifter . He was an Olympic middleweight champion in 1972.

Career

Jordan Bikow began lifting weights as a teenager in the late 1960s. After Ivan Abadschiew took over the post of head coach at the Bulgarian weightlifters at that time, an intensive talent search and talent promotion campaign was started in Bulgaria. Jordan Bikow was one of the young weightlifting talents discovered and promoted in this way. He found his economic base when he joined the Bulgarian People's Army at the age of eighteen, with the associated membership in the Central Sports Club of the Army.

He first appeared on the international lifting stage in 1969. He took 3rd place at the Danube Cup tournament in Bucharest in a lightweight with 390 kg (120-120-150) in the Olympic three-way fight. In the same year it was used at the World and European Championships in Warsaw , where it came in 12th and 9th place in lightweight. His performance was 382.5 kg (115-122.5-145).

In 1970 he started at the European Championships in Szombathely and came there in middleweight with 430 kg (137.5-127.5-165) behind Wiktor Kurenzow , USSR , 465 kg, György Szarvas , Hungary , 452.5 kg u. Smirnow, USSR, 445 kg on an excellent 4th place. He did almost as well at the World Championships of the same year in Columbus (Ohio) , because there he increased to 440 kg (140-130-170) in the Olympic three-way battle and reached 5th place. The winner was Viktor Kurenzow with 462.5 kg.

At the European Championships in Sofia in 1971 , of all places, Jordan Bikow suffered the first setback in his career, because he made three failed attempts while pressing and thus remained unplaced in the overall standings. He was well recovered at the World Championships in Lima in 1971 , because there he was able to increase his personal best in the Olympic three-way fight to 452.5 kg (140-132.5-180) and thus achieved 5th place again. In pushing he even became world champion with 180 kg .

In 1972 Jordan Bikow continued to improve. After he had increased his personal best to 462.5 kg (150-135-177.5) at the pre-Olympic tournament in Ulm and thus finished second behind the Russian Galkin, 465 kg, he won the 1972 European Championship in Constanța with 477.5 kg (155-137.5-185) the first title. He became European champion in front of ex-world champion Viktor Kurenzow , 472.5 kg and Anselmo Silvino from Italy , 460 kg. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich , he put the crown on his career, because he became Olympic champion with the new world record of 485 kg (160-140-185) in a three-way battle . He benefited somewhat from the fact that the reigning world champion and favorite Viktor Kanygin from the USSR had three failed attempts in the tear and thus fell out of the ranking.

Since Jordan Bikow was not even quite 22 years old when he won the Olympic Games, it was assumed in the weightlifting scene that he would dictate the middleweight division for a long time. But it turned out differently. He started in 1973 at the European Championships in Madrid , but was no longer in the shape of 1972. He scored 322.5 kg (142.5-180) in the duel, which was introduced in 1973 instead of the Olympic three-way fight, and had to be satisfied with the 2nd place behind his young compatriot Nedeltscho Kolew , 330 kg (145-185).

His last competition on the international weightlifting stage was participation in the SKDA Championship (Championship of the Armies of the Warsaw Pact States) in Trenčín . He scored 305 kg there in a duel and had to admit defeat to the Russian Galkin, 310 kg. The reason for his sudden end to his career is said to have been differences with head coach Ivan Abajev, who accused him of not training hard enough after winning the Olympic Games. However, after some time there was a reconciliation between Bikow and Abadschiew, which meant that Jordan Bikow was able to attend the sports college in Sofia and after graduating from the same became a weightlifting trainer.

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class
1969	3.	Danube Cup tournament in Bucharest	Light	with 390 kg (120-120-150) behind Fitzi Balas , Romania , 407.5 kg u. Janos Bagocs , Hungary , 390 kg
1969	12.	WM + EM (9th) in Warsaw	Light	with 382.5 kg (115-122.5-145); Winner: Waldemar Baszanowski , Poland , 445 kg ahead of Janos Bagocs, 430 kg
1970	5.	Intern. Tournament in Minsk	medium	with 415 kg (135-120-160), winner: J. Smirnow, USSR , 447.5 kg
1970	4th	EM in Szombathely	medium	with 430 kg (137.5-127.5-165), behind Wiktor Kurenzow , USSR, 465 kg, György Szarvas , Hungary, 452.5 kg a. J. Smirnov, 445 kg
1970	5.	World Cup in Columbus	medium	with 440 kg (140-130-170), behind Wiktor Kurenzow, 462.5 kg, Leif Jensen , Norway , 455 kg, György Szarvas, 445 kg a. Werner Dittrich , GDR , 442.5 kg
1971	unpl.	EM in Sofia	medium	after 3 unsuccessful attempts to press
1971	5.	World Cup in Lima	medium	with 452.5 kg; Winner: Wiktor Kanygin , USSR, 477.5 kg, ahead of Leif Jensen, 467.5 kg
1972	2.	Pre-Olympic tournament in Ulm	medium	with 462.5 kg (150-135-177.5), behind A. Galkin, USSR, 465 kg, in front of Werner Dittrich, 355 kg a. Uwe Kliche , FRG , 437.5 kg
1972	1.	EM in Constanța	medium	with 477.5 kg (155-137.5-185), before Wiktor Kurenzow , 472.5 kg a. Anselmo Silvino , Italy , 460 kg
1972	gold	OS in Munich	medium	with 485 kg (160-140-185), before Mohamed Tarabulsi , Lebanon , 472.5 kg (160-140-172.5) and Anselmo Silvono, 470 kg
1973	1.	Intern. Tournament in East Berlin	medium	with 310 kg, before Peter Wenzel , GDR, 302.5 kg
1973	1.	Intern. Tournament in Paris	medium	with 315 kg (140-175), before Fred Lowe , USA , 292.5 kg a. Aime Terme , France , 290 kg
1973	2.	EM in Madrid	medium	with 322.5 kg (142.5-180), behind Nedeltscho Kolew , Bulgaria, 330 kg (145-185), in front of W. Michailow, USSR, 320 kg
1973	2.	SKDA championship in Trenčín // Czechoslovakia	medium	with 305 kg, behind A. Galkin, 310 kg, in front of Ondrej Hekel , CSSR, 302.5 kg

WM + EM individual medals

• World Cup Gold Medals: 1971 / Push / Medium - 1972 / Push / Medium
• World Cup Bronze Medals: 1970 / Push / Medium - 1972 / Push / Medium
• EM gold medals: 1972 / push / medium
• EM silver medals: 1971 / pushing / medium - 1973 / pushing / medium
• European Championship bronze medals: 1970 / Poke / Medium - 1972 / Tear / Medium

World records

date	place	discipline	power
August 31, 1972	Munich	Olympic three-way battle	485 kg (160-140-185)

Explanations

• until 1972 all competitions in the Olympic three-way fight, consisting of pushing, tearing and pushing
• from 1973 all competitions in single combat, consisting of tearing and pushing
• OS = Olympic Games
• WM = World Championship
• EM = European Championship
• Lightweight, then up to 67.5 kg body weight
• Middle weight, then up to 75 kg body weight
• The results of the 1972 Olympic Games were also considered the results of the 1972 World Cup

literature

• Athletics magazine

Web links

• Jordan Bikow in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Profile of Jordan Bikow at the lift-up project at chidlovski.net (English)