Yordanka DONKOVA

Yordanka Donkova overcame the trauma of losing three fingers on her right hand in an accident as a five-year old, to rise to dominate the 100m Hurdles in the international arena for over a decade. While still a teenager, Donkova competed in her first Olympic Games at Moscow in 1980, where she was eliminated in the semi-finals. In 1981, she dipped under 13 seconds for the first time, albeit hand-timed, clocking 12.9sec at Sofia on 2 August. Yordanka made a massive breakthrough in 1982, lowering her personal best several times, culminating with the year's best time of 12.44sec at Sofia on 7 August. At the European Championships in September that year, she won the silver medal in the 100m hurdles behind Lucyna Kalek (Poland), and also anchored the Bulgarian 4 x 100m relay team to a fourth-place finish.

Donkova did not compete at the 1983 World Championships, and was denied the opportunity to compete at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games due to the boycott by the eastern bloc countries. Yordanka raced sparingly in 1985 due to a knee injury, but returned in 1986 in a most spectacular fashion, embarking on a world record-breaking spree. At a Grand Prix meet in Cologne on 17 August, Donkova broke the world record twice within an hour, setting a time of 12.35sec in her heat at 2.25pm, and lowering that to 12.29sec in the final at 3.09pm.

Yordanka continued this form at the European Championships in Stuttgart (see photo above) where, in the 100m Hurdles final on 29 August, she easily won the gold medal in 12.38sec, and then anchored Bulgaria to a silver medal in the 4 x 100m relay two days later. One week later, Donkova set her third world record within a month, when she clocked 12.26sec at Ljubljana on 7 September. (Ron Casey)

Yordanka Donkova took the 100m Hurdles event by storm during 1986, winning the gold medal at the European Championships and lowering the world record three times. Donkova continued that form into 1987, setting a time of 12.33sec, which only she had ever beaten, early in the season on 14 June. However, that remained her fastest time of the year, and although she recorded nine other times under 12.60sec she did not dominate the event as she had done in the previous year. Indeed, she lost her world record to compatriot Ginka Zagorcheva in August, and in a major upset, she only finished fourth at the World Championships in Rome behind Zagorcheva. Putting that disappointment behind her, Yordanka returned in 1988 to dominate the event even more than she had done during 1986.

Donkova was undefeated in the fifteen finals that she contested in 1988, and set the fastest nine times of the year. On 20 August, Donkova regained the world record, when she won at Stara Zagora in 12.21sec. Eight days later at the same venue, she clocked 12.24sec in her semi-final, the second-fastest time ever recorded, and then 12.27sec in the final the same day. At the Olympic Games in Seoul, Donkova was in a class of her own, winning her quarter-final in an Olympic record of 12.47sec, a time not bettered by an other hurdler in 1988, and then in the final, on 30 September, she won the gold medal (see photo above 30/09/88 © G.H.) in another new Olympic record of 12.38sec. Two days later, Donkova anchored the Bulgarian team to a fifth-place finish in the 4 x 100m relay final. As a measure of her dominance, it is interesting to note that up to the end of 1988, Donkova had recorded 13 of the top 16 times ever produced in the 100m Hurdles. (Ron Casey)

After Yordanka Donkova's triumphant victory in the 100m Hurdles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, and her total dominance of the event during that season, it was naturally assumed that she would continue this form in subsequent years. However, after winning the 60m Hurdles at the 1989 European Indoor Championships in 7.87sec, Donkova did not compete during the subsequent outdoor season, or during 1990 and 1991. Her absence from competition for three years has never been entirely explained, although she did give birth to her son in February 1991. Donkova made a cautious return to competition in 1992, only competing in three meetings, but one of these was the Olympic Games in Barcelona. In the preliminary rounds in Barcelona, held on 5 August, Donkova (see photo above by G. H. © 04/08/92) showed that she was still a force to be reckoned with, winning her heat in 12.96sec, and her quarter-final in 12.84sec.

In the final the following day, Donkova was never a serious threat to successfully defend her Olympic title, although she did capture the bronze medal in a time of 12.70sec. Donkova continued to race sparingly in 1993, not contesting the World Championships in Stuttgart, and finishing with a seasonal best of 12.81sec. Donkova's last year of serious competition was 1994, and it was also her best since 1988. She won a number of major meets, and recorded her seasonal best time of 12.56sec at the national championships in July. Yordanka had an upsetting experience at the European Championships in Helsinki on 9 August when, after failing to hear the recall gun following a false start in her semi-final, she ran the full 100m distance. Yordanka was given a few minutes grace to regain her composure, and eventually qualified for the final held later that day, in which she won the bronze medal. (Ron Casey)

WORLD RECORDS.

12.36 sec - August 13, 1986 (equalling the record of Grażyna Rabsztyn)
12.35 sec - August 17, 1986
12.29 sec - August 17, 1986
12 26 sec - September 7, 1986
12.21 sec - August 20, 1988 (This record lasted for three decades)