On September 28, 1961, our greatest athlete in short hurdles - Yordanka Donkova was born in Gorni Bogrov. She was the European champion from Stuttgart in 1986 and the Olympic champion from Seoul in 1988.
Her achievement from August 21, 1988 in Stara Zagora, when she stopped the clock at 12.21 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, remains in history. This world record stood for 28 years without being improved.
Donkova has improved the world record four times in her career, and still holds the European Championships record - 12.38 seconds.
In 1996, she ended her active sports career together with her mentor Georgi Dimitrov.
1986 was a golden year for her - then she was named Sportsman of the Year in Bulgaria, together with Asen Zlatev, and also won the BTA poll for Sportsman of the Balkans.
For her exceptional services to Bulgarian sports, on April 9, 2012, she was awarded the highest state award - the Order of the “Stara mountain“ I degree.