Milen Dobrev

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Milen Dobrev
Personal information
NationalityBulgarian
Born(1980-02-22)February 22, 1980
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
DiedMarch 21, 2015(2015-03-21) (aged 35)
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight94 kg (207 lb)
Sport
CountryBulgaria
SportWeightlifting
Event–94 kg
ClubOlimp, Plovdiv
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Snatch: 187.5 kg (2004)
  • Clean & Jerk: 222.5 kg (2003)
  • Total: 407.5 kg (2004)
Medal record
Representing  Bulgaria
Men’s Weightlifting
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens –94 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Vancouver –94 kg
Silver medal – second place 2002 Warsaw –94 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Antalya –85 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Doha –94 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Loutraki –94 kg
Gold medal – first place 2004 Kyiv –94 kg
Silver medal – second place 2002 Antalya –94 kg
Goodwill Games
Gold medal – first place 2001 Brisbane –85 kg
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2000 Prague –85 kg
European Youth Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Burgas –70 kg

Milen Dobrev (Bulgarian: Милен Добрев, February 22, 1980 — March 21, 2015) was a Bulgarian weightlifter. He became Olympic champion in 2004 in the middle heavyweight class. That same year, he won the European Championship in Kyiv. Dobrev died of a heart attack in his home in Plovdiv in 2015. He is the first Bulgarian to win an Olympic title in weightlifting as a member of a team from Plovdiv (Maritsa-Olimp). After winning the 2001 Brisbane Goodwill Games in Australia, he established himself as the elite of weightlifters. His world title was from Vancouver, Canada, in 2003. He also became European champion in 2003 in Loutraki, Greece, and in 2004 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Dobrev started training weightlifting in 1991 under the coach Georgi Yotovski, when he was in sixth grade at the Vasil Levski Sports School and competed for the team of Maritsa. During his military service (1999 – 2000), he was part of the team of CSKA. After 2001 Dobrev transferred to the team of Maritsa-Olimp and started training under Krastyo Milev. He became part of the extended men’s national team on 11.02.2001 and made his debut at the European Men’s Championship in Trencin, Slovakia. In 2001 he also made a debut at the 2001 World Championship in Antalya, Turkey, winning his first bronze medal in the 85 kg category. In 2002 he won silver medal at the European Championship in Antalya, Turkey, in the 94 kg category. The same year, Dobrev also became second at the World Championship in Warsaw, Poland.

Milen Dobrev has been an honorary citizen of Plovdiv since 2004. On 20.04.2005 at a ceremony in the Greek Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, he was also named honorary citizen of Athens, Greece.[1][2][3]

Major Results[edit]

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Representing  Bulgaria
Olympic Games
2004 Greece Athens, Greece 94 kg 180.0 185.0 187.5 1 217.5 220.0 225.0 1 407.5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships
2006 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 94 kg 170 170 170
2005 Qatar Doha, Qatar 94 kg 176 176 180 4 210 215 218 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 398 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2003 Canada Vancouver, Canada 94 kg 180.0 185.0 187.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 220.0 220.0 222.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 405.0 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2002 Poland Warsaw, Poland 94 kg 175.0 175.0 177.5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 212.5 220.0 220.0 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 387.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2001 Turkey Antalya, Turkey 85 kg 165.0 170.0 175.0 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 195.0 207.5 212.5 4 382.5 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
European Championships
2004 Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine 94 kg 180.0 182.5 185.0 1st place, gold medalist(s) 215.0 217.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 402.5 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2003 Greece Loutraki, Greece 94 kg 175.0 180.0 182.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 215.0 217.5 222.5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 405.0 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2002 Turkey Antalya, Turkey 94 kg 175.0 180.0 182.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 210.0 215.0 217.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 397.5 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2001 Slovakia Trenčín, Slovakia 85 kg 162.5 167.5 170.0 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 200.0 202.5 202.5

References[edit]

  1. ^ Profile: "Milen Dobrev" Archived 2007-02-16 at the Wayback MachinedatabaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on December 31, 2007)
  2. ^ "Olympic Games Medallists – Weightlifting" – (Retrieved on December 31, 2007)
  3. ^ "Milen Dobrev: Olympic champion weightlifter dies, aged 35". BBC. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.

External links[edit]