Grigory Aleksandrovich Gamarnik (Russian: Григорий Александрович Гамарник; Ukrainian: Григорій Олександрович Гамарник, romanizedHryhorii Oleksandrovych Hamarnyk; April 22, 1929 – April 18, 2018) was a world champion wrestler and the first Greco-Roman wrestling world champion from Ukraine.[1][2]

Grigory Gamarnik
Григорий Гамарник
Born
Grigory Aleksandrovich Gamarnik

April 22, 1929
Zinovievsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
DiedApril 18, 2018(2018-04-18) (aged 88)
NationalityUkrainian
CitizenshipUSSR
OccupationWrestler
Known forWorld champion in 67 kg. Greco-Roman wrestling (1955)
Height5 ft 7 in (171 cm)
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Soviet Union
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1955 Karlsruhe Lightweight
Silver medal – second place 1958 Budapest Welterweight
USSR Championships
Gold medal – first place 1953
Gold medal – first place 1956
Gold medal – first place 1957
Gold medal – first place 1958
Grigory Gamarnik - Greco-Roman wrestling champion - April 24, 1955 Karlsruhe, Germany with his prize.
Grigory Gamarnik (in red) on the cover of the Ukrainian Sports Magazine (11/1958)
Grigory Gamarnik in later years

Biography

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Gamarnik was Jewish, and was born in Zinovievsk (today's Kropyvnytskyi), Ukraine, in the Soviet Union.[1][3] He was trained by USSR wrestling trainers German Sandler and Armenak Yaltyryan.

Wrestling career

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In 1948, he won second place in light middleweight class wrestling, at the All-Union Youth Contests in the USSR.[4]

Gamarnik was world lightweight (67 kg) Greco-Roman wrestling champion at the 1955 World Wrestling Championships in Karlsruhe, Germany, beating out silver medalist Kyösti Lehtonen of Finland and bronze medalist Gustav Freij of Sweden.[1][5][6][7] He came in second in the 1958 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in welterweight (73 kg) Greco-Roman wrestling, behind gold medalist Kazim Ayvaz of Turkey and ahead of bronze medalist Valeriu Bularca of Romania.[1][5][6][7]

He came in fifth in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, in men's welterweight Greco-Roman wrestling.[1][7] Gamarnik was also a USSR wrestling champion in 1953, and in 1956–58.[3][8]

Retirement

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After retiring from competitions, Gamarnik was the Ukrainian National Coach from 1970 to 1991. He also served as a President of Greco-Roman Federation, was a FILA International referee since 1979, officiated at the Moscow Olympic Games (1980), and was one of the organizers of the FILA World Cup in 1983 in Kiev, Ukraine. For his many years of commitment, Grigory Gamarnik was awarded the FILA Gold Star (1983) by then president Milan Ercegan.

Grigory Gamarnik was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Grigory Gamarnik". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Hryhoriy Hamarnik". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Uri Miller. "Jews in Sport in the USSR". Yivo Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  4. ^ V. S. Mert︠s︡alov (1958). Biographic directory of the USSR. Institut zur Erforschung der UdSSR. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Who's who in the USSR. Institut zur Erforschung der UdSSR. 1961. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Ralph Hickok (October 2, 2011). "Sports History – World Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c "Garmanik, Grigori". International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  8. ^ Herman Branover; Isaiah Berlin; Zeev Wagner (1998). The Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry: Biographies. Jason Aronson. ISBN 0-7657-9981-2. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  9. ^ "International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame". Jewishsport.net.
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