Abdurrahim Kuzu

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Abdurrahim Kuzu (born September 20, 1955 in İzmit , Kocaeli , Turkey ) is a former American wrestler . He was runner- up in 1979 in the Greco-Roman style featherweight.

Career

Abdurrahim Kuzu started wrestling as a teenager in Turkey . In the 1970s he immigrated to the United States and became a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska . There he joined the Nebraska WC (Wrestling Club). He worked exclusively in the Greco-Roman style.

In 1978, Abdurrahim Kuzu became the first American featherweight champion, which was followed by the American championship in 1980, 1982 and 1984. In 1978 he represented the United States for the first time at a World Cup. In Mexico City he came in 7th place with victories over Doug Yeats , Canada and Harald Hervig, Norway and defeats against Thomas Passarelli , West Germany and Kazimierz Lipień from Poland .

He also took part in the 1979 World Cup in San Diego and celebrated his greatest sporting success there. He was runner- up in the featherweight division with four wins and one loss . His victory over the multiple Soviet world champion Farhat Mustafin was particularly remarkable . In the fight for the world title he was defeated in San Diego by the Hungarian István Tóth .

He was unable to participate in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow because the United States boycotted these games for political reasons and carried out this boycott on the back of its athletes. But he was back at the World Cup in Oslo in 1981 . Although he only came in 6th place there, he celebrated remarkable victories over Ion Păun from Romania and Ryszard Swierad from Poland.

After a moderate 10th place at the World Championships in Kiev in 1983 , he took part in 1984 in Los Angeles in the Olympic Games. He defeated in Los Angeles a. a. the later silver medalist Kent-Olle Johansson from Sweden and Bernd Gabriel from Germany , but suffered somewhat surprising defeats from Doug Yeats from Canada and Hugo Dietsche from Switzerland . These defeats threw him back to 4th place, which he just missed an Olympic medal.

After these Olympic Games, he ended his international wrestling career. He went to Germany and became a civilian employee in the US Air Force in the Palatinate . At the same time he wrestled for many years for VfK Schifferstadt in the German wrestling league. In 1986 and 1987 he was German vice-team champion with VfK Schifferstadt.

Then he went back to his original homeland Turkey and worked there as a wrestling trainer. Now (2009) he lives again in Midland (Texas) , and works there as a physical education teacher and wrestling trainer.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, Fe = featherweight, at that time up to 62 kg body weight)

  • 1980, 1st place , World Cup in Trelleborg , GR, Fe, ahead of Seiichi Osanai, Japan , Gennadi Skrjabin, USSR a. Pekka Niemi, Sweden;

American championships

Abdurrahim Kuzu was the American Featherweight, Greco-Roman Style Champion in 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1984.

swell

  • Trade journal Der Ringer , numbers: 9/78, 8/79, 10/80, 3/81, 9/81, 9/83 u. 9/84,
  • Website of the US Wrestling Association

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kuzu, Abdurrahim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH 20th September 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH İzmit , Kocaeli , Turkey