Alexander Grigoryevich Masur

Alexander Grigorjewitsch Masur ( Russian Александр Григорьевич Мазур , scientific transliteration Aleksandr Grigor'evič Mazur ; born August 30 / September 20, 1913 in Popowka, today's Ukraine ; † December 16, 2005 ) was a Soviet wrestler .

Career

Alexander Masur initially worked as a circus performer as a teenager. He also got to know wrestling in the circus. After joining the Soviet Army, he was stationed in Moscow . His club was the army sports club CSKA Moscow . Soon Alexander, who wrestled exclusively in the Greco-Roman style, was one of the best Soviet heavyweight wrestlers. In the 1940s and 1950s he developed into a major competitor of the world's best heavyweight wrestler of those years Johannes Kotkas from Estonia , who started for this country since the occupation of his country by the Soviet Union in 1940. The duels between Kotkas and Masur were among the highlights of Soviet championships for over a decade. Internationally, however, Kotkas Masur was preferred. For this reason, Alexander Masur only came to participate in one world championship in 1955, when he was already 42 years old. It should also be taken into account that the Soviet Union only became a member of the International Wrestling Federation FILA in 1947 and has only been involved in international championships since 1952 (exception: European championship 1947). Nevertheless, he became world heavyweight champion in Karlsruhe and beat Bertil Antonsson from Sweden , who had dethroned Johannes Kotkas in Naples in 1953 .

Alexander Masur ended his international wrestling career in 1956 when he was unable to qualify for the 1956 Olympic Games in the Soviet Union. The officer of the Soviet Army was often seen as a referee at world and European championships until the mid-1960s.

International success

(WM = World Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, S = heavyweight, then over 87 kg body weight)

• 1953, 1st place , World Youth Festival in Bucharest , GR, S, ahead of Jaakko Virta , Finland and Atanassow, Bulgaria ;

• 1955, 1st place , World Championships in Karlsruhe , GR, S, with victories over Reinhold Walz , Saarland , Kolu Kolew , Bulgaria, Hamit Kaplan , Turkey , Antonios Georgoulis , Greece , Josef Růžička , Czechoslovakia and Bertil Antonsson , Sweden ;

Most important international battles

• 1950, Finland - USSR, victory over Pauli Riihimäki ,
• 1955, USSR - Sweden, point defeat against Bertil Antonsson

Soviet All Union Championships

(Only the champions of the Union states were allowed to start)

• 1943, 3rd place, GR, S, behind Johannes Kotkas and Konstantin Koberidse ,
• 1944, 3rd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and Arsen Mekokishvili ,
• 1945, 2nd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and in front of Mekokishvili

Soviet championships

• 1944, 1st place, GR, S,
• 1945, 1st place, GR, S, before Kotkas and Mekokishvili,
• 1948, 2nd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and in front of Mekokishvili,
• 1949, 1st place, GR, S, in front of Kotkas and Michail Strizhak ,
• 1950, 2nd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and in front of Anatoly Bezdolya ,
• 1951, 2nd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and in front of Karlis Brigmanis ,
• 1952, 2nd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and in front of Feliks Bondur ,
• 1953, 2nd place, GR, S, behind Kotkas and in front of Anatoli Parfenow ,
• 1954, 3rd place, GR, S, behind Parfenow and Kotkas

Web links

• Article on sovsport.ru (Russian)