Anatol Larukou

Anatol Larukou (2009)

Anatol Larukou , Belarusian Анатоль Уладзіміравіч Ларукоў , or Anatoly Vladimirovich Larjukow , Russian Анатолий Владимирович Ларюков , (* 28. October 1970 in Vladikavkaz ) is a former judoka , who competed in the lightweight. At the beginning of his career he started for the Soviet Union , then until the beginning of 1999 for Russia and from 1999 for Belarus . In 2000 he became the first judoka to win an Olympic medal for Belarus.

Athletic career

Laryukov was in 1990, starting for the Soviet Union, Junior European Champion. In 1996 he took third place with the Russian team at the European Team Championships. At the end of 1996 he won the Russian championship title in Perm. At the European Championships in 1997 in Ostend he reached the final, which he lost to Georgi Wasagaschwilli from Georgia . In 1998 he took third place with the Russian team at the World Team Championships. At the Russian championships he lost in 1997 and 1998 in the final against Vitaly Makarov .

In the summer of 1999 Larukou won the World Cup in his new hometown Minsk, where he competed for RTsFVS Minsk . At the 1999 World Championships , he finished seventh. At the 2000 Olympics , Larukou won his first three fights. In the semifinals he lost to the eventual Olympic champion Giuseppe Maddaloni , and he won the battle for bronze against the US judoka Jimmy Pedro .

At the European Championships in Marinor in 2002 he won the semi-finals against the Latvians Vsevolods Zeļonijs and the final against the Georgian Dawit Kewchishvili . The Belarusian team won the silver medal behind the Georgians in Maribor. 2003 Larukou lost at the European Championships in the quarter-finals against the Ukrainian Hennadij Bilodid , but then fought his way to the bronze medal. At the 2004 Olympic Games, Larukou was defeated by the eventual Olympic champion Lee Won-hee from South Korea and lost to Jimmy Pedro in the hope round.

After the end of his career, Larukou worked as a judo trainer.

Web links

• Anatol Larukou at JudoInside.com
• Anatol Larukou in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )