Branislav Martinović

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Branislav "Branko" Martinović (born November 29, 1937 in Belgrade ; † February 26, 2015 ) was a Yugoslav wrestler . He was the winner of two Olympic medals at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics in Greco-Roman style in light and featherweight respectively.

Career

Branko Martinović, as he was called, started wrestling in his hometown of Belgrade when he was eleven in 1948 at the "Metalcu" sports club in Belgrade. He quickly developed into an excellent wrestler in Greco-Roman. Style and was then delegated to the Železničar wrestling club , where the best Yugoslav wrestlers were concentrated in the Greco-Roman style. In 1957 he was the first Yugoslav featherweight champion. His first use in an international championship took place at the 1958 World Championships in Budapest in lightweight. Martinović won two fights there and lost two fights and came in a good 6th place.

At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Martinović, starting in the lightweight, did an excellent job. He won three times, wrestled with the 1956 Olympic champion, the Swede Gustav Freij, and was only defeated by the experienced Soviet athlete Awtandil Koridse . The reward was the silver medal . In 1961 he reached the world championship in Yokohama in lightweight with three wins in 3rd place. He achieved a draw against the Hungarian Olympic featherweight champion Imre Polyák , but lost again to Awtandil Koridse.

In 1962 the international wrestling federation (FILA) changed the weight classification. Martinović, who previously started in the lightweight, which went up to a body weight of 67 kg, now had tough competition in his own country in Stevan Horvat in the lightweight, which now went up to 70 kg. Horvat had previously struggled with welterweight up to 73 kg body weight, but from 1962 trained on the new lightweight limit. Branko therefore had to train off in the featherweight class, which from 1962 went up to a body weight of 63 kg, in order to continue to compete in international championships. This required great hardship from him, who usually weighed around 70 kg.

The years 1962 and 1963 were therefore not particularly successful for Martinović. In 1964 he achieved another great success by winning the bronze medal in the featherweight division at the Olympic Games in Tokyo . The draw he reached against the Soviet world champion Roman Rurua was remarkable . He also fought a draw against Lothar Schneider, who started for the all-German team .

In the following years Martinović succeeded in the European Championships in Essen in 1966 again with the 3rd place a medal win in the lightweight. He was thereby u. a. defeated by Kâzım Ayvaz from Turkey and Klaus Pohl from the GDR .

In the further course of his career, which he continued until 1968, Martinović won no more medals at international championships.

After the end of his wrestling career, Branko Martinović worked successfully as a coach in the Yugoslav wrestling association.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, Fe = featherweight, up to 1961 up to 62 kg, from 1962 up to 63 kg body weight, Le = lightweight, up to 1961 up to 67 kg, from 1962 up to 70 kg body weight)

Yugoslav championships

Branko Martinović was Yugoslav champion in Greco-Roman in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964 and 1965. Feather or lightweight style.

swell

  • 1) Div. Issues of the specialist magazine "Athletik" from 1957 to 1968,
  • 2) Documentation of FILA International Wrestling Championships, 1976
  • 3) Yugoslav Olympic Committee website

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Preminuo Branko Martinović
personal data
SURNAME Martinović, Branislav
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Martinović, Branko
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Yugoslav wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Belgrade
DATE OF DEATH February 26, 2015