Garibaldo Nizzola

Garibaldo Nizzola (born December 3, 1927 in Genoa ; † December 26, 2012 ibid.) Was an Italian wrestler . In 1951 he was runner- up in the free style lightweight world champion

Career

"Baldo" Nizzola was the son of Marcello Nizzola , who won a silver medal in wrestling in Greco-Roman style in 1932. Baldo Nizzola also began wrestling as a teenager under the guidance of his father. In contrast to his father, however, he was active in free style. He was a member of the Genoa Athletics Club ( Club Atlético Genovese ). At a height of 1.65 meters, he mostly wrestled in the lightweight, the weight class that had its limit of 67 kg at the time. In 1947 he overcame a severe blow of fate when his father Marcello was murdered in Genoa.

From 1947 to 1964 Baldo Nizzola competed almost continuously in the Italian championships and always won the title whenever he competed.

Baldo Nizzola's international career began at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He started there in the free style in the lightweight. He won in London over Sulo Leppänen, Finland, Israel Sanches, Cuba, John Cools, Belgium and Kim Suk-Yong, South Korea, but lost in the decisive fights for the medals against Celal Atik from Turkey and Hermann Baumann from Switzerland. He finished 4th.

He also took 4th place at the European Championships in Istanbul in 1949. In the lightweight he lost there against Sayed Kandil from Egypt, then defeated Paavo Pihlajamäki from Finland and retired from Turkey after another defeat against Servet Meric .

In 1951 Baldo Nizzola was runner-up in the lightweight world champion in Helsinki. In Helsinki he defeated René Chesneau , France and Erik Östrand from Denmark, then lost to Wolfgang Ehrl from Germany on points, then defeated Sulo Leppänen and İbrahim Zengin from Turkey, but lost in the final against Olle Anderberg from Sweden.

Bad luck for Baldo Nizzola at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. He started there again in the lightweight and defeated Erik Östrand in his first fight. In his second fight he lost to Olle Anderberg and injured himself so badly that he could not continue the tournament. It therefore remained unplaced.

In the 1950s, world wrestling championships were held alternately in the individual styles (Greco-Roman style and free style) from year to year. Free-style world championships were not back in line until 1954. In preparation for these world championships, which took place in Tokyo, the Italian team met Italy in Rome in July 1954. Garibaldo Nizzola lost again in the lightweight against his antagonist Olle Anderberg on points. He was not at the start at the World Championships in Tokyo.

In 1956 the first World Cup took place in Istanbul. Baldo Nizzola started there in the lightweight and lost in his first fight against Georgi Zaitahew from Bulgaria. In the next fight he defeated Gerd Füglein from the Federal Republic of Germany, but lost to Alimbeg Bestajew from the Soviet Union and came in 6th place. The 1956 Olympic Games were held in Melbourne in December 1956. Baldo Nizzola represented the lightweight Italian colors there again. He won in Melbourne over L. Pandey from India, Roger Bielle from France and Adil Güngör from Turkey. Then he lost to Imam-Ali Habibi from Iran and was eliminated because he had achieved the permissible error score of 6. He came in 5th place.

Baldo Nizzola started in the welterweight division for the first time at the 1957 World Cup in Istanbul . He lost there against İsmail Ogan from Turkey, then fought against Hiroshi Kuroda from Japan and lost to Wachtang Balawadze from the Soviet Union. He reached the 6th place.

In 1958 another World Cup took place in Sofia. Baldo Nizzola wrestled again in the welterweight division. He even managed to beat the reigning world champion Wachtang Balawadze. In the decisive battles for the medals he then met the Iranian Jahanbacht Tofighe, against whom he had to give up injured. He could therefore no longer compete against the eventual winner İsmail Ogan. But he took an excellent 3rd place.

1960 Baldo Nizzola took part in Rome for the fourth time in the Olympic Games. He started there again in the lightweight. He started the tournament with victories over Amir Jan Khalunder, Afghanistan and Horst Bergmann from Germany, then fought against Hayrullah Sahin from Turkey and then defeated the Asian champion Kazuo Abe from Japan. Then he lost to Vladimir Sinjawski from the Soviet Union, which he eliminated and again remained without a medal. His 6th place was worth all honor.

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class	Results
1948	4th	OS in London	Light	after victories over Sulo Leppänen, Finland, Israel Sánchez, Cuba, John Cools, Belgium and Kim Suk-Yong, South Korea and defeats against Celal Atik , Turkey and Hermann Baumann, Switzerland
1949	4th	EM in Istanbul	Light	after losing to Sayed Kandil, Egypt, defeating Paavo Pihlajamäki, Finland and losing to Servet Meric, Turkey
1951	2.	Mediterranean Games in Alexandria	Light	behind Tevfik Yüce , Turkey, in front of N. Amin, Lebanon
1951	2.	World Cup in Helsinki	Light	after victories over René Chesneau, France and Erik Östrand, Denmark, a defeat against Wolfgang Ehrl , Germany, victories over Sulo Leppänen and İbrahim Zengin , Turkey and a defeat against Olle Anderberg , Sweden
1952	unpl.	OS in Helsinki	Light	after a win over Erik Östrand and a defeat by Olle Anderberg, then retired due to injury
1956	6th	World Cup in Istanbul	Light	after a defeat against Georgi Zaitehew, Bulgaria, a victory over Gerd Füglein, Germany and a defeat against Alimbeg Bestajew , USSR
1956	5.	OS in Melbourne	Light	after victories over L. Pandey, India, Roger Bielle, France and Adil Güngör, Turkey and a defeat against Imam-Ali Habibi , Iran
1957	6th	World Cup in Istanbul	Welter	after a loss to İsmail Ogan, Turkey, a draw against Hiroshi Kuroda, Japan and a loss to Vakhtang Balawadze, USSR
1958	3.	World Cup in Sofia	Welter	behind İsmail Ogan and Jahanbacht Tofighe, Iran, in front of Rolf Rook, GDR, Takeda, Japan and Miroslaw Zewczyk, Poland (in the preliminary fights Garibaldo Nizzola defeated the world champion Wachtang Balawadse)
1960	6th	OS in Rome	Light	after victories over Amir Jan Khalunder, Afghanistan and Horst Bergmann, Germany, a draw against Hayrullah Sahin, Turkey, a win over Kazuo Abe, Japan and a defeat against Wladimir Sinjawski , USSR

Explanations

• all free style fighting
• OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship
• Lightweight, back then up to 67 kg, welter weight up to 73 kg body weight

literature

• Athletics magazine
• Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships 1896 to 1976, 1976

Web links

• Garibaldo Nizzola in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Profile of Garibaldo Nizzola at the Institute for Applied Training Science
• Obituary for Garibaldo Nizzola