Georgi Rajkov

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Georgi Petkow Rajkow , Bulgarian Георги Райков , (born October 18, 1953 in Sofia , † August 12, 2006 in Kopriwschtiza ) was a Bulgarian wrestler .

Career

Georgi Rajkow grew up in Sofia on and started in adolescence with the rings . He showed a lot of talent and even more strength and endurance and made the leap into the Bulgarian national team at the age of 19. At 1.78 meters tall, he soon weighed around 100 kilograms. He was an immensely powerful wrestler and preferred the Greco-Roman ring style. In the national team, his coach Petko Sirakow introduced him to the top of the world.

He made his debut at international championships at the European Championships in 1975 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein . With his powerful offensive actions and an almost impenetrable defense, he won the European championship light heavyweight title with five wins. Despite this victory, he did not come back to international use until 1977, as there was an extremely large range of excellent wrestlers in Bulgaria. For the 1976 Olympic Games, the Bulgarian coaches therefore still relied on Stojan Nikolow and Kamen Losanow Goranow .

From 1977 Georgi Rajkow was reinstated. That year he was first runner-up at the European Championships in Bursa . He started for the first time in the heavyweight class and was defeated in the final battle by the Soviet Olympic champion and multiple world champion Nikolai Balboschin . He also found his master in Balboschin at the World Championships in Gothenburg that same year . Since he also lost to Refik Memišević from Yugoslavia , only the third place remained for him.

In 1978 Georgi became vice European champion in Oslo and vice world champion in Mexico City , both times defeated by Nikolai Balboschin, against whom he still had no means.

1979 Georgi Rajkow was only used at the World Championships in San Diego and again he was defeated in the final against Nikolai Balboschin.

At the European Championships in Prievidza in 1980 , Nikolai Balboschin was not at the start. Georgi did not miss this chance and became European champion in a superior style. At the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow Balboschin was there again. This time, however, the Olympic champion was Georgi Rajkow. He owed this primarily to the Romanian Vasile Andrei , who defeated Balboschin in the second round, whereupon the latter gave up injured. In the third round Georgi won over Andrei and defeated Roman Bierła from Poland in the final . Georgi was lucky because the judges, after giving both wrestlers two warnings for passivity, gave Bierła the third warning shortly before the end of the fight and made Rajkow the winner.

After his Olympic victory, Georgi Rajkow resigned from active competition, attended a coaching academy and was then a coach in the Bulgarian Wrestling Association.

The results of the international championships and some other tournaments in which Georgi Rajkow participated can be seen in the following section.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, Hs = light heavyweight, S = heavyweight, back then up to 90 kg or 100 kg body weight)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rajkow, Georgi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Petkov, Georgi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bulgarian wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Sofia
DATE OF DEATH August 12, 2006
Place of death Koprivshtitsa