Gheorghe Popovici

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Gheorghe Popovici (born May 3, 1935 in Chișinău , today Moldova ) is a former Romanian wrestler . He was a medalist at world and European championships.

Career

Gheorghe Popovici came to Romania at the end of the Second World War and grew up near Lugoj . He started wrestling as a teenager. His first club was SC Vulturii Lugoj . He later moved to CFR Timișoara and ended his career at Dinamo Bucharest . He joined the police and, after the first major successes at national level, had all the freedom to train there. During his career he had several coaches. These were Francisc Cocos, A. Finkelstein, I. Horvath and others. V. Bati. He wrestled almost exclusively in the Greco-Roman style.

As early as 1951, Gheorghe Popovici was used as a 16-year-old in Bucharest in an international match between the Romanian national team against the GDR and won the welterweight division against Huth on points.

In 1953 he took 3rd place at the World Youth Festival in Bucharest in free style in the middleweight division behind György Gurics from Hungary and Olympic champion Dawit Tschimakuridze from the Soviet Union . He achieved the same result at the 1957 World Youth Festival in Moscow in Greco-Roman. Light heavyweight style behind Rostom Abashidze , Soviet Union and Krali Bimbalow , Bulgaria .

In 1958 it was used for the first time at an international championship, the World Championship in Budapest . He took an excellent 4th place in the light heavyweight division (Greco-Roman style). At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome , he first scored two wins, but then surprisingly lost to Frenchman Maurice Jaquel . After another defeat against Giwi Kartosia from the Soviet Union, he had to retire and ended up in 7th place.

At the 1961 World Cup in Yokohama , Gheorghe Popovici won the light heavyweight division, Greco-Roman. Style, then his first medal. He finished 3rd after a notable draw against Turkey's Tevfik Kış . At the 1962 World Championships in Toledo (Ohio) he came in the middleweight division in 6th place and at the 1963 World Championships in Helsingborg he just missed a medal with 4th place.

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 , Gheorghe Popovici won the middleweight division over the American Wayne Baugham and drew against the Soviet athlete Walentin Olenik . After a point defeat against Lothar Metz from Rostock , who started for the all-German Olympic team, he was eliminated and only finished in 10th place.

At the end of his career he won again a bronze medal at the European Middleweight Championships in Minsk in 1967 and reached a good 5th place at the World Championships in Bucharest . He remained undefeated in four fights. He won it over Kenjirō Hiraki , Japan and Olsson, Sweden and wrestled against Walentin Olenik and Lothar Metz, but retired after the 4th round because he had scored 6 missing points.

In 1966 Gheorghe Popovici graduated from the state sports college ANEFS in Bucharest. He then worked as a wrestler trainer in various stations.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, F = free style, Wed = middle weight (up to 1961 up to 79 kg, from 1961 up to 87 kg body weight), Hs = light heavyweight, (until 1961 up to 87 kg, from 1962 up to 97 kg body weight))

  • 1960, 7th place , OS in Rome , GR, Hs, with victories over Shunta Ishikura, Japan a. Eugen Wiesberger, Austria a . Defeats against Maurice Jaquel u. Giwi Kartosia , Soviet Union;
  • 1962, 1st place , "Iwan-Poddubny" tournament in Moscow , GR, Wed, in front of Kirov, Soviet Union a. Branislav Simić , Yugoslavia;
  • 1962, 6th place , World Cup in Toledo (Ohio) , GR, Wed, with a win over Yacoub Abousalloum, Lebanon , a draw against Tevfik Kış u. a loss to Krali Bimbalow;
  • 1963, 4th place , World Championships in Helsingborg , GR, Wed, with victories over Maurice Jaquel u. Siegfried Neufang, GDR a. Defeats against Wlodzimierz Smolinski, Poland a. Tevfik Kis;
  • 1965, 14th place , World Championship in Tampere , GR, Wed, after defeats against Tevfik Kış u. Petar Krumow , Bulgaria;
  • 1967, 1st place , tournament in Bucharest, GR, Wed, in front of Ilflar Gararow, Soviet Union, Sven Allan Olsson, Sweden a. Nicolae Neguț , Romania;
  • 1967, 3rd place , EM in Minsk , GR, Wed, with victories over Günter Kowalewski, FRG a. Boleslaw Mackiewicz, Poland, a tie against Wenko Tsintsarow , Bulgaria u. a loss to Tevfik Kış;
  • 1967, 5th place , World Cup in Bucharest , GR, Wed, with victories over Kenjirō Hiraki , Japan a. Sven Allan Olsson and Draw against Valentin Olenik u. Lothar Metz

Romanian championships

Gheorghe Popovici was Romanian master thirteen times between 1953 and 1968 in Greco-Roman. World, middle and light heavyweight style.

swell

  • Athletics magazine from 1953 to 1968,
  • Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships , 1976,
  • Database of the Institute for Applied Training Sciences at the University of Leipzig

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Popovici, Gheorghe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Chișinău , today Moldova