Ghislain Lemaire

Ghislain Lemaire (born August 7, 1972 in Lure ) is a former French judoka . He was World Cup runner-up in 2003 and World Cup third in 1997. At European championships he won two silver and two bronze medals.

Athletic career

The 1.90 m tall Ghislain Lemaire fought until 1995 in the middleweight division, the weight class up to 86 kilograms. In 1992 he was third in the Junior World Championships and second in the Junior European Championships.

In 1996, Lemaire switched to light heavyweight, the weight class, the upper limit of which was 95 kilograms in 1996 and 1997 and 100 kilograms from 1998. At the European Championships in 1996 in The Hague, he was defeated in the semifinals to the Pole Paweł Nastula , with a victory over the Dutchman Ben Sonnemans, he won a bronze medal. At the end of 1996 Lemaire won his first French championship title and finished third in the Jigoro Kano Cup . In 1997 he won the World Cup in Rome. At the European Championships in Ostend he defeated the Georgian Iveri Jikurauli in the semifinals , in the final he was defeated by Ben Sonnemans. Five months later, the 1997 World Championships took place in Paris . Lemaire lost to the Brazilian Aurélio Miguel in the quarterfinals . With two wins in the hope lap Lemaire reached the battle for bronze, which he won against the German Daniel Gürschner . In 1998 Lemaire reached the final at the Tournoi de Paris and finished second behind the Portuguese Pedro Soares . At the European Championships in Oviedo he was defeated by Daniel Gürschner in the round of 16. Over the round of hope he reached the battle for bronze, which he lost to Ben Sonnemans.

In early 1999, Lemaire finished fifth at the Jigoro Kano Cup and third at the Tournoi de Paris. At the end of 1999 he won his second French championship title. In 2000 he finished seventh at the European Championships in Wroclaw . At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Stéphane Traineau competed for France in the light heavyweight division. In early 2001, Lemaire won his third French championship. At the Tournoi de Paris, he reached fifth place. In May 2001 the European Championships took place in Paris . Lemaire defeated Daniel Gürschner in the quarterfinals and Timo Peltola from Finland in the semifinals, and defeated Israeli Ariel Zeevi in the final . At the World Championships in Munich he defeated the Icelandic Vernharð ðorleifsson in the quarterfinals . In the semifinals he was defeated by the Japanese Kōsei Inoue and in the battle for bronze he lost to the South Korean Jang Sung-ho . In 2002 Lemaire retired from the European Championships in Maribor in his opening fight against the Slovak Zoltán Pálkovács . At the end of 2002 Lemaire won his fourth French championship.

In early 2003, Lemaire reached the finals at the Tournoi de Paris and was defeated by the Japanese Keiji Suzuki . At the European Championships in Düsseldorf he lost to Iveri Jikurauli in the round of 16. Four months later at the World Championships in Osaka , he defeated the Kazak Asqat Schitkejew in the quarter-finals and the Italian Michele Monti in the semifinals . In the final he lost to Kōsei Inoue. In early 2004 he took third place at the Tournoi de Paris. At the European Championships in Bucharest he was defeated in the semifinals to Ariel Zeevi. With a victory over Zoltán Pálkovács, Lemaire secured a bronze medal. Lemeire also met Pálkovács in his opening match at the Olympic Games in Athens . Then he defeated the Russian Dmitri Maximov . In the quarterfinals, Lemaire was defeated by the German Michael Jurack . After a victory in the hope round against Cuban Oreydis Despaigne , he lost to Ariel Zeevi and finished in seventh place. In 2005 Ghislain Lemaire won his fifth French championship. At the Mediterranean Games in Almeria, he defeated the Egyptian Bassel El-Gharbawy in the final . 2006 Lemaire retired in the round of 16 of the European Championships in Tampere against the German Dimitri Peters .

Web links

• Ghislain Lemaire in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Tournament results on judoinside.com

Footnotes

1. ↑ Match balance at judoinside.com
2. ↑ Mediterranean Games 2005 at judoinside.com