Illja Mate

Ilja Mate during a break from competition

Illja Fedorowytsch Mate ( Ukrainian Ілля Федорович Мате ; born October 6, 1956 in Donetsk ) is a former Soviet wrestler and 1980 Olympic heavyweight champion in free style .

Career

Illja Mate grew up in Donetsk , Ukraine , and started wrestling there . During his entire career he started for the sports club Kolos Donetsk and quickly developed into an excellent freestyle wrestler, who at a height of 1.87 m soon grew into the heavyweight, which at that time reached up to 100 kg body weight. In 1974 he became junior champion of the USSR. He was Soviet senior champion in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982, defeating Iwan Jariygin in the 1978 final.

Ilya made his debut on the international wrestling mat at the World Junior Championships in Chaskovo in the light heavyweight division. He finished there behind the Bulgarian Aristo Marinov in second place. In the next few years he had mainly to do with asserting himself in the Soviet Union against a number of tough competitors, such as Salman Chassimikov , Aslanbek Bissultanov , Ivan Jarygin and Magomed Magomedov . He succeeded for the first time in 1978 when he was Soviet heavyweight champion before Bissultanow and Jarygin.

In 1979 he was used at the European Championships in Bucharest . He was able to convince there completely and win the European title with five wins over a lot of difficult opponents. The German world class wrestler Harald Büttner also suffered a defeat against Mate. Illja Mate also won the World Championships in San Diego in the same year . In the final, he won it against the American Russell Hellickson on points.

Mate started as a clear favorite at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow . Since the Americans were absent there, he almost exclusively had to deal with wrestlers from the Eastern Bloc countries, who at that time represented the world class in wrestling. Illja achieved the Olympic victory in Moscow with five victories.

In 1981 Illja was only used at the World Championships in Skopje . Surprisingly, he lost against Greg Gibson from the USA in the pool final and was only able to save the bronze medal with a victory over Ayhan Taşkın from Turkey .

In 1982 Ilya returned the favor at the World Championships in Edmonton to Gibson, whom he defeated on points, also won over defending champion Roland Gehrke from the GDR and vice world champion Slavovich Chervenkov from Bulgaria and thus secured the second world title.

Illja Mate lives today (2009) as a private entrepreneur in Donetsk.

Olympic Games 1980: Illja Mate (red jersey) against Július Strnisko.

International success

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

• 1975, 2nd place , Junior World Championships in Haskovo , F, Hs, behind Aristo Marinow, Bulgaria and in front of Tomas Busse , Poland , Szakey, Hungary and Ivanov, Romania ;
• 1978, 2nd place , World Cup in Toledo / USA , F, S, behind Russell Hellickson , USA and in front of Barbaro Morgan , Cuba and Hiroshi Yamamoto, Japan ;
• 1979, 1st place , EM in Bucharest , F, S, with victories over Harald Büttner , GDR , Ayhan Taşkın , Turkey , Slawowitsch Tscherwenkow , Bulgaria, Július Strnisko , CSSR and Vasile Puşcaşu , Romania;
• 1979, 1st place , World Championships in San Diego , F, S, with victories over Vasile Puşcaşu, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Japan, Bogusław Naumowicz, Poland, Harald Büttner and Russell Hellickson;
• 1980, 1st place , Grand Prix of the Federal Republic of Germany in Freiburg im Breisgau , F, S, ahead of Harald Büttner, Tomas Busse and Antal Bodo, Hungary;
• 1980, gold medal , OS in Moscow , F, S, with victories over Santiago Morales, Spain , Barbaro Morgan, Antal Bodo, Slawowitsch Tscherwenkow, Tomas Busse and Július Strnisko;
• 1981, 1st place , World Cup in Toledo / USA, F, S, ahead of Greg Gibson , USA, Daschdordschiin Tserentogtoch, Mongolia and Abdulla R'Houma;
• 1981, 1st place , Universiade in Bucharest, F, S, ahead of Wenelin Atanassow, Bulgaria, Luis Miranda Leon, Cuba and Vasile Puşcaşu;
• 1981, 3rd place , World Championships in Skopje , F, S, with victories over Masaji Ado, Japan, István Robotka , Hungary and Ayhan Taşkın, Turkey and one defeat against Gregory Gibson;
• 1982, 1st place , World Championships in Edmonton , F, S, ahead of Slawowitsch Tscherwenkow, Gregory Gibson, Roland Gehrke , GDR, Július Strnisko and Ayhan Taşkın

swell

• Div. Issues of the specialist journals Athletik from 1975 and Der Ringer from 1976 to 1982,
• Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships, 1976

Web links

• Profile of Ilja Mate at the Institute for Applied Training Science