Ivan Vitalyevich Nifontov

Ivan Nifontov (2012)

Ivan Witaljewitsch Nifontow ( Russian Иван Витальевич Нифонтов ; born June 5, 1987 in Pavlodar ) is a former Russian judoka who competed in the light middleweight division, the weight class up to 81 kilograms. He won an Olympic bronze medal in 2012 and was world and European champion in 2009.

Career

The 1.72 m tall Nifontow won the 2007 European Police Championships. In 2008 he was the Russian U23 champion. At the European Championships in Tbilisi in 2009 , he defeated the French Axel Clerget in the semifinals and the Italian Antonio Ciano in the final . Two and a half months later, he won the Grand Slam tournament in Rio de Janeiro in the semifinals against Travis Stevens from the United States and in the final against Nacif Elias from Lebanon. At the 2009 World Championships in Rotterdam, he defeated Antonio Ciano in the quarter-finals. In the semifinals he beat the German Ole Bischof and in the final he won against the Belarusian Siarhei Shundzikau .

In 2010 he did not appear at the European Championships in singles, at the 2010 World Championships in Tokyo he lost in the round of 16 against Elnur Məmmədli from Azerbaijan. In 2011 he finished seventh at the World Championships in Paris, after losing in the quarter-finals to South Korean Kim Jae-bum , he was eliminated in the hope round against Azerbaijani Elkhan Rajabli .

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he defeated the Belgian Joachim Bottieau in the round of 16 and the Canadian Antoine Valois-Fortier in the quarter-finals . In the semifinals he was defeated by Kim Jae-bum, he won the battle for bronze by two Waza-ari ratings against the Japanese Takahiro Nakai . In 2013 the World Championships took place in Rio de Janeiro, Nifontow defeated Joachim Bottieau in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he was defeated by the Georgian Awtandil Tschrikishvili and he lost the battle for bronze to his compatriot Ivan Vorobyov . A year later, Nifontov lost to the French Loïc Pietri in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Championships in Chelyabinsk . With victories over the Brazilian Victor Penalber and the second French Alain Schmitt , he secured a bronze medal. In 2015 he took part in the European Championships held as part of the European Games in Baku . In the semifinals he defeated the German Alexander Wieczerzak , in the final he was defeated by the Georgian Awtandil Tschrikishvili.

Nifontov competed for the Yawara Newa St. Petersburg club , with which he won the European Cup in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2017 .

Web links

• Tournament results at JudoInside.com
• Iwan Witaljewitsch Nifontow in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )

Footnotes

1. ↑ Match balance at judoinside.com