Janos Varga

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János Varga, 2014

János Varga (born October 21, 1939 in Abony ) is a former Hungarian wrestler . He was Olympic champion in 1968 in the bantamweight in the Greco-Roman style.

Career

János Varga started wrestling in 1955. Due to his good performances in the youth and junior sector, he was noticed by the then Hungarian state coach Mihály Matura , who prompted his move to the top club Honvéd Budapest . János developed there in the next few years to a world class wrestler in both styles. When Imre Hódos , the 1952 Olympic champion in bantamweight, ended his international career in 1961 , János succeeded him in the Hungarian national team. In Hungary he then mastered the bantamweight class, initially in both styles, from 1965 in the Greco-Roman style until 1972.

János Varga made his debut on the international wrestling mat in 1961 at the World Championships in Yokohama , when he immediately became runner-up in the free style bantamweight championship. Only the experienced Olympic champion and multiple world champion Hüseyin Akbaş from Turkey blocked his way to the title win .

At the 1962 World Cup in Toledo / USA , János won another medal with the “bronze”. Again it was Hüseyin Akbaş who defeated him. In both years János also wrestled in the Greco-Roman style at the world championships, but was not as successful here with places 8 and 6 as in the free style.

In 1963, however, the tide turned when János became world champion in the Greco-Roman style in bantamweight with five wins in Helsingborg . Decisive for this was his victory over the Soviet wrestler Oleg Karawajew , after all Olympic champion in 1960 and world champion in 1958 and 1961. János also competed in both styles at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo . He remained without a medal, however, because the double burden could no longer be endured in view of the tough competition.

From 1965 onwards it therefore only started in the Greco-Roman style. At the World Championships in 1965 and 1966 he failed each time on the German Fritz Stange and only achieved places in the midfield.

From 1967 János Varga started a one-time winning streak. He won the Olympic gold medal in Mexico City in 1968 , was world champion in Edmonton in 1970 and European bantamweight champion in 1967 and 1970. In addition, he finished second at the 1967 World Championships in Bucharest and the 1968 European Championships and third at the 1971 European Championships.

In 1969 János could not start at the European Championships in Modena or the World Championships in Mar del Plata . In Modena the Italian organizer refused to fly the flag of the GDR , whereupon the socialist states boycotted this event and the Hungarian wrestling association did not send a team to the world championships in Mar del Plata for financial reasons.

At the end of his career, János wanted to win another medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich . He did not manage to do this, however, as he was defeated by Rustem Kasakow from the Soviet Union and Hans-Jürgen Veil from the Federal Republic of Germany .

1973 János Varga ended his wrestling career and took a job as a coach at the Hungarian Wrestling Association. In this role he led several wrestlers to titles at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships. He was inducted into the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame in August 2016 for his services to wrestling .

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, F = freestyle, GR = Greco-Roman style, Ba = bantam weight, back then up to 57 kg body weight)

Hungarian championships

János Varga won the Hungarian championship ten times in the Greco-Roman style and five times in the free style, always in bantamweight.

swell

  • various issues of the specialist magazine " Athletik " from 1961 to 1972,
  • Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships, 1976

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ United World Wrestling to Induct 15 into 2016 Hall of Fame Class , accessed April 17, 2017 (English)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Varga, Janos
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Abony