Joe Gonzales

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Joseph Anthony "Joe" Gonzales (born April 10, 1957 in Montebello , California ) is a retired American wrestler . He was the bronze medalist at the 1983 Edmonton Free Style Flyweight Championship.

Career

Joe Gonzales, a Californian from Los Angeles , began as a youngster in his hometown with the rings . He developed into an excellent freestyle wrestler who always wrestled in the lightest weight class, the flyweight. In 1975 he became California champions and American junior champions. He then attended California State University in Bakersfield and also achieved some great success as a university wrestler. In 1979 he was American runner-up student champion and in 1980 American student flyweight champion (NCAA Div. I. Collegiate Championships).

In 1980 he was in the finals for the Olympic Games in Moscow , but lost to Gene Mills . But because of the boycott of these games by the USA, he was unable to take part in the Olympic Games in Moscow. Joe Gonzales' international wrestling career began at the 1981 World Cup in Skopje . Joe, who meanwhile competed for the "Sunkist Kids" in Phoenix , Arizona , won four fights there, but was defeated by the Mongolian Nandsadyn Bürgedaa and the German Hartmut Reich from Jena and achieved a good 5th place.

A year later Gonzales achieved the greatest success of his career with 3rd place at the World Championships in Edmonton . On the way there he won a preliminary round match against the German representative Fritz Niebler from Viernheim .

At the 1983 World Championships in Kiev and the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles Gonzales did not reach top positions. He came in 9th both times. Things went much better for him again at the 1985 World Cup in Budapest , the last one he took part in. He just missed a medal there with 4th place. In the battle for the bronze medal he was inferior to the Japanese Mitsuro Sato on points.

In 1988 Gonzales tried again to qualify for the Olympic Games in Seoul , but lost in the Olympic elimination (Trials) against Ken Chertow , whom he had defeated at the USA Championships in 1988.

Joe Gonzales has remained loyal to wrestling after his playing days. He now organizes wrestling seminars for the youngsters.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, F = free style, Fl = flyweight, back then up to 52 kg body weight)

  • 1982, 3rd place , World Championship in Edmonton , F, Fl, behind Hartmut Reich u. Osman Efendiew et al. before Jong Kyu-Kim South Korea, Aslan Seyhanlı , Turkey a . Admir Teherani, Iran;
  • 1984, 1st place , World Cup in Toledo (Ohio), F, Fl, in front of Ray Takahashi, Amangeldy Japarow, USSR a. Stojan Petkow, Bulgaria;
  • 1988, 1st place , World Cup in Toledo (Ohio), F, Fl, in front of Anatoli Beloglasow u. Carlos Valera Gonzales, Cuba

USA championships

  • 1978, 6th place, F, Fl, behind Him Harris, Mike Mc Arthur, Peter Moselli, Isamitsu Kariba u. Ed Knecht,
  • 1980, 1st place, F, Fl, ahead of Tom Dursee u. Bill De Paoli,
  • 1981, 1st place, F, Fl, before Dan Glenn u. Lewis Dorrance,
  • 1983, 1st place, F, Fl,
  • 1986, 1st place, F, Fl,
  • 1988, 1st place, F, Fl, ahead of Ken Chertow

US student championships

  • 1979, 2nd place, F, Fk, behind Gene Mills u. before Don Finnegan,
  • 1980, 1st place, F, Fl, before Dan Glenn u. Jim Zenz

swell

  • Div. Issues of the journal Der Ringer from 1978 to 1988,
  • International Wrestling Database of the Institute for Applied Competition Sciences at the University of Leipzig,
  • National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum website

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gonzales, Joe
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gonzales, Joseph Anthony (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH April 10, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Montebello , California