Koba Kurtanidze

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Koba Kurtanidze (born October 13, 1964 in Gori , Georgian SSR ; † December 6, 2005 in Gori, Georgia ) was a Soviet judoka who mostly competed in the light heavyweight division. He won the world title in 1989 and the European title in 1987 and 1989.

Athletic career

Koba Kurtanidze mostly competed in the light heavyweight division, the weight class up to 95 kilograms. From 1985 to 1991 he won seven Soviet championship titles in a row in this weight class.

In 1984 Kurtanidze was third at the Junior European Championships and at the World Student Championships. In early 1985 he reached the finals at the Tournoi de Paris and was defeated by the German Günther Neureuther . In September 1985 he won a bronze medal at the Universiade in Kobe . In 1986 he reached the semi-finals at the European Championships in Belgrade . After his defeat by Frenchman Roger Vachon, he lost in the battle for a bronze medal to Jiří Sosna from Czechoslovakia. The following year at the European Championships in Paris , Kurtanidze defeated the Belgian Robert Van de Walle in the semifinals and the French Roger Vachon in the final. At the World Championships in Essen , he was eliminated in the quarterfinals against West German Marc Meiling .

In the 1988 Olympic year, Kurtanidze won the Soviet championships in February and then missed the rest of the season. Only at the end of the year was he back on the mat and won the student world championships. At the European Championships in Helsinki in 1989 , Kurtanidze defeated Marc Meiling in the quarter-finals, the Dutch Theo Meijer in the semifinals and Jiří Sosna in the final. Five months later, the 1989 World Championships took place in Belgrade . Kurtanidze defeated the Icelandic Bjarni Friðriksson in the quarter-finals and the French Stéphane Traineau in the semifinals . He won the world title with the final victory over the Mongols Odvogin Baljinnyam . At the European Championships in 1990 in Frankfurt am Main, Kurtanidze lost to Marc Meiling in the semifinals. In the battle for bronze he defeated Theo Meijer. He also won a bronze medal at the Goodwill Games in 1990.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Tournoi de Paris 1985 at judoinside.com
  2. ↑ a b match balance at judoinside.com
personal data
SURNAME Kurtanidze, Koba
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet judoka
DATE OF BIRTH October 13, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Gori
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 2005
Place of death Gori