Mark Berger (Judoka)

Marcus "Mark" Berger (born January 3, 1954 in Chernivtsi , Ukrainian SSR ) is a former Canadian judoka .

Mark Berger came to Canada in 1977 and received Canadian citizenship in 1980. In 1981 he won his first Canadian heavyweight championship. At the Judo World Championships in 1981 , he finished seventh in the open class. In 1983, the 1.85 m tall athlete won his second Canadian championship. At the Pan American Games in 1983 he won the heavyweight division. The Judo World Championships in 1983 took place in Moscow, Berger was defeated in the heavyweight quarter-finals to Willy Wilhelm from the Netherlands , and the Canadian lost the battle for bronze to Mihail Cioc from Romania . Mark Berger, who trained in Winnipeg, became Manitobas in 1983 Elected Athlete of the Year.

In 1984 Berger won again the title at the Canadian Championships. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles he was defeated in his first fight by the later Olympic champion Hitoshi Saitō from Japan, with victories over the Cameroonian Isidore Silas and the Yugoslav Radomir Kovačević , Berger secured a bronze medal. In 1985 he won the Maccabiade for the second time since 1981 . In 1986 he was Canadian champion again. In the final of the Commonwealth Games in 1986 he was defeated by the Englishman Elvis Gordon .

After a broken leg, Mark Berger ended his active career and founded his own judo club in Winnipeg. His daughter Olia Berger won bronze at the 2003 Pan American Games.

literature

• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .

Web links

• Mark Berger in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Mark Berger on judoinside.com