Prodan Gardschew

Monument in Sredez (Burgas Oblast)

Prodan Stojanow Gardschew ( Bulgarian Продан Гарджев ; born April 8, 1936 in Rossenowo , Burgas Oblast , † July 5, 2003 in Burgas ) was a Bulgarian wrestler .

Career

Prodan Gardschew began wrestling as a teenager, specializing in free style. He was accepted into the Bulgarian national team at the age of 20 and made his debut on the international wrestling mat at the World Cup in Sofia in 1958 . In 1959 he took part in a world championship for the first time in Tehran and finished in 6th place.

Also in the next few years he started at world championships. He achieved his first major success in 1963 when he was middleweight world champion in Sofia by defeating Anatoli Albul from the Soviet Union . Prodan also triumphed at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo , because he won the gold medal. However, he was lucky because he lost on points against the Iranian Mansour Mehdizadeh , who had to retire before the final with 6 missing points and ended up in 4th place. According to today's regulations, Mehdizadeh would have become Olympic champion , because he had not only defeated Gardschew but also the silver medalist Hasan Güngör from Turkey and never lost a fight.

Gardschew also showed good competitions at the international championships after the Olympic Games in 1964 and won his second world title in 1966 in Toledo / USA . In 1968 he won his second Olympic medal with a bronze medal in Mexico City . He was unbeaten in the tournament, but with two undecided fights against Jigdschidyn Mönchbat from Mongolia and Boris Michailowitsch Gurewitsch from the Soviet Union it was only enough for 3rd place.

Prodan Gardschew also fought four times against the Federal Republic of Germany in the then still popular international matches and met Johann Sterr from Munich each time , whom he defeated four times on points.

In 1963 and 1966 Gardschew was voted Bulgarian Sportsman of the Year.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, F = Freestyle, Wed = middleweight, up to 1961 up to 79 kg and from 1962 up to 87 kg, Hs = light heavyweight, up to 1961 up to 87 kg and from 1962 up to 97 kg Body weight)

• 1958, 4th place , World Cup tournament in Sofia , F, Wed, behind Hasan Güngör , Turkey , Giorgi Schirtladse , Soviet Union and Lothar Lippa , GDR and in front of Nabi Soroury , Iran and Nagai Takahashi, Japan ;
• 1959, 6th place , World Cup in Tehran , F, Wed, with victories over Mustapha Kurt, Turkey, a draw against Géza Hollósi , Hungary and a defeat against Nabi Soroury;
• 1960, 5th place , OS in Rome , F, Wed, with victories over Nagai Takahashi and Frederick Thomas, New Zealand , a draw against Géza Hollósi and a defeat against Hasan Güngör;
• 1962, 1st place , "Dan Kolew" tournament in Sofia , F, Wed, ahead of Géza Hollósi and Stepanczyk, Poland ;
• 1962, 1st place , Balkan Games in Athens , F, Wed, ahead of Ballo, Romania and Arslan, Turkey;
• 1962, 10th place , World Cup in Toledo , F, Wed, after defeats against Boris Michailowitsch Gurewitsch , USSR and Mansour Mehdizadeh , Iran;
• 1963, 1st place , World Cup in Sofia, F, Wed, with victories over Öldsiisaichany Erdene-Otschir , Mongolia , Muhammad Faiz, Pakistan , Géza Hollósi and Anatoli Albul , USSR and despite a defeat against Russell Camilleri , USA ;
• 1964, gold medal , OS in Tokyo , F, Wed, with victories over Günther Bauch , Germany and Jit Singh , India and a draw against Schota Lomidze , USSR and Hasan Güngör and despite a defeat against Mansour Mehdizadeh;
• 1965, 3rd place , World Cup in Manchester , F, Wed, with victories over Hüseyin Gürsoy, Turkey, Robert Zingg, Switzerland and Arslan Rizvani, Yugoslavia , a draw against Schota Lomidze and despite a defeat against Wayne Baugham , USA;
• 1966, 1st place , World Championship in Toledo / USA, F, Wed, with victories over Josef Urban , Czechoslovakia and Peter Lockyer, Canada and a draw against Hasan Güngör and Géza Hollósi;
• 1967, 3rd place , EM in Istanbul , F, Wed, with victories over Günther Bauch, GDR and Josef Urban, a draw against Géza Hollósi and a defeat against Boris Gurewitsch;
• 1967, 6th place , World Cup in New Delhi , F, Wed, with a victory over Siegfried Handrock, GDR and a draw against Géza Hollósi, Hasan Güngör and Boris Gurewitsch;
• 1968, 2nd place , EM in Skopje , F, Wed, with victories over Zuljo Abduli, Yugoslavia, Hüseyin Gürsoy, Umberto Marcheggiani, Italy and Peter Döring , GDR and a draw against Andrei Zchowrebow , USSR;
• 1968, bronze medal , OS in Mexico City , F, Wed, with victories over Ghulam Dastagni , Afghanistan , Francisc Balla , Romania, Ronald Grinstead , Great Britain and Hüseyin Gürsoy and a draw against Thomas Peckham , USA, Boris Gurewitsch and Dschigdschidyn Mönchbat

swell

• Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships, 1976
• International Wrestling database of the University of Leipzig
• various issues of the specialist magazine "Athletik" from 1958 to 1968

Web links

• Profile of Prodan Gardschew at the Institute for Applied Training Science
• Prodan Gardschew in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )