Roberto Monzón

Roberto Monzón González (born March 30, 1978 in Havana ) is a former Cuban wrestler . He won at the Olympics, a 2004 Athens silver medal in Greco-Roman style in the featherweight .

Career

Roberto Monzón began wrestling as a teenager in Havana in 1988. He focused on the Greco-Roman style. He mainly trained in a performance center of the Cuban Wrestling Association in Havana. His coach was Pedro Val. The trained sports teacher initially wrestled in bantamweight at a height of 1.65 meters and switched to featherweight in the course of his career.

He made his first start in an international championship at the Junior World Championship (age group Cadets) in 1993 in Lünen / Germany. He took 3rd place in the weight class up to 40 kg. In 1994 and 1996 he was then in Budapest and in Walbrzych / Poland respectively Junior World Champion (age group Juniors) in the weight classes up to 46 kg and 54 kg body weight. At the Junior World Championships in Turku in 1997 he won a bronze medal in the weight class up to 56 kg .

His first start in an international championship in the seniors he had at the Pan American championship in 1998 in Winnipeg. He finished second in the bantamweight category behind James Grünwald from the United States. In 1999 he took part in the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, where he came in second behind Dennis Hall from the United States. In 1999 he started for the first time at a world championship for seniors. In Athens he came to a bantamweight victory over Rıfat Yıldız from Germany, but was defeated in his next fight against Koba Guliaschwili from Georgia, with which he was eliminated and only came in 27th place.

At the Pan-American Championship in 2000 in Cali / Colombia, he finished second behind Dennis Hall. He could not qualify for participation in the Olympic Games that year. 2001 was Roberto Monzón in Santo Domingo / Dom. Rep. In the bantamweight first Pan-American champion before James Grünwald and Armando Fernandez Garcia from Mexico. A few months later he won the bantamweight championship in Patras in 2001 with victories over Stanislaw Lomatschinski, Russia, Pasi Huhtala, Finland, Petr Svehla , Czech Republic and Ali Ashkani Agboloag , Iran, a defeat against Dilschod Aripow , Uzbekistan and a victory over the multiple world and Olympic champion Armen Nazarjan , Bulgaria, a world championship bronze medal.

In 2002 he was again Pan-American champion in Maracaibo, starting in featherweight for the first time, ahead of James Grünwald and Luis Ygnacio Liendo from Venezuela. At the wrestling world championship this year in Moscow he won the featherweight with victories over Yang Chang, China, Ivan Alexander, Israel, Rustem Mambetow , Russia and Shamseddin Chudaiberdijew , Uzbekistan, a defeat against Włodzimierz Zawadzki , Poland and a victory over Oleksandr Chwoschtsch , Ukraine won a bronze medal again. In 2003 he won the Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo in front of Luis Ygnacio Liendo and James Grünwald and was then in Créteil with victories over Nikolai Baraban, Russia, Djamel Ainaoui, France, Juri Kohl , Germany, Wlodzimierz Zawadzki and Eusebiu Diaconu , Romania and one defeat in the final against Armen Nazarjan vice world champion.

In 2004 he won again at the Pan-American Championship in Guatemala City, where he competed in the lightweight for the first time, ahead of the Americans Ron Muir and Carlos Ramos from Venezuela. At the 2004 Olympic Games he started again in featherweight and reached the final of the Olympic victory with victories over Ali Ashkani Abgoloag, Christos Gikos, Greece, Seref Tüfenk , Turkey and Alexei Shevzow , Russia, in which, however, he defeated the South Korean Jung Ji-hyun after a hard fight on points (0: 3 points) lost. He won the Olympic silver medal with it.

After these Olympic Games, Roberto Monzón was still active until the next Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. He won four more times at the Pan-American championships or games, but could no longer place himself in the front field at the world championships. At the 2005 World Cup, he finished 23rd after a surprising defeat against the Egyptian Ashraf Meligny El Garably, in 2006 he came 10th, where he was eliminated after winning two fights against Eusebiu Diaconu and in 2007 it was enough for him in Baku a victory over Petr Svehla and a defeat against the Chinese Sheng Jiang only to 22nd place.

He then achieved a very good result again at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the last international championship in which he participated. He won there in featherweight against Sebastien Hidalgo, France, then lost to Islambek Albijew , Russia, but was able to continue, since this Olympic champion in the consolation round, in which he first won over Söner Sucu from Turkey, but then in the fight for an Olympic Bronze medal against Ruslan Tümönbajew from Kyrgyzstan lost.

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class	Results
1993	3.	Junior World Championships (Cadets) in Lünen / Germany	up to 40 kg	behind Sergei Kuntarjew, Russia and Erkan Dündar, Turkey
1994	1.	Junior World Championships (Juniors) in Budapest	up to 46 kg	before Roland Mayer, Hungary and Im Dae-won , South Korea
1996	1.	Junior World Championships (Juniors) in Walbrzych	up to 54 kg	before Norbert Futo, Yugoslavia and Nureddin Radschabow, Azerbaijan
1997	3.	Junior World Championships (Juniors) in Turku	up to 56 kg	behind Parviz Kasimow, Ukraine and Maxim Semjonow , Russia
1998	1.	Italian Grand Prix in Faenza	Bantam	before Ergüder Bekisdamat, Turkey and Ralf Zentgraf, Austria
1998	2.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Winnipeg	Bantam	behind James Grünwald, USA, in front of Armando Fernandez Garcia, Mexico
1999	2.	Pan Amerik. Games in Winnipeg	Bantam	behind Dennis Hall , USA, in front of Sydney Guzman Villacosta, Peru
1999	27.	World Cup in Athens	Bantam	after a win over Rifat Yildiz, Germany and a loss against Koba Guliaschwili, Georgia
2000	2.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Cali / Colombia	Bantam	behind Dennis Hall, in front of Jairo Alvarado, Venezuela
2001	1.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Santo Domingo / Cathedral. Rep.	Bantam	before James Grünwald and Armando Fernandez Garcia
2001	3.	World Cup in Patras	Bantam	after victories over Stanislaw Lomatschinski, Russia, Pasi Huhtala, Finland, Petr Svehla, Czech Republic and Ali Ashkani Agboloag, Iran, a defeat against Dilschod Aripow, Uzbekistan and a victory over Armen Nazarjan, Bulgaria
2002	1.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Maracaibo	feather	before James Grünwald and Luis Ygnacio Liendo, Venezuela
2002	1.	German Grand Prix in Dortmund	feather	before Shamseddin Chudaiberdijew, Uzbekistan and Dilschod Aripow
2002	3.	World Cup in Moscow	feather	after victories over Yang Chang, China, Ivan Alexandrow, Israel, Rustem Mambetow, Russia and Shamseddin Chudaiberdijew, a defeat against Wlodzimierz Zawadzki, Poland and a victory over Oleksandr Chwoschtsch, Ukraine
2003	3.	Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs	feather	behind Makoto Sasamoto, Japan and James Grünwald
2003	1.	Pan Amerik. Games in Santo Domingo / Cathedral. Rep.	feather	before Luis Ygnacio Liendo and James Grünwald
2003	2.	World Cup in Créteil	feather	after victories over Nikolai Baraban, Russia, Djamel Ainaoui, France, Juri Kohl, Germany, Wlodzimierz Zawadzki, Poland and Eusebiu Diaconu, Romania and a defeat against Armen Nasarjan
2004	1.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Guatemala City	Light	before Ron Muir, USA and Carlos Ramos, Venezuela
2004	10.	German Grand Prix in Dortmund	feather	Winner: Alexei Schewzow, Russia ahead of Dilschod Aripow
2004	silver	OS in Athens	feather	after victories over Ali Ashkani Agboloag, Iran, Christoe Gikas, Greece, Seref Tüfenk, Turkey and Alexei Schewzow and a defeat against Jung Ji-hyun, South Korea
2005	1.	World Cup in Tehran	feather	before Nurbakit Tengisbajew, Kazakhstan and Alexei Shevtsov
2005	1.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Guatemala City	feather	before Luis Ygnacio Liendo and Juri Estevas, Brazil
2005	1.	German Grand Prix in Dortmund	feather	before Michail Semenow, Belarus and Yuri Kohl
2005	3.	Universities World Cup in Izmir	feather	behind Ali Ashkani Agboloag and Kim Geon-hai, South Korea
2005	23.	World Cup in Budapest	feather	after losing to Ashraf Meligny El Garably, Egypt
2006	2.	World Cup in Budapest	feather	behind István Majoros , Hungary, in front of Bunyamin Emik, Turkey
2006	2.	Central American & Caribbean Games in Cartagena	feather	behind Luis Ygnacio Liendo, in front of Milton Bailey, Guatemala
2006	10.	World Cup in Guangzhou	feather	after victories over Karen Mnazakanjan , Armenia and Svajunas Adomaitis, Lithuania and a defeat against Eusebiu Diaconu
2007	1.	Pan Amerik. Championship in San Salvador	feather	before Ivar Duke, Colombia and Maria Molina Cortez, Peru
2007	1.	Pan Amerik. Games in Rio de Janeiro	feather	before Lindsey Durlacher , USA and Luis Ygnacio Liendo
2007	22nd	World Cup in Baku	feather	after defeating Petr Svehla and losing to Sheng Jiang, China
2008	1.	Pan Amerik. Championship in Colorado Springs	feather	before Manuel Lopez, Mexico and Ivan de Jesus Duque Arango, Colombia
2008	2.	German Grand Prix in Dortmund	feather	behind Makoto Sasamoto, in front of Sebastian Möser, Germany and Edward Barsegjan , Poland
2008	5.	OS in Beijing	feather	after a win over Sebastien Hidalgo, France, a loss to Islambek Albijew, Russia, a win over Söner Sucu, Turkey and a loss to Ruslan Tümönbajew, Kyrgyzstan

Explanations

• all competitions in Greco-Roman style
• OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championships
• Bantamweight, until 2001 up to 58 kg, featherweight, since 2002 up to 60 kg and lightweight, since 2002 up to 66 kg body weight

swell

• Trade journal Der Ringer
• Website "www.themat.com"

Web links

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