Son Sang-pil

Korean spelling
Hangeul	손상필
Hanja	孫 相 弼
Revised Romanization	Son Sang-pil
McCune- Reischauer	Son Sangp'il
See also : Korean name

Son Sang-pil (born September 1, 1973 ) is a former South Korean wrestler . In 1997 and 1999 he was world champion in the Greco-Roman style lightweight .

Career

Son Sang-pil started wrestling as a teenager in 1986. He concentrated on the Greco-Roman style. He was a member of Korea Housing Company Sports Club Seoul and was coached mainly by Bae Chang-kun. He studied sports and at a height of 1.67 meters always wrestled in the lightweight.

Son Sang-pil's international wrestling career began with a bang, as he became Junior World Champion (Cadets) in 1989 in Warrensburg / USA, both in free style and in Greco-Roman style. It must be said, however, that this was one of the first Junior World Championships and that the line-up of this championship was not very large. Above all, the "Eastern bloc states" that were dominant at the time were missing. It was different already at the Junior World Championships in 1990. Son Sang-pil started there, as in all subsequent championships in the Greco-Roman style in the age group "Juniors" and took 3rd place in the weight class up to 63 kg. He took the same place at the Junior World Championships in 1991 in Prievidza in the age group "Espoirs" in featherweight behind Yuri Melnichenko , USSR and Constantin Dodita, Romania .

In the senior class, Son Sang-pil made his international debut at the 1994 World Cup in Tampere . He finished 15th in this championship. In May 1995 he was Asian lightweight champion in Manila in front of the Japanese Yasushi Miyake. At the 1995 World Cup in Prague, however, he did not do much better than at the 1994 World Cup, where he finished 14th.

In 1996 Son Sang-pil was again Asian champion in Xiaoshan / China ahead of Grigori Pulyayev from Uzbekistan . At the Olympic Games in Atlanta , however, not he, but his compatriot Kim Young-il was used. In 1997 he won the East Asian Games in Busan ahead of Katsuhiro Nagata from Japan. In September 1997 he then succeeded in winning his first title at a world championship. In Wrocław he defeated Felipe Moreno Subirana, Spain , Peter Bielesz , Czech Republic , Adam Juretzko , Germany , Christian Eyer , France and Alexander Tretyakov , Russia , the bronze medalist from Atlanta.

He could not repeat this title at the 1998 World Cup in Gävle , because he was surprisingly defeated there after a victorious fight against Nurlan Koischaiganow from Kazakhstan against Georgi Dschindwelaschwili from Georgia . With further victories over Theodore Voltsidis, Greece , Ari Härkänen , Finland , the 1996 Olympic champion Ryszard Wolny , Poland and Bisser Georgiew from Bulgaria, he won a bronze medal . The winner of this world championship was Alexander Tretyakov ahead of Csaba Hirbik from Hungary . In December 1998, Son Sang-pil won the Asian Games in Bangkok ahead of Mchitar Manukjan from Kazakhstan and Grigori Pulyayev.

In May 1999 he managed another victory at the Asian Championships in Tashkent . There he won ahead of Ruslan Biktyakov, Uzbekistan and Yi Shanjun from China. At the 1999 World Cup in Athens , Son Sang-pil then managed to win his second world title, although he lost in his first fight against Uladsimir Kapytau from Belarus . He then defeated Katsuhiko Nagata, Đorđe Miolski, Yugoslavia , Rustam Adschi , Ukraine, Csaba Hirbik and Alexander Tretyakov. Since Tretyakov had defeated Uladzimir Kapytau, Son Sang-pil was the best in the final accounts and won this title.

As a co-favorite, Son Sang-pil failed to win a medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney . Filiberto Ascuy Aguilera from Cuba , who defeated him in the third fight, was “to blame” . Before that he had won against Adam Juretzki and Matthias Schoberg from Sweden . In the fourth fight he won over the world champion from 1993 and 1994 Islam Dugutschijew from Azerbaijan , but with that he only came in 5th place.

The last time Son Sang-pil took part in a world championship was in 2001. In Patras he came to victories over Marcel Cooper, United States and Welin Marinow from Bulgaria. In the third fight he lost again to Filiberto Ascuy Aguilera, with which he was eliminated and came in 7th place.

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class	style	Results
1989	1.	Junior World Championships (Cadets) in Warrensburg / USA	up to 60 kg	GR	before Tuğrul Derici, Turkey and Konstantinos Arkoudeas, Greece
1989	1.	Junior World Championships (Cadets) in Warrensburg / USA	up to 60 kg	F.	before Tony Okada, USA and Ercan Tancıverdi, Turkey
1990	3.	Junior World Championships (Juniors)	up to 63 kg	GR	behind Andrei Lisiza, USSR and Jakob Yakob, Sweden
1991	3.	Junior World Championships in Prievidza	feather	GR	behind Yuri Melnichenko, USSR and Constantin Dodita, Romania
1994	15th	World Cup in Tampere	Light	GR	Winner: Islam Dugutschijew, Russia, ahead of Ghani Yalouz , France
1995	1.	Asian Championship in Manila	Light	GR	before Yasushi Miyake, Japan and Grigori Pulyayev, Uzbekistan
1995	14th	World Cup in Prague	Light	GR	Winner: Rustam Adschi, Ukraine ahead of Attila Repka , Hungary and Jannis Zamanduridis , Germany
1996	1.	Asian Championship in Xiaoshan / China	Light	GR	before Grigori Pulyayev and Yasishi Miyake
1996	1.	World Cup in Colorado Springs	Light	GR	in front of Liubal Colas Oris , Cuba and Alexander Tretyakov, Russia
1997	1.	East Asia Games in Busan	Light	GR	before Katsuhiro Nagata, Japan and Mchitar Manukjan, Kazakhstan
1997	1.	World Cup in Wrocław	Light	GR	after victories over Felipe Moreno Subirana, Spain, Peter Bielesz, Czech Republic, Adam Juretzko, Germany, Christian Eyer, France and Alexander Tretyakov
1998	3.	World Cup in Gävle	Light	GR	after a victory over Nurlan Koischaiganow, Kazakhstan, a defeat against Georgi Dschindwelaschwili, Georgia and victories over Theodore Voltsidis, Greece, Ari Härkänen , Finland, Ryszard Wolny, Poland and Bisser Georgiev, Bulgaria
1998	1.	Asia Games in Bangkok	Light	GR	before Mchitar Manukjan and Grigori Pulyayev
1999	1.	Asian Championship in Tashkent	Light	GR	before Ruslan Biktyakov, Uzbekistan and Yi Shanjun, China
1999	1.	World Cup in Athens	Light	GR	after a defeat against Uladsimir Kapytau, Belarus and victories over Katsuhiko Nagata, Japan, Đorđe Miolski, Yugoslavia, Rustam Adschi, Csaba Hirbik, Hungary and Alexander Tretyakov
2000	5.	OS in Sydney	Light	GR	after victories over Adam Juretzko and Matthias Schoberg, Sweden, a defeat against Filiberto Ascuy Aguilera, Cuba and a victory over Islam Dugutschijew, Azerbaijan
2001	7th	World Cup in Patras	Light	GR	after victories over Marcel Cooper, USA and Welin Marinow, Bulgaria and a defeat against Filiberto Ascuy Aguilera

Explanations

• GR = Greco-Roman style, F = free style
• OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship
• Lightweight, up to 68 kg up to 1996, up to 69 kg from 1997 to 2001, then up to 66 kg body weight
• At that time the juniors' age groups: "Cadets" = up to 16 years of age, "Juniors" = up to 18 years of age, "Espoirs" = up to 20 years of age

swell

• Trade journal Der Ringer
• "Foeldeak Wrestling Database" website

Web links

• Son Sang-pil in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Son is the family name here, Sang-pil is the first name.