Vasile Puşcaşu

Vasile Puşcaşu (right) at the 1984 Olympic award ceremony

Vasile Puşcaşu (born May 2, 1956 ) is a former Romanian wrestler .

Career

Vasile Puşcaşu comes from Oneşti . As a teenager he tried a few other sports before he found wrestling . After initial regional successes, he was delegated to the top club “Clubul Sportive Minicipal” (CSM) Onești and got good coaches there. After he had prevailed at the Romanian championships, he was first sent to an international championship in 1977. From then on, he represented the Romanian colors in almost 20 such championships until 1988, winning eight medals. He wrestled exclusively in free style. In 1985 his international career seemed to have ended when he did not achieve such great success and he became a strong competitor in Enache Panait in his own country. But in 1987 he prevailed again against this and achieved his greatest successes in 1987 and 1988, which culminated in the 1988 Olympic victory. Vasile Puşcaşu's greatest victories were those over the multiple Soviet world champions Magomed Magomedow and Leri Chabelowi . While the victory over Magomedov at the European Championships in 1981 was without major effects because he lost the two following fights, he won the Olympic gold medal with a narrow 1-0 point victory over Habelow in 1988. He had a hard time against the German world class wrestlers Harald Büttner , Roland Gehrke and Uwe Neupert . He lost three times to Büttner, once against Gehrke and once against Neupert, and he won once. After his Olympic victory in 1988 he resigned.

Vasile Puşcaşu was practically a professional wrestler during his time as an active wrestler and is now Secretary General of the Romanian Wrestling Association.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, F = Freestyle, S = Heavyweight, back then up to 100 kg body weight)

• 1977, 6th place , EM in Bursa , F, S, after defeats against Mehmet Güclü, Turkey and Harald Büttner , GDR ;

• 1977, 3rd place , World Championships in Lausanne , F, S, with victories over Yoshioka Yatsu, Japan , Niklas Furger, Switzerland and Slavchi Chervenko , Bulgaria and defeats against Büttner and Aslanbek Bissultanow , Soviet Union ;

• 1978, 3rd place , EM in Sofia, F, S, with victories over Július Strnisko , Czechoslovakia and Hans-Peter Stratz, FRG and defeats against Lewan Tediaschwili , USSR and Güclü;

• 1978, 5th place , World Cup in Mexico City , F, S, with victories over Wenelin Saikow, Bulgaria, Chorlo Bajanmönch, Mongolia and Barbaro Morgan, Cuba and defeats against Büttner and Tediaschwili;

• 1979, 3rd place , EM in Bucharest , F, S, with victories over Ayhan Taşkın, Turkey , Büttner and István Robotka , Hungary and defeats against Chervenko and Illja Mate , USSR;

• 1979, 3rd place , World Championships in San Diego , F, S, with victories over Yatsu, Morgan and Chervenko and defeats against Mate and Russell Hellickson , USA ;

• 1980, 5th place , EM in Prievidza , F, S, with victory over Sitki Kadiroglu, Turkey and defeats against Tomasz Busse , Poland and Magomed Magomedow , USSR;

• 1980, 6th place , OS in Moscow , F, S, with victories over Frank Andersson , Sweden and Bajanmönch and defeats against Büttner and Strnisko;

• 1981, 4th place , EM in Łódź , F, S, with victory over Magomed Magomedow and defeat against Petar Christow, Bulgaria and Roland Gehrke , GDR ;

• 1981, 4th place , Universiade, F, S;

• 1982, 5th place , EM in Warna , F, S, behind Hutaba, USSR, Uwe Neupert , GDR, Strnisko and Christow and in front of Taşkın;

• 1982, 12th place , World Championships in Edmonton , F, S, winner: Illja Mate ahead of Chervonenko and Greg Gibson , USA;

• 1984, 5th place , EM in Jönköping , F, S, with victories over Gianni Chellucci, Italy , Aleksander Cichoń , FRG and a defeat against Magomed Magomedow;

• 1984, bronze medal , OS in Los Angeles , F, S, with victories over Qatar Singh Dhillon, India , Georgios Pikilidis, Greece and Hayri Sezgin , Turkey and one defeat against Joseph Atiyeh , Syria ;

• 1985, 7th place , EM in Leipzig , F, S, after defeats against Sezgin and Robotka;

• 1987, 2nd place , EM in Tarnowo , F, S, behind Leri Chabelowi , USSR and in front of Georgi Jantschew, Bulgaria, Strnisko, Taşkın and Robotka;

• 1987, 2nd place , World Championships in Clermont-Ferrand , F, S, behind Leri Chabelowi and in front of William Scherr , USA, Strnisko, Jantschew and Bold Jawklantögs, Mongolia ;

• 1988, 9th place , EM in Manchester , F, S, winner: Leri Chabelowi ahead of Noel Loban , United Kingdom and Uwe Neupert;

• 1988, gold medal , OS in Seoul , F, S, before Leri Chabelowi, Bill Scherr, Uwe Neupert, Georgi Karadutschew, Bulgaria and Jawklantögs

swell

• Trade journal Der Ringer,
• Database of the Institute for Applied Training Sciences at the University of Leipzig

Web links

• Profile of Vasile Puşcaşu at the Institute for Applied Training Science