Oleksandr Zakharuk

Oleksandr Valeriyovych Zakharuk (Ukrainian: Олександр Валерійович Захарук; born August 25, 1976 in Kiev) is a retired amateur Ukrainian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category.[1] Considered as one of the world's top freestyle wrestlers in his decade, Zakharuk had claimed five European championship titles, picked up three bronze medals at the World Championships (1999, 2002, and 2003), and achieved top eight finishes in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004).[2] Throughout his sporting career, Zakharuk trained as a member of the freestyle wrestling team for Ukraina Kiev Sport Club, under his coach Serhiy Obesnyuk.

Oleksandr Zakharuk
Personal information
Full nameOleksandr Valeriyovych
Zakharuk
Nationality Ukraine
Born (1976-08-25) 25 August 1976
Kiev, Ukrainian SSR,
Soviet Union
Height1.61 m (5 ft 3 1⁄2 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleFreestyle
ClubUkraina Kiev
CoachSerhiy Obesnyuk
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Ukraine
World Championships
1999 Ankara54 kg
2002 Tehran55 kg
2003 New York55 kg
European Championships
1997 Warsaw54 kg
1998 Bratislava54 kg
1999 Minsk54 kg
2000 Budapest54 kg
2006 Moscow55 kg

Zakharuk entered the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a top medal contender, in the men's bantamweight category (54 kg), after claiming a bronze from the 1999 World Wrestling Championships in Ankara, Turkey.[3] During the preliminary pool, Zakharuk pinned neighboring Russia's Leonid Chuchunov on his opening bout, and then eclipsed Bulgaria's Ivan Tsonov with a powerful effort and a 10-point advantage to earn him a spot for the quarterfinals.[4] Followed by the next morning's session, Zakharuk fell behind U.S. wrestler and 1998 world champion Sammie Henson with a score 4–8, before he sought a chance to fight back in a consolation battle against Kazakhstan's Maulen Mamyrov for a fifth-place finish.[5][6]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Zakharuk qualified for his second Ukrainian squad, as a 28-year-old, in the men's featherweight class (55 kg) with another brilliant sporting record. After the abolition of the bantamweight division in amateur wrestling that propelled him to fight at least a single kilogram heavier than in 2000, Zakharuk picked up his third career bronze medal in the men's featherweight category at the 2003 World Wrestling Championships in New York City, New York, United States, which earned him a spot on the Ukrainian Olympic team.[7][8] He continued to deliver a more stellar performance from Sydney four years earlier by pinning Kazakhstan's Baurzhan Orazgaliyev and overpowering Belarusian wrestler and 2001 world champion Herman Kantoyeu to seize another shot of an Olympic medal. Fighting against Russia's Mavlet Batirov in the quarterfinal match, Zakharuk could not score a single point to push him off the mat, and instead, managed to finish only in seventh at the end of the tournament.[9]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Oleksandr Zakharuk". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. Киевлянин Александр Захарук стал пятикратным чемпионом Европы [Kiev's Oleksandr Zakharuk is now a five-time European champion] (in Russian). Obozrevatel. 4 May 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  3. Abbott, Gary (6 February 2000). "USA wins Freestyle World Cup team title, with four individual champions". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  4. "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Bantamweight Freestyle (54kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 120–121. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  5. Pennington, Bill (30 September 2000). "Sydney 2000: Roundup; Cuban Boxers Match A Storied Tradition". New York Times. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  6. "One more victory". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 29 September 2000. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  7. Abbott, Gary (12 July 2004). "Olympic Games preview at 55 kg/121 lbs. in men's freestyle". USA Wrestling. The Mat. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. "U.S. Women Wrestlers Assured of Medals". Associated Press. 14 September 2003. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  9. "Wrestling: Men's Freestyle 55kg". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
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