Dariusz Jabłoński (born 28 April 1973 in

Chełm Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...

) is a retired amateur Polish Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category. Considering one of the world's top Greco-Roman wrestlers in his decade, Jablonski has yielded a remarkable tally of five career medals, including his prestigious gold from the

2003 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2003 World Wrestling Championships. The Freestyle Competition was held in New York City, United States, while the Greco-Roman Competition was held in Créteil, France. Medal table Team ranking Medal su ...

, and later represented as part of the Polish team in three editions of the Olympic Games (1996, 2000, and 2004). Throughout his sporting career, Jablonski trained for Cement Gryf Wrestling Club in

, under his personal coaches Krzysztof Grabczuk and 1988 Olympic silver medalist

Andrzej Głąb Andrzej Głąb (born 10 November 1966 in Chełm) is a Polish wrestler who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olymp ...

. Jablonski made his official debut at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where he competed in the men's flyweight division (52 kg). He pinned Romania's Valentin Rebegea in the opening bout, before losing his next match 0–8 to Russia's

Samvel Danielyan Samvel Danielyan ( hy, Սամվել Դանիելյան, russian: Самвел Владимирович Даниелян, born 4 February 1971) is a retired Armenian-Russian Greco-Roman wrestler. He is a three-time Russian Champion, World Cup winn ...

. Entering the repechage rounds, Jablonski wrestled his way to successfully defeat Dominican Republic's Ulises Valentin with another pin and South Korea's

Ha Tae-yeon Ha Tae-Yeon (; born March 27, 1976, in Daegu) is a retired South Korean wrestler. References *Ha Tae-Yeon's profile frosports-reference External links

* 1976 births Living people South Korean wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Sout ...

with a rigid 3–2 decision. He fell behind Ukraine's Andriy Kalashnykov in the fifth round 5–8, and had an astounding 2–3 upset from Ha in their rematch for seventh place, dropping Jablonski to eighth. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Jablonski qualified for his second Polish squad in the men's bantamweight division (54 kg). Unlike his previous Olympics, Jablonski undermined his gaming strategy in the prelim pool. He lost his opening match to eventual Olympic champion Sim Kwon-ho of South Korea on technical superiority and was wretchedly pinned by Kazakhstan's Rakymzhan Assembekov, leaving him on the bottom of the pool and placing penultimate out of 22 wrestlers in the final standings. Shortly after the Games, Jablonski regained his form and came powerful with two bronze medals in the bantamweight division at the European Championships. Upon entering the

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cré ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Jablonski ousted South Korea's Im Dae-won on his final match to capture the featherweight title and guarantee a spot on the Polish Olympic team. Determined to return to the Olympic scene and medal, Jablonski arrived at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

on his third stint, as a 31-year-old veteran, in the men's 55 kg class. Earlier in the process, he won a gold medal over South Korea's Im at the World Championships. Jablonski lost his opening match to eventual Olympic silver medalist Geidar Mamedaliyev of Russia by a 3–0 verdict, but sailed smoothly to turn down India's Mukesh Khatri on the mat with an identical margin during the prelim pool round. Finishing second in the pool and fifteenth overall, Jablonski's performance was not enough to advance him to the quarterfinals.

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jablonski, Dariuszw 1973 births Living people Olympic wrestlers for Poland Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Polish male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics People from Chełm World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Championships medalists 20th-century Polish sportsmen 21st-century Polish people Sportspeople from Lublin Voivodeship