Jigjidiin Mönkhbat ( mn, Жигжидийн Мөнхбат; 1 June 1941 – 9 April 2018) was a

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

. At the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

he won the silver medal in the men's Freestyle Middleweight category (87 kg), behind gold medalist Boris Michail Gurevich of the Soviet Union and ahead of bronze medalist

Prodan Gardzhev Prodan Stoyanov Gardzhev ( bg, Продан Стоянов Гарджев, 8 April 1936 – 5 July 2003) was a Bulgarian middleweight freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics and won a gold medal in 1964 and a bronze i ...

of Bulgaria. His results in the Olympics were 4 wins, 2 draws, and 0 losses. Mönkhbat was a Titan in Mongolian wrestling, a top rank in the sport, with six

Naadam Naadam (Mongolian Naadam Festival) ( mn, Наадам, classical Mongolian: ''Naɣadum'', , ''literally "games"'') is a traditional festival celebrated in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and Tuva Republic. The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurva ...

championship wins (1963–1967, 1974). He won five tournaments in a row, a feat achieved by only two other athletes in the modern history of Mongolian wrestling (since 1922). His name Mönkhbat means "Eternal firm" in the

Mongolian language Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and both the most widely spoken and best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residen ...

. He was the father of professional

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

wrestler Hakuhō Shō, who held the top rank of ''yokozuna'' in that sport before retiring. His son Hakuhō regards his six Nadaam championships as the equivalent of 36 tournament championships in sumo (as sumo tournaments are held six times a year) and used that as motivation to keep going even after passing Taihō's record of 32 championships.

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* 1941 births 2018 deaths People from Töv Province Olympic wrestlers of Mongolia Wrestlers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Mongolian male sport wrestlers Olympic silver medalists for Mongolia Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1974 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for Mongolia World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games 21st-century Mongolian people 20th-century Mongolian people {{Mongolia-wrestling-bio-stub