Mark Berger (born January 3, 1954) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. A winner of the gold medal in the Men's Heavyweight Judo event at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

and the bronze medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, he was inducted into the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

in 1994. He was born in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and became a Canadian citizen in the late 1970s.Dawkins, Glen (27 February 2005)
"From medallist to mentor: Where are they now?"
''

Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its acquisition of Sun Media, and shares many characteristics typical of Sun tabloids, including an emphasis on local news sto ...

''. Retrieved 19 January 2012. He won

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s in the heavyweight division in the

1981 Maccabiah Games The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes parading ...

and the

1985 Maccabiah Games The 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 38 nations to compete in 28 sports. History The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and super ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Judo career

Berger immigrated to Canada from

stopping first

Vienna, Austria en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

waiting for the visa to go through in 1977. His Canadian career in Judo took off in 1978 when he won a gold medal in the

Western Canada Summer Games The Western Canada Summer Games (WCSG) were established in 1975 as a multi-sport event to provide development opportunities for amateur athletes and to help them advance their skills in a competitive, but friendly environment. Athletes range in ...

.Biography on Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame
. Retrieved 19 January 2012.

National titles

He won the Canadian national title in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, and 1986.

World Championships

He finished 6th in the World Championships in 1981, and 5th in 1984.

Maccabiah Games

Berger, who is Jewish, won

s in the heavyweight division in the

(in wrestling, and a silver medal in judo) and the

, and also competed for Canada in judo in the 1997 Maccabiah Games.

Commonwealth Games

In 1986, he won the silver medal in the +95 kg weight category at the judo demonstration sport event as part of the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a 'Cho-fhlaitheis 1986) were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. They were the second Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largel ...

Pan American Games

Berger won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, and was voted the province's Athlete of the Year.

Olympics

In 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics, he earned a bronze medal in

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

in the heavyweight division. He defeated Radomir Kovacevic of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

to win the bronze medal.

Hall of Fame

He was inducted in 1994 into the

. In 1996 he was inducted into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame.Judo Canada Hall of Fame
Retrieved 19 January 2012.

Miscellaneous

*Berger is currently a coach in Canada. *Berger coached both the men's and women's judo teams at the Maccabiah Games in 2001. *He is also an international referee. *Berger holds a 7th degree black belt in Judo, as well as 3-time Master of Sport ranking in Wrestling, and has placed 2nd in the World

Sambo , aka = Sombo (in English-speaking countries) , focus = Hybrid , country = Soviet Union , pioneers = Viktor Spiridonov, Vasili Oshchepkov, Anatoly Kharlampiev , famous_pract = List of Practitioners , oly ...

Championships. *Berger is currently teaching in Ralph Brown School as a gym teacher. Has since retired from teaching at Ralph Brown school.

References

External links

Official websiteJews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Mark 1954 births Living people Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Canadian male judoka Competitors at the 1981 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1985 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1997 Maccabiah Games Olympic judoka of Canada Judoka at the 1984 Summer Olympics Jewish martial artists Jewish Canadian sportspeople Maccabiah Games medalists in judo Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Naturalized citizens of Canada Olympic medalists in judo Sportspeople from Winnipeg Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductees Ukrainian emigrants to Canada Ukrainian Jews Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in judo Judoka at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games