Mark Semenovich Rakita (russian: Марк Семенович Ракита; born July 22, 1938) is a famed
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n two-time Olympic champion
sabreur and coach from the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
era.
Early life
Rakita was born in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, and is Jewish.
Fencing career
Rakita started fencing when he was 14. He would practice for three to six hours per day.
A 1969 graduate of The
Daghestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
State
Pedagogical
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and Developmental psychology, psychological development of le ...
Institute, Rakita earned the title of Master of the Sport (Fencing) in 1964. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society. He trained under Olympian
David Tishler.
World championships
Rakita was one of the Soviet Union's top sabre fencers in the 1960s. As a member of the Soviet National team, he won the world championship in the team sabre in 1965, 1967, 1969, and 1971.
He won bronze medals with the team in 1962 and 1963.
Rakita was also the world champion in individual sabre in 1967, and finished second in 1971.
Olympics
Rakita participated in three Olympic Games. At the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
, he won a
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 ...
in team sabre and competed in the individual event.
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 a
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
in the individual event and won gold in the team event.
At the
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
, he competed in the team event, and won a silver medal.
World championships
* 1967 Individual Sabre (Gold)
* 1967 Team Sabre (Gold)
* 1971 Individual Sabre (Silver)
Coaching career
Rakita coached the Russian fencing team for 17 years, and four of his students won Olympic medals.
At the
2001 Maccabiah Games, Rakita coached
Sergei Sharikov
Sergey Aleksandrovich Sharikov (russian: Сергей Александрович Шариков, 18 June 1974 – 6 June 2015), also known as Serguei/Sergei Charikov, was a left-handed Russian Olympic champion sabre fencer. In the Olympics he w ...
and
Maria Mazina
Maria Valeryevna Mazina (born 18 April 1964) is a Russian women's épée fencer. She is an Olympic champion, and a 5-time world women's épée champion.
Early and personal life
Mazina was born in Moscow, Russia, and is Jewish. She lives in Mos ...
to gold medals.
In 2004, he was honorary president of
Maccabi Russia.
Hall of Fame
In 1988 Rakita, who is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, was inducted into the
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...
.
Feud
In an interview in New York, Mark Rakita discussed his long-time feud with former friend/teammate turned nemesis
Vladimir Nazlymov
Vladimir Nazlymov (born November 1, 1945) (russian: Владимир Аливерович Назлымов) (Daghestan, USSR) - Sabre fencer and coach for USSR and later United States, to which he moved in 1991. Born in Makhachkala, Daghestan.
...
, stating, "As far as I'm concerned, he no longer exists!"
Interview (in Russian)
/ref>
See also
* List of select Jewish fencers
References
External links
Jewish Sports bioJewish Sports Legends bioInternational Jewish Hall of Fame bio"A Jewish Sporting Legend, 10/18/06
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rakita, Mark
1938 births
Living people
Russian male sabre fencers
Soviet male sabre fencers
Jewish Russian sportspeople
Jewish male sabre fencers
Olympic fencers of the Soviet Union
Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Fencers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Fencers at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic silver medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic medalists in fencing
Sportspeople from Moscow
Soviet Jews
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics